Shah Rukh As King Khan

Biography

Khan was born in Nov 2, 1965 to Muslim parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India. His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, was an Indian freedom fighter from Peshawar, British India. According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan.His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose. Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the partition of India, while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, British India. Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.

Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama, and academics. He won theSword of Honour, an annual award given to the student who best represents the spirit of the school. Khan later attended the Hansraj College (1985-1988) and earned hisEconomics (honors). Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to make his career in Bollywood.

After the death of his parents, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991. In that same year, before any of his films were released, he married Gauri Chibber (who is a Hindu) in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991. They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Allah, he also values his wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with the Qur'an being situated next to the Hindu gods.

In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced a two-part documentary on Khan, titled The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. Featuring his 2004 Temptations concert tour, the film contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. The book Still Reading Khan, which details his family life, was released in 2006. Another book by Anupama Chopra, "King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema", was released in 2007. This book described the world of Bollywood through Khan's life.

Khan has been awarded a number of honours. He was honoured with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India in 2005. In April 2007, a life-size wax statue of Khan was installed at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London. Another statue was installed at the Musée Grévin in Paris, the same year. During the same year, he was accorded the Order of the Arts and Literature award by the French government for his “exceptional career”.

In October 2008, Khan was conferred the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka which carries the honorific Datuk (in similar fashion to "Sir" in British knighthood), by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia. Khan was honoured for "promoting tourism in Malacca" by filming One Two Ka Four there in 2001. Some were critical of this decision. He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009.