Shah Rukh, The conqueror!
By: Vatsala Gurunath

He came, saw, gambled and conquered! Yes! We are definitely talking of the BAAZIGAR, Bollywood's BADSHAH, Shah Rukh King Khan!

Shah Rukh gambled, took risks, and did all the unconventional and unacceptable roles that were refused by other actors and made it to the top and today reigns unchallenged.

After a decade in the industry, today Shah Rukh is a force to reckon with. The man with self-confessed 5 expressions, unconventional looks and no fabulous biceps to drool is the most sought after hero in Bollywood even today.

Graduating from the designer clad Raj, Rahul lover boy roles to mature and his age characters have paid off very well for the khan. The urge not to be the oh-so-usual as been his motto since the start of his career. He made all the stereotyped wrong moves in the industry. He came from television when people believed that no small screen actor finds lasting fame on big screen. He played negative shaded roles, over acted, repeated performances and roles and still walked away with all the applause.

He not just won awards one after the other, but years later still holds the same magic and charm intact. Playing second fiddle to big wigs like Rishi Kapoor and Sunny Deol, Shah Rukh stole scenes and the appreciation and had the entire nation concentrating on his dimpled grins. His naive boyish charm catapulted him to second hero status and also gave him his first hits like DEEWANA, RAJU BAN GAYA GENTLEMAN and KABHI HAAN KABHI NAA but it was his daring will to experiment that put him on the pedestal in the form of BAAZIGAR, ANJAAM and RAMJAANE.

He has always lived on his terms and never considered the trends or image. The widower father of an eight year old in KUCH KUCH HOTHA HAIN, the spectacled love lorn music teacher MOHABBATEIN, the impish and devilish doubles in DUPLICATE, the rustic Raju in CHAAHAT are all just glimpses of different characterizations of this 5 expression wonder.

Shah Rukh has never been slotted as an actor, he has played all roles with the same panache. He has played comedy, tragedy, lover-boy, responsible, careless and even negative roles like no one else.He has even stood on par with icons like Amitabh Bachchan sharing frames with him in films like MOHABBATEIN and KABHI KHUSHI KABHI GHUM. He is a favorite with the big names in the industry like the Chopras, Johars and Ghai.

Shah Rukh is best paired with Kajol and Juhi on screen; they have starred in the maximum number of his blockbusters and are considered his lady lucks.

This DEVDAS of the Pepsi generation is being honored at the prestigious Edinburgh Film Festival. The month long extravaganza showcased some of SRK's most popular films - ASOKA, KABHI KHUSHI KABHI GHAM, PARDES, DILWALE DHULHANIYA LE JAAYENGE, DIL SE and PHIR BHI DIL HAI HINDUSTANI at the George Square Theatre in Edinburgh. He has become the first ever-Indian actor to be given a tribute at this prestigious film festival.

We congratulate Shah Rukh for the honor and also wish him a very happy birthday, which he celebrates on the 2 of November.