Shah Rukh@58: Villain, lover boy and now action hero

New Delhi: He’s just turned 58, the age you’d expect actors to hang up their action boots. But birthday boy Shah Rukh Khan has just put them on, recasting the romantic hero of dimpled smile and outstretched hands fame into rippling muscles, chiselled abs and high octane machismo.

And it seems to have worked box office wonder for the star, who made a career comeback of sorts in 2023 after a spree of successive flops and a four-year break with back-to-back action films "Pathaan" and "Jawan" – they rank among the highest-grossing Hindi films ever with each collecting over Rs 1,000 crore globally.

Film star birthdays are always occasion for their fans. It was so for Shah Rukh as well this year with the crowds outside his home Mannat bigger, louder and more enthusiastic. Thousands of people waited for hours outside Mannat to ring in his birthday on Thursday. He obliged shortly after midnight, appearing in his balcony to greet them with folded hands, blowing kisses and striking his signature arms wide open pose.

As the night sky lit up with mobile cameras flashing wildly and the crowds screamed and chanted his name, it seemed evident that Shah Rukh’s many gambles in his over three-decade career had paid off.

"It's unbelievable that so many of u come & wish me late at night. I am but a mere actor. Nothing makes me happier, than, the fact that I can entertain u a bit. I live in a dream of your love. Thank u for allowing me to entertain you all. C u in the morning…on the screen & off it," Shah Rukh wrote on X.

It’s unbelievable that so many of u come & wish me late at night. I am but a mere actor. Nothing makes me happier, than, the fact that I can entertain u a bit. I live in a dream of your love. Thank u for allowing me to entertain you all. C u in the morning…on the screen & off it

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) November 1, 2023

During the promotions of "Pathaan" earlier this year, Shah Rukh had said playing the titular action hero was the realisation of a long cherished dream.

"I came to the film industry 32 years ago to be an action hero but I missed the boat because they made me a romantic hero instead. I've only wanted to be an action hero,” he said in a video interview posted by film's production banner Yash Raj Films on YouTube in January this year.

"I mean I love 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', and I love Rahul and Raj and all these good, sweet boys but I always thought I was an action hero, so for me it's my dream come true," he said.

Friend and frequent collaborator Karan Johar has also said Shah Rukh hated love stories and only wanted to be in action films.

"He didn't want Adi (Aditya Chopra) to make 'Dilwale' ('Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'). He was irritated when I was making 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' but then when these films worked, he didn't say anything because he was like… You know 'Chadhte suraj ko salaam' (bow to the rising sun)... If this love story is working, let's go with it," Johar said on the "Be A Man Yaar" podcast a week ago.

From the gauche actor of TV shows “Fauji” and “Circus” to now, it has been a long and storied journey from Delhi to Mumbai for one of India’s most popular and enduring stars.

Shah Rukh made his debut with "Deewana" in 1992, playing the affable boy-next-door in "Chamatkar", "Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman" and "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na" before successfully transitioning into the menacing villains in "Baazigar", "Darr" and "Anjaam" the same decade.

It was unusual for a leading man to play outright negative characters to such success but Shah Rukh made the switch to the vengeful, obsessive roles easily.

His dream was to be an action hero, probably in the mould of a swashbuckling Dharmendra, but directors, some his friends and contemporaries, thought his expressive eyes, dimples and what came to be known as his quintessential wit and charm would be a better fit for romantic roles.

And then came the love stories. The films were many, each a bigger success than the previous one. Whether it was "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", "Pardes", "Yes Boss" or "Mohabbatein", Shah Rukh was the ultimate lover boy for many millions of his fans in India and around the globe.

As he grew older, Shah Rukh’s career slumped a bit. After successive underperforming titles "Dilwale'' (2015), "Fan" (2016), "Raees" and "Jab Harry Met Sejal" in 2017, and 2018's "Zero", the actor was written off by critics and viewers.

But as the popular dialogue in his hit film "Om Shanti Om '' goes: "Picture abhi baaqi hai, mere dost".

He took a self-imposed sabbatical from films, but never really retreated into the background of public attention. In 2022, Shah Rukh teased the audience with cameo appearances in diverse films such as "Rocketry: The Nambi Effect", "Laal Singh Chaddha", and "Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva".

And then as a new year began came "Pathaan" in January. The superstar, who was introduced as the battered, bloodied Indian spy in the teaser of the film, proclaimed he was alive ("zinda hai") when a man wondered if Pathaan was dead.

Indeed, both Shah Rukh and the character live on. “Pathaan” is part of the YRF Spy Universe and the actor is expected to reprise his action-packed avatar in the banner's Diwali release "Tiger 3", fronted by Salman Khan.

While Shah Rukh may have transformed into this action star for the masses, he also embodies a certain soft masculinity. This is evident in both “Pathaan” and “Jawan”, where his characters draw strength from, and are comfortable with, the women around them.

The actor has described his character in "Pathaan" as an easy guy.

"I think he's naughty, he's tough but doesn't wear it on his sleeve. He's trusting. He's honest and I think he very single-mindedly thinks of India as his mother," he added in the January YRF video.

Pathaan reports to his boss, played by Dimple Kapadia, whom he respectfully addressed as 'ma'am'. There are no misogynistic or patriarchal jokes that are made by the character at the expense of his superior, who is also a working parent.

"Jawan" sees Shah Rukh in dual roles of a father and son, the latter out to rectify wrongs in society.

The narrative of "Jawan'' is propelled by the back stories of an army of women who aid Azad, the son, in his mission as he searches for his father Vikram Rathore. Azad also strikes a chord with his would-be wife Narmada (Nayanthara)'s daughter, who after a grilling interview, selects him to be her father.

With his third and final release for 2023, Shah Rukh is set to change gears once again.

His next release "Dunki" is reportedly a comedy-drama film based on an illegal immigration technique named, 'donkey flight'. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the movie will hit the screens on December 22.

The actor unveiled the first look of the film on his birthday on social media. If the SRK mania continues, this would be an enviable hat-trick of hits for the actor.