Encore: Shah Rukh Khan, The King of Bollywood Upkeeps His Dominance In the Next Generation

Shah Rukh Khan, commonly referred to as SRK, has over 100 film credits to his name and has earned the title of the King of Bollywood throughout his three decade career. From romance to thriller, Khan has gained popularity with his range of projects. Through building his reputation by starring in some of the highest grossing Hindi-films, Khan has also expanded his scope and founded Red Chillies Entertainment. He continues to work alongside his daughter in action films and produce his son’s directorial debut series. Not only have audiences grown up watching Khan on the big screen, but he has sustained a fostering relationship with current Bollywood filmography to tell mixed genre stories.

Deewana (1992)

At 28-years-old, Shah Rukh Khan made his acting debut playing the second lead alongside Rishi Kapoor and Divya Bharti in Deewana. Khan portrays Raja, a young and carefree lover boy, who falls in love with Kajal, the widow of a famous singer. After agreeing to remarry, their lives get complicated with the return of Kajal’s first husband, who was never actually dead. Khan won Best Male Debut at the 38th Filmfare Awards for his romantic performance as Raja. Deewana not only launched Khan’s powerhouse presence in Bollywood, but also marked Bharti’s status clutching Best Female Debut at the Filmfare Awards the same year and set the stage for director Raj Kanwar and his box office hits.

With his first producing credit for Deewana, producer Guddu Dhanoa recently confirmed that a sequel is in the works. No official cast announcements have been released.

Baazigar (1993)

Khan gained more notoriety as an anti-hero. Now widely recognized as a breakout role, Khan led the action-thriller Baazigar as Ajay Sharma, a man with a vendetta against wealthy businessman, Madan Chopra (Dalip Tahil). Following the death of his father and sister, Ajay blames Madan Chopra for his family’s losses and assumes the fake identity of Vicky Malhotra to gain trust from the Chopra family, making Madan’s daughter Priya (Kajol Devgan) fall in love with him. Ajay first kills Madan’s other daughter, Seema (Shilpa Shetty) staging it as a suicide and envokes a killing spree to cover his tracks.

Baazigar is the first of many projects Khan stars opposite Kajol as the leading on-screen couple. The duo’s chemistry shined through the revenge film and demonstrated their initial collaboration that evolved into one of Bollywood’s most beloved pairings.

Darr (1993)

Khan excelled in yet another thriller love story as the antagonist. The King of Bollywood plays the character Rahul who is in love and obsessed with Kiran Awasthi (Juhi Chawla) even though she is already engaged to navy officer Sunil (Sunny Deol). The couple flee the country, but Rahul tracks them to Switzerland as he is determined to win over Kiran. This musical thriller was directed by Yash Chopra who also directed the romantic films: Dil To Pagal Hai, Veer-Zaara, and Jab Tak Hai Jaan that all star Khan as the leading man.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) is a reunion of talent as Khan and Kajol share the screen again following their collaboration in Baazigar. Written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by Yash Chopra, the film takes place in England, Switzerland, and India. Khan and Kajol portray Raj and Simran in a classic opposites attract story. While traveling in Europe, Raj and Simran find themselves stuck with each other when they miss their train from London to Zurich. The pair fall in love, but Simran’s father, Chaudhary Baldev Singh (Amrish Puri), has already arranged for his daughter to marry another man.

DDLJ became the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year it was released. The project has remained such an international phenomenon that Aditya Chopra has reimagined the film for stage production set to premiere at the Manchester Opera House in May 2025. The production stars Ashley Day and Jena Pandya in leading roles inspired by Raj and Simran. During rehearsal for Come Fall In Love – The DDLJ Musical, Khan surprised the cast with a personal visit. In an interview with Economic Times, Day said, “He [Khan] greeted us all with such love and genuine excitement about what we’ve been building. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to see a project—beloved by millions—being reimagined as a musical 30 years later.”

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)

Directed by Karan Johar as his directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai tells the love story and reconnection of former college friends. In this romantic comedy, a widowed man (Khan) is reunited with a friend from college (Kajol) who once loved him. The duo’s matchmaker is none other than his own daughter, Anjali (Sana Saeed) who sets up their summer reunion as it is her late mother’s last, dying request. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai sweeped the 44th Filmfare Awards winning eight categories including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress.

Swades (2004)

Khan takes on the role of Mohan, a non-resident Indian who works for NASA in the United States. Mohan travels back to India to reconnect with his former nanny, Kaveri Amma (Kishori Ballal) in hopes to convince her to move and settle down in the U.S. with him. Mohan not only reunites with Kaveri Amma but is thrown into her village lifestyle that she inhabits with Geeta (Gayatri Joshi), Mohan’s childhood friend. As Geeta and Mohan grow closer, Mohan explores his cultural identity and tries to decipher where he belongs. This drama-musical touches on more political themes, such as gender equality and socioeconomic classes, compared to his predecessor works.

Red Chillies Entertainment founded in 2002 by Khan and his wife Gauri Khan has since acquired the film rights for Swades.

Om Shanti Om (2007)

The King of Bollywood goes back in time for one of the first productions under Red Chillies Entertainment. In Om Shanti Om, Khan takes on playing dual roles as Om and Om “O.K.” Kapoor. Set during the 1970s, upcoming actor Om is in love with superstar actress Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone). Om dies after witnessing Shantipriya’s murder and is reincarnated 30 years after the fact as successful actor Om “O.K.” Kapoor. O.K.’s life gets complicated when he suddenly experiences various flashbacks to his first life and is inspired to avenge Shantipriya’s death.

My Name Is Khan (2010)

Following the events of September 11, 2001, Rizwan Khan and his family face much Islamophobia and discrimination. After the murder of their son (Arjan Aujla), Khan embarks on a cross-country journey to clear his name and win back the love of his wife, Mandira (Kajol). My Name Is Khan signifies both SRK and Kajol’s Hollywood debut as the film was a co-production amongst the United States, United Arab Emirates, and India. Directed by Karan Johar, the project snagged Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress at the 56th Filmfare Awards. 

Chennai Express (2013)

After her breakout performance in Om Shanti Om, Deepika Padukone stars opposite Khan once again with an action-comedy film. Chennai Express follows Khan’s character, Rahul, who wants to fulfill his grandfather’s dying wish of spreading his ashes in the Holy water of Rameshwaram. His journey takes an unexpected detour when Rahul encounters Meena, who happens to be the daughter of a Mafia boss. As the film officially released on International Women’s Day, Khan desired for Padukone’s name to appear first in the credits rather than his own. 

Zero (2018)

Director Aanand L. Rai casted SRK and Anushka Sharma in a love story between a man with dwarfism and a scientist with cerebral palsy. Bauua resorts to consulting with a matchmaking agency to find a marriage partner and meets Aafia, a senior mathematician. The two fall in love, but Bauua breaks up with her after five short months. Katrina Kaif also takes the screen as Bauua’s other love interest in this comedy-drama film. 

The project received very mixed reviews upon its release. While Zero received seven nominations at the 64th Filmfare Awards, the film only topped one category winning for Best Special Effects. Khan shared in an interview with Variety, “ Some of these films which didn’t do well were so personal that they were not simple enough, they were so personal they got very shrunk.” 

Pathaan (2023)

Following a 5 year hiatus, Khan returns to Bollywood with an action thriller. SRK portrays Pathaan, a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agent who teams up with Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent (Deepika Padukone) as they must put a stop to a former RAW agent (John Abraham) planning to attack India with the release of a deadly virus.

Pathaan garnered much anticipation for Khan’s comeback to the big screen. Co-producer Akshaye Widhani explained their marketing strategy to amp up audience excitement, “When we got into a room with him to talk about marketing the film, we all felt what if we went with a different strategy this time, which is less is more. So we hold back Shah Rukh, not have him seen pre-release, not have him interact with anybody pre-release.” The campaign method appears to have worked–the film broke the record for Hindi films opening week at the box office, grossing $77.4 million.

Jawan (2023)  

In Director Atlee’s Hindi film debut, Khan plays dual roles as father and son. After years of separation, Captain Vikram Rathore and his son, Azad, reunite to bring societal corruption to the surface. Jawan surpassed Pathaan in box office records and became the highest grossing film of 2023. Khan said, “I am thrilled to share that ‘Jawan’ is the most-watched film in India on Netflix. Releasing the extended [version] was our way of expressing gratitude to our fans.” Atlee has already teased that his next collaboration with SRK is in the works and will be “something bigger”.

What’s Next For King Khan

Khan’s next anticipated project set to premiere in 2026 is the action drama Hindi film, King, with Khan and Deepika Padukone once again sharing the screen together. This film marks Khan’s daughter, Suhana Khan’s big acting debut. SRK is a dynamic don who mentors a young woman through the dangerous world. Looking back at his career, Khan noted, “What has really changed over 30 years is the fact that you need to tell stories which appeal to a lot of people in the same room for different reasons. I think it’s very important to mix the genres because human beings don’t isolate emotions.”

Not only does Khan work alongside his daughter, he makes it a family affair. The Ba***ds of Bollywood will be Aryan Khan’s, SRK’s son, directorial debut series. The over-the-top (OTT) show will be coming out on Netflix, but an exact date has yet to be announced. The father-son duo display their playful banter in the recently released teaser.

Interested in more Bollywood stories? Check out our interview with Smriti Mundhra here!