One of India’s most popular Bollywood actors, Shah Rukh Khan celebrates his 50th birthday on Nov. 2. Its the perfect occasion to revisit a 2005 film called The Inner World of Shahrukh Khan, which offers an insider’s perspective into Khan’s rise to stardom and the man behind the celebrity.
Directed by British-Indian filmmaker Nasreen Munni Kabir over a decade ago, the film was shot on and off the sets of the film Main Hoon Naa. It is a treat for fans, with numerous moving sequences where Khan talks about losing his parents at a young age and his early years of struggle in Mumbai. He also relives his childhood in Delhi through visits to his school and his mother’s grave. There’s even a peek into Khan’s family life inside his sea-facing mansion Mannat in Mumbai’s posh suburb Bandra.
Quite aptly, the film ends on Khan’s 40th birthday, with him reflecting on what films mean to him. “Me making a film is much more than getting another award or more money or being in the limelight,” he says in the film. “To me, making films is the only way I know how to get over sadness.”
While Khan is best-known for playing a romantic hero (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil To Pagal Hai, Veer Zara etc.), he’s also done his share of action films (Don, Don 2, Ra.One) and understated yet critically acclaimed roles (Swades, Chake De! India).
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