Shah Rukh Khan Turns 55: 7 Unknown Facts About The Superstar On His Birthday

Shah Rukh Khan turns 55 today and on this special occasion we treat his millions and zillions of fans with a few unknown facts about the superstar. 

Read on to know more about the Badshah of Bollywood:

1. His career-making role in Deewaana was meant to be played by star-son Armaan Kohli, veteran  filmmaker Raj Kumar Kohli’s hot-headed son who completed one schedule of the film and walked out after a tiff with director Raj Kanwar. Desperate for a refill, the producers signed the first newcomer who fitted the bill.

2. Shah Rukh’s Pathan character in Kamal Haasan’s Hey Ram was named Amjad Khan after Sholay’s Gabbar Singh whom Kamal Haasan was very close to. SRK didn’t charge a single penny for the film. “You don’t take money for the privilege of  working with an actor like Kamal Hassan,” he had told me.

3. Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan never came together. They almost did in Aamir’s cousin Mansoor Ali Khan’s Josh. Mansoor wanted Aamir to play Aishwarya’s love interest. But Aamir wanted to play Aishwarya’s twin brother. The role that Shah Rukh played.

4. Shah Rukh was so keen to play Sridevi’s love interest in Army that he agreed to do a cameo and also agreed to sport a moustache suitably match with the Diva.

5. In Koyla, Shah Rukh played a mute character. He originally had no dialogues. But then the distributors cribbed about the Superstar’s wordless presence and producer-director Rakesh Roshan had no choice but to make SRK talk in a dream sequence.

6. SRK loves all his co-stars. But his favourite is Raakhee Gulzar who played  his mother in Karan Arjun. SRK dotes on her and treats her like his own mother.

7. Shah Rukh Khan has played Shah  Rukh Khan many times over. He played himself for the first time in a little known Govinda starrer called Achanak. Two years later in M F Hussain’s Gaja Gamini, SRK again made a cameo appearance as himself. In 1995 Shah Rukh’s friend journalist Samar Khan who has made a documentary on SRK, cast  the superstar as  himself in Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye and in 2009 SRK again appeared as himself in Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance. In 2011 debutant director Saahil Sangha persuaded SRK to play a brief role as SRK in Love Breakups Zindagi. Makarand Deshpande’s Shah Rukh Bola ‘Khubsoorat Hai Tu’ was about a flower seller who dreams of meeting her idol SRK. One day she does meet him at the traffic stop. The film was about how her life changes after that one chance encounter.