Shah Rukh speaks of 'intolerance' on his 50th birthday
In a Twitter town hall arranged by a media house on the occasion of Shah Rukh Khan's birthday, the Bollywood heart throb talked about subjects that have been garnering headlines for the last couple of weeks. On his 50th birthday, the superstar was talking about the people returning their awards in protest of the 'intolerance' in the country. He called these people brave.
Shah Rukh Khan's first acting role was in the television series Dil Dariya (1988), and then in Fauji (1989). He then worked in Circus (1989-90) and Idiot (1991). Khan also played small parts in Umeed (1989) and Wagle ki Duniya (1988-90). He worked in "In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones" in 1989, which was an English-language television film.
His break in movies came with the movie Deewana opposite Divya Bharti alongwith Rishi Kapoor in the second-lead in 1992. He won a Filmfare (debut) award for that movie. Then came his other movies Chamatkaar, Dil Aashna Hai and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman-all in the year 1992. From there, he moved on to do anti-hero movies like Baazigar (1993), Darr (1993) and Anjaam (1994).
In 1995, came two of his career's most promising movies- Karan Arjun and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, which made him a sensation in Bollywood. The movie DDLJ made him the 'romantic hero' of the century and went on to gross approximately Rs.1.22 billion (US$18 million) worldwide. He further cemented his place with hits like Yes Boss (1996), Pardes (1996) and Dil Toh Pagal Hai(1997).
SRK's Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge became the "longest-running film in the history of Indian cinema"; it was still playing in Mumbai's Maratha Mandir theatre after more than 1000 weeks (as of early 2015).
In 2008, Khan acquired the ownership of a IPL team's franchise in partnership with Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta. The IPL team was named Kolkata Knight Riders and came at a price of $75.09 million. KKR was one of the richest teams as of 2009, with a brand valuation of $42.1 million. The team won the 2012 and 2014 IPL tournament.
Khan has been the brand ambassador for many philanthropist causes such as Pulse Polio and National AIDS Control Organisation. In 2011, he was designated as global ambassador by UNOPS. In 2011, he was honoured with the Pyramide con Marni award by UNESCO for his charitable responsibility to give education to kids. He became the first Indian to be conferred with this honour.
On 16 October 2015, Shah Rukh Khan was presented with an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotloand. He was conferred the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University Chancellor HRH The Princess Royal in Edinburgh.
