Turning 57 this year, the Baadshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, celebrates his birthday on November 2, 2022. With the year reaching its closure, his fans are already gearing up for his comeback with a bang next year with releases like Pathaan, Dunki, Jawan, and some pivotal cameos in movies like Tiger 3. He has ruled over hearts ever since his first break alongside Rishi Kapoor and Divya Bharti in Deewana (1992). However, much to his fan base’s displeasure he’s been on a sabbatical since 2018 with Zero being his last release of the year.
Anupama Chopra calls him the “modern-day god” in her book King Of Bollywood while praising his rising trajectory in the Indian film industry. She defines his story as “how a middle-class Muslim boy from Delhi became one of the biggest movie stars in the biggest film industry in the world, is a legend”. It’s a pioneering story of one of the major ‘firsts’ in Bollywood, markedly run on a nepotistic fuel, about how an outsider established himself in such an industry by simply relying on his guts and talent. And the public loves a classic tale of the underdog winning the world over, just like SRK did.
Gaining traction on the basis of the signature romantic hero vision and his symbolic pose that takes not only his onscreen significant other in his embrace but also the audience, the 1965-born actor has instituted a brand of himself. It brings along the weighty star-studded baggage as his trademark, thus, supporting every project he is a part of. Whether he is the main star or not, his fans, who probably make up the whole world at this juncture, crave to even catch a glimpse of the accomplished artist.
It’s the same idea that has helped numerous films grasp the audience’s favor over the years, with the fans coming out of the theatres, exclaiming how his presence alone took the movie to the next level. With an endless record of special appearances under his name, even the actor’s voice is enough to leave an unforgettable mark on the viewers’ memories.
Listed below are those Indian film titles that have featured him either as himself, partaking in a song number, or as the narrator of the story. Some of his cameos are even winking notes, working as throwbacks to the previously adorned characters by him. Take a look!
List of Shah Rukh Khan Cameos Over the Years
Appearing for a Song
Kaal (2005)
The 2000s and all the songs featuring SRK are two aspects of Bollywood that agree with each other wholeheartedly. Although the movie itself was a horror flick starring Ajay Devgan, John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi, Esha Deol, and Lara Dutta, its sensual track became a raging item back in the day as the actor grooved along with Malaika Arora, a dancing duo who already held a charming track record for dancing atop a train for Dil Se‘s Chaiyya Chaiyya in 1998. The Bollywood King also came in as the co-producer of the film with Karan Johar.
Alag (2006)
Starring as a special appearance in Sabse Alag, a track from the movie, the actor was accompanied by several other notable Bollywood stars who raised the bar for the industry in this era.
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I see You (2006)
With Arjun Rampal leading the romantic comedy alongside Vipasha Agarwal, its song Subah Subah is an upbeat introduction to the film sung by Zubeen Garg, featuring SRK as the guitar-playing company for Rampal during his morning travels, and has Hritik Roshan joining them later.
Heyy Baby (2007)
Taking upon his visage from the ’95 classic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge‘s Raj Malhotra, Mast Kalandar celebrates one of the most glamorous cameos of the actor. It’s safe to say that his entry in this song has a fandom reserved all to itself. As a moving gesture, he quickly steps aside from the story after delivering his nifty dance performance to allow Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan’s characters to enjoy their own romantically dysfunctional saga.
Krazzy 4 (2008)
Gearing up for his solo Michael Jackson-esque performance in Krazzy 4‘s Break Free, Khan sports his suave low-head ponytail and is keen on alluring his audience. The song alone has a charm that unintentionally precedes the film’s intentions.
Always Kabhi Kabhi (2011)
Stepping in as the second producer after Gauri Khan, Khan starred alongside the four leading actors – Ali Fazal, Zoa Morani, Satyajeet Dubey, and Giselli Monteiro – of the Hindi teen movie in its promotional as well as a post-credits track titled Antenna.
Bombay Talkies (2013)
Yet another star-studded track boasting the glitzy world of Bollywood is Apna Bombay Talkies starring Khan himself with Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan, Ranveer Singh and many more.
CHARACTER SPINS OR THROWBACKS:
Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (2000)
The ‘Multiverse of Madness’ was barely an official feat in 2000 but Bollywood didn’t need to build a pantheon of superheroes to kick-start its own crossovers. Joining Salman Khan, SRK breaks open into the hospital where Rani Mukherji’s Pooja is in a coma. Including yet another instance of pressurized marriage (wink* Kuch Kuch Hota Hai *wink) with Anjali (one of the few) being a part of the mess as well.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)
Playing the unrequitedly love-stricken Tahir Taliyar Khan, who naturally exudes his bewitching charm with one-liners that have you holding on to your chest. Although his character is a new twist, it’s enough to take us down the nostalgic train ride as it puts him opposite Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, an onscreen partner with whom he’s delivered some of the finest pieces of Hindi cinema like Mohabbattein, Devdas, Josh and more. This reunion set in the recent 21st century is a gift-wrapped blessing for all millennials and early Gen-Z audiences.
Brahmastra (2022)
Probably one of the most sizeable cameos on this list is when King Khan reprised his role as the Swades-ian scientist Mohan Bhargav, wielding the Vanarastra in Ayan Mukherji’s Astraverse origin movie starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in the lead. Fans broke all their calm dispositions to voice out their adoration for SRK’s mere extended cameo in the movie as soon as the film came out, thus, reigniting hopes of his big-screen comeback in the hearts of many.
Tiger 3 (2023)
Although unreleased at the moment, the Yash Raj Productions’ Tiger threequel is one of the most anticipated movies of the upcoming year. Raising our expectations with the return of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif’s spy duo, the film will also have King Khan’s special presence as Feroz Pathan (the titular character of his own 2023 release).
Appearing as Himself:
Khan has a multitude of appearances wherein he has graced films as himself, either playing the part of an encouraging mentor lending impactful pieces of advice – Luck By Chance (2009) – or as a journalist leading the scene with his inquisitive series of questions – Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022). Pehla Nasha (1993) brought together the forces of the three Bollywood Khans – SRK, Aamir Khan, and Saif Ali Khan, all three playings themselves in their respective cameos.
Moving further along the years, Khan also appeared in Basu Chatterjee’s Gudgudee (1997), Naresh Malhotra’s Achanak (1998), and M.F. Hussain’s Gaja Gamini (2000) starring Madhuri Dixit. Entering the 21st century, he then appeared in Samar Khan’s directorial debut Kuchh Meetha Ho Jaye (2005), Sahil Sangha’s Love Breakups Zindagi (2011), and then finally, learns the ropes of his signature pose from the young Laal Singh in Laal Singh Chaddha (2022).
Makrand Deshpande’s 2010 film Shah Rukh Bola “Khoobsurat Hai tu” had the actor initiate the changing tide of the protagonist’s life. The film’s events are based on the titular comment passed by him which had him appreciate his biggest fan’s beauty.
Joining in as the Narrator (or Voiceover)
Quite a few movies in the 2000s had Shah Rukh Khan’s gruff and husky voice leading by example and setting the actor’s career apart with his voiceover narrating and establishing the backdrop of the film. Silsiilay (2005) had him joining in as the Sutradhar, with Shaurya (2008) lending his voiceover and Kismat Konnection (2008) and The Zoya Factor (2019) presenting him as the narrator.
Others:
Yet again, the brotherly pair of Karan-Arjun i.e. Salman Khan and SRK shared cameos in Mehmood’s drama film Dushman Duniya Ka (1996) with SRK portraying Badru’s character. In 2000, he also went on to play the bearded archeologist Amjad Khan in Kamal Hassan’s Hey Ram, for which he acted for free, just as a means to gain some experienced lessons from the veteran actor.
Shakti: The Power (2002) had him pick up the mask of Jai Singh whose role was limited to saving the life of Karishma Kapoor’s Nandini. His Bihari hoodlum persona is most remembered by his dance number beside Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the song Ishq Kameena.
Entering Saathiya (2002) only toward the end, Yeshwant Rao appears as the husband of Savitri (played by Tabu), his sickly wife. Khan’s cameo is to save his wife from the aftermath of the tragic accident caused by her and is thus intimidated by Vivek Oberoi’s protagonist. Later Savitri comes clean and lifts the sword from Rao’s head.
Starring as Aditya Sharma i.e. Juhi Chawla’s onscreen husband and Banku’s (Aman Siddiqui) father, Khan stepped out for both Bhootnath (2008) and its sequel Bhootnath Returns (2014), sharing the screen with Amitabh Bachchan’s titular friendly ghost. Walking in as the childhood buddy of the late Irrfan Khan’s Billu (2009), Khan assumed the role of the A-star fictional Bollywood persona Sahir Khan. Thereafter, in 2010, he came out to resolve wedding complications in Dulha Mil Gaya‘s (2010) extended cameo as Pawan Raj Gandhi.
Lastly, jumping into Salman Khan’s Tubelight (2017), Baadshah Khan’s reunion with the leading actor presented him as a magician by the name of Gogo Pasha, the desi analog of Ben Chaplin’s character in Hollywood’s Little Boy (2015). (Check out SRK’s Twitter account by clicking here.)
Now, that’s a long list of surprises all the way from the 1990s to present-day Hindi Cinema. The one thing that’s guaranteed is that King Khan knows how to make an entrance and own his time onscreen, be it for a minute or for the entire span of a movie he’s steering. Bollywood will never meet another meticulous acting wizard like him, which only sharpens the anticipation for his upcoming movie titles, thereby breaking his long hiatus that has only made every day since 2018 a despairing affair for his fans but not anymore.
Happy Birthday, Shah Rukh Khan!
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