Shah Rukh Khan Turns 61: How Did The Superstar Get 'King Khan', 'Baadshah Of Bollywood' Titles?

Shah Rukh Khan’s Birthday:

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan turned 61 years old on Monday, November 2. His fans across the world are celebrating this special day, and the makers of his upcoming film, King, have also released its first song, Tu Mil Jaaye. Over the years, the title ‘King’ has become synonymous with Shah Rukh in Bollywood. Did you know how SRK got his “King Khan” and “Baadshah of Bollywood” titles?

The 1999 film Baadshah, directed by Abbas-Mustan, played a significant role in popularising the monikers that would follow him throughout his career. Baadshah featured Shah Rukh Khan as Raj, a small-time private detective who gets mistaken for a secret agent. The film also starred Twinkle Khanna, alongside Amrish Puri, Johnny Lever and Rakhee

Gulzar.

While the film went on to acquire a cult following, its music also became an important part of its legacy, further cementing SRK as the “Baadshah of Bollywood”. Composer Anu Malik once told Hindustan Times, “The title track, Baadshah O Baadshah, has a great recall value for me. In fact, I had hummed this tune to Shah Rukh on the flight with different words.”

He added, “He fell in love with the tune, and then we thought of the word Baadshah. When Abbas-Mustan heard the idea, they felt that it goes with the title track. SRK earned the monikers King Khan and Baadshah after this song.”

The track’s popularity helped cement the association between the actor and the royal imagery that would become a defining part of his public identity. Interestingly, “Shah Rukh” also means “face of the king” in Persian. The actor has often referred to himself as the “King of Bollywood”, and over the years, his talent and skill have consistently proved why he deserves this tag.

His upcoming film, King, thus holds special value for his fans because of his name. Additionally, Shah Rukh Khan will share the screen with his daughter, Suhana Khan, who marks her theatrical debut in the film. King also stars Deepika Padukone, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan and Arshad Warsi, among others.

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