Friday, November 23, 2007

Shah Rukh Khan - Career

Shah Rukh Khan - Career

As an Actor
Khan studied acting under celebrated Theatre Director Barry John, at Delhi's Theatre Action Group (TAG). In 2007 John commented on his former pupil, “The credit for the phenomenally successful development and management of Shah Rukh's career goes to the superstar himself.”

Khan started his acting career in 1988 appearing in the television series Fauji playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. He went on to appear in several other television serials most notably appearing in the 1989 serial Circus, which depicted the life of circus performers and was directed by Aziz Mirza. That same year he also had a minor role in the English language made-for-television film In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones, which was written by Arundhati Roy and based on life at Delhi University.

After the death of his parents Khan moved from Gurgaon to Mumbai in 1991. He made his Bollywood film debut in Deewana (1992) which was a box office hit and launched his career in Bollywood. His debut performance won him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. His second release Maya Memsaab was known for its controversial issues as Khan appeared in what was an "explicit for Bollywood" sex scene for the film.

In 1993 he won acclaim for his performances as a murderer and obsessive lover respectively in the box office hits Baazigar and Darr. He won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Baazigar. He was also appreciated for his role as a young musician in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa which earned him the Filmfare Best Actor Award (critics) that same year. In 1994 Khan once again played an obsessive lover/psycho role in Anjaam. Even though the movie was not a box office success Khan's performance in a negative role earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.

In 1995 he starred in Aditya Chopra's directorial debut Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge which was a critical and commercial success and has entered its twelfth year in Mumbai theaters, grossing over 12 billion rupees in all, making it as one of the biggest film blockbusters.

1996 was a disappointing year for Khan as all his films released that year flopped. 1997 meant his diminutive comeback, as his first release, Yash Chopra's Dil to Pagal Hai went on to be the year's second highest grossing film. That same year he also had success with Subhash Ghai's Pardes which was one of the biggest hits of the year and Aziz Mirza's moderately successful film Yes Boss.

Khan was welcomed with similar success in 1998 starring in Karan Johar's directional debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai which was the biggest hit of the year and won him his fourth Best Actor award at the Filmfare. He also won critical praise for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se which did not do well at the box office in India, but earned good collections overseas.

1999 was another non-notable year for Khan with the average grosser Baadshah as his only film release that year. The year 2000 saw good success, with Aditya Chopra's second directional film Mohabbatein doing well at the box office, and Mansoor Khan's hit Josh. He gained critical acclaim for his performance in the former, which won him his second award for Best Actor (critics) at the Filmfare. In that same year, Khan set up his own production house Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla. Both Khan and Chawla starred in the first film from their production house Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. He also played a supporting role in Kamal Hassan's controversial film Hey Ram for which he received much acclaim although the film was a failure at the box office.

In 2001, Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the second time with the multi-starrer family drama film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which was one of the biggest hits of the year. He also received favorable reviews for his performance as Emperor Asoka in the historical epic Asoka.

In 2002, Khan played the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance Devdas, which was the third Hindi adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's famous novel of the same name.

In 2003, Khan starred in the romantic drama Chalte Chalte which was a semi-hit. He then made his third film with Karan Johar as the writer and Nikhil Advani as a director of the romantic drama Kal Ho Naa Ho. The movie was one of the year's biggest hits in India and in the overseas market as well. Khan's performance in this film as a guy who has heart disease was also well received.

2004 proved to be a good year for Khan commercially and critically as well. He starred in Main Hoon Na which was the directorial debut of choreographer Farah Khan. The movie did well at the box office, whilst Yash Chopra's Veer-Zaara was the biggest hit of that year. Khan's performance in the latter was much appreciated and he won various awards at several award ceremonies. Khan also won critical praise for his performance in Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades, which won him the Filmfare Best Actor Award for the sixth time although the film was a box office failure.

His only major film release in 2005 was the fantasy film Paheli which was not as successful at the box office, but won him acclaim.

In 2006 he once again collaborated with Karan Johar for the melodrama film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna which did well in India and became the biggest hit in the overseas market. That same year he played the title role in Don, a remake of the 1978 hit film Don which was also successful.

His first release in 2007 was the sports film Chak De India which released on August 10, 2007. Khan received good reviews for his performance as the coach of a girl's hockey team in the film. Despite a low start at the box office, the film has been declared blockbuster, simultaneously becoming one of the year's biggest hits. His latest film Om Shanti Om which was on released on November 9, 2007. Om Shanti Om has taken a terrific start worldwide.

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