Milestones in SRK's career

Courtesy: IndiaFM
Friday, December 15, 2006
Fauji (1988)
"It was the first time I saw the smiles I could bring to the faces of people I met on the streets..." reminisces SRK who set hearts aflutter and became an "almost celebrity" playing Abhimanyu Roy in Colonel Kapoor's true-to-life serial on our armed forces.

Deewana (1992)
"I liked the characters in Deewana and Chamatkar a lot because they were essentially simple folk..." maintains SRK as he rewinds to the Rishi Kapoor-Divya Bharati starrer that earned him his first award-for Best Debut.

Baazigar (1993), Darr-A Love Story (1993)Anjaam (1994)
"The Vicky of Baazigar was a psychopath-irrational, illogical and abnormal. He doesn't kill for his country or a system gone wrong. He doesn't kill for love or even revenge but for himself. He was completely insane and inhuman. The killer in Darr was a loser who took his loss personally and turned vicious. You pity him, sympathise, even empathise with him. Anjaam, the first negative role I'd signed, was a very morbid film but the killer I played was more human than Vicky. A spoilt, jealous, slightly demented rich boy. Rahul Rawali wanted the character to come as a surprise but after Baazigar and Darr there was nothing new to him..." SRK analyses his trend-setting troika of 'bad man' roles. Baazigar fetched him his first Best Actor Award

Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994)
"People say I had negative roles in Baazigar, Darr and Anjaam but I think KHKN was my first anti hero film. Sunil was a failure... He flunked exams, cheated and even lost the girl. Yet, I felt close to him. I could identify with almost every shot, every emotion, which wasn't a good thing because the scene where I see Deepak Tijori kissing Suchitra Krishnamoorthy shook me so much (because I kept seeing Gauri's face in Anna) that I just ran away. It was a close-up and just ran away from the camera..." confesses SRK who liked that film so badly he even distributed it. He bagged the Critics Choice Award for a straight-from-the-heart performance.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
"Raj and Simran's love story reminded me of the time I was courting Gauri. We had our share of family problems too. But eventually I was able to take my dulhania with her family's blessings. Raj was a dilwala with a heart and I can see him and Simran growing old together. Still very much in love...Still having a lot of fun." Muses SRK as he reflects on Aditya Chopra's directorial debut and another award-wining act that changed his image form killer to a lover. DDLJ also made him and Kajol Hindi cinema's Jodi No. 1.

Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
"In this film I have to confess that my co-artistes, Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor were much better than I was and it was their love that made Rahul memorable..." says Shah Rukh of another Best Actor performance.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
"This was the first time I was playing daddy and I know Rahul is the kind of daddy I want to be to Aryan because he reminded me of my dad. The first day I was shooting for the film at Mehboob Studio. I got the news that Gauri was pregnant. I was still shooting for the film when Aryan was born. So I've gone through the process of becoming a father myself during the making of KKHH..." SRK on Karan Johan's directorial debut for which he was once again adjudged Best Actor.

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000), Asoka (2001), Chalte Chalte (2003), Main Hoon Na (2004)Paheli (2005)
"My home productions have all been different from the norm in their own way. At the same time they have been enjoyable films. Our aim is to make the kind of cinema we like." SRK talks of his experiences as a producer.

Devdas (2002)
"Devdas is a very special film in the history of Indian cinema and the chance to interpret it as a person of today's generation was irresistible..." SRK says of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning film brought remakes back into vogue.

Swades (2004)
"Swades was a film that needed to be made. It was a film about today... A film about 'Indianness'... A film about how the educated middle class could help the country..." SRK elaborates on the eye-opening social.

Veer-Zaara (2004)
"I'd had enough of Indian films deriding and decimating Pakistan. I knew in my heart that this was not a reflection of true sentiment. We have a shared history that is hard to ignore. Veer-Zaara cut across borders and man-made boundaries. It was about the goodness of love..." SRK waxes eloquent about the film that brought Yash Chopra out of self-imposed hibernation and challenged SRK with the role of a much older man who was a prisoner-of-war.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
"From the outside Gauri and I may seem like a happily-married couple but like any two people working or living together, we also have our share of issues. It's just that we have resolved most of these issues completely," SRK points explaining how KANK is in no way close to life.

Don (2006)
"Don is a dream come true. It is my tribute to Amitabh Bachchan. Don is the king of film I grew up on, and today, I feel blessed that I can mouth lines that have become a part of Hindi film folklore like, 'Don ko pakadna mushkil nahin, namumkin hai..." SRK on the year's blockbuster.