Shah Rukh Khan names his favourite movies from his career
If you were to ask an American movie buff who their favourite actors were, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear the likes of Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Florence Pugh, Cillian Murphy or Timothée Chalamet. Yet, it’s easy to forget that the world of cinema isn’t purely restricted to America, with the Indian Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan being arguably the world’s biggest actor.
Lovingly referred to as ‘King Khan’, the actor has appeared in over 90 movies, earning a vast number of awards in the process, including 14 Filmfare Awards, as well as the decorated Padma Shri by the government of India. Adored in India and across Asia, the star has never entered the realm of Hollywood, being happy to thrive in his corner of the world, appearing in some of the country’s highest-grossing movies of all time.
Asked at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival about whether he would ever consider appearing in a Hollywood movie, Khan responded, “My English is not good, if they give me a role of a dumb person who doesn’t speak, maybe then there’s a possibility. I am not trying to be modest, I am 42 years old. I am a little brown. I don’t have any USP as an actor, I don’t have any speciality. I don’t know Kung Fu, I don’t dance salsa, and I am not tall enough”.
Continuing, he adds: “I have seen the recent European films, there is no place for me there, no space for me. I don’t think I am talented enough. Instead, I would like to continue working in India and take Indian cinema to the world”.
Having starred in countless movies, including the beloved likes of 2002’s Devdas, 2007’s Chak De! India and 1998’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Khan once discussed his all-time favourites of his career.
“I like them all,” Khan stated in a 2019 interview, “I like them that’s why I do them but to start with, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Baazigar was very good, Darr was very nice, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Chak De, Devdas, Swades, Chennai Express, I found it very funny, Fan, Raees, I must have missed a few but all these films I really enjoyed doing”.
A relatable common figure of Indian cinema, Khan sat down with The Guardian back in 2013 to talk about his unparalleled industry influence, stating: “I think being from outside the film industry, I had no method to become a movie star, I just did whatever made me happy. Doing a little bit of English theatre – to me I just wanted to act”.
Continuing, he adds: “I did a love story after six/seven years of being in the film industry which is normally the starting point for most people…So I truly believe in the maxim that it’s not special to be special, but it’s special to be ordinary. And that’s what this film and every aspect of work is, an extension of a personality, and I believe that”.
Take a look at the full list of Khan’s favourite movies from his career below.
Shah Rukh Khan’s favourite movies:
- Baazigar (Mustan Burmawalla, Abbas Burmawalla, 1993)
- Chak De! India (Shimit Amin, 2007)
- Chennai Express (Rohit Shetty, 2013)
- Darr (Yash Chopra, 1993)
- Devdas (Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2002)
- Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Aditya Chopra, 1995)
- Fan (Maneesh Sharma, 2016)
- Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (Kundan Shah, 1994)
- Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Karan Johar, 1998)
- Raees (Rahul Dholakia, 2017)
- Swades (Ashutosh Gowariker, 2004)
