Shah Rukh Khan Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shah Rukh Khan

• Shah Rukh Khan, also known as SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who mostly works in Hindi films. He is also called the “Baadshah of Bollywood,” “King of Bollywood,” and “King Khan.” Shah Rukh, who has a lot of fans in Asia and around the world, is recognized as one of the most successful actors in Bollywood. He is also considered to be among the most popular actors worldwide.

• Shah Rukh Khan was born into a middle-class family; his father used to run a transport company and his mother was a magistrate.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan’s Childhood Photo

• At the time of his birth, he was named Abdul Rehman by his maternal grandmother; however, his father later named him Shah Rukh Khan. ^[17]Deccan Chronicle

• His family used to live in rental houses. Initially, they lived in a bungalow in Rajinder Nagar’s F Block. Later, when Shah Rukh turned 15, they shifted to Gautam Nagar.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan’s Rajinder Nagar House in Delhi

  

  Shah Rukh Khan’s Gautam Nagar House in Delhi

• During an interview, he told that his mother was a South Indian and belonged to Andhra Pradesh, who later moved to Karnataka.

• He spent his childhood at his maternal grandparents’ house in Bengaluru. During an interaction at the alumni meet of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Shah Rukh said,
  

  I was adopted by my grandparents when my parents were working hard to make ends meet. So I spent the first five to six years of my life in Bengaluru.

  

  A view of the house of Iftekhar Ahmed, the maternal grandfather of Shahrukh Khan, in Bengaluru

• Shah Rukh Khan’s father, Taj Mohammad Khan, was connected to the noted Indian freedom fighter, Subhash Chandra Bose as his father was the cousin of General Shah Nawaz, who was the second-in-command to Subhash Chandra.
  

  A File Photo of General Shah Nawaz Khan With Subhash Chandra Bose

• Shah Rukh Khan’s father hailed from Peshawar and belonged to the Pathan community. He was active in politics. According to Shah Rukh Khan, his father played a significant role as a freedom fighter and was the youngest freedom fighter at the age of 15 at that time. Taj Mohammad Khan contested the 1957 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate from the Gurgaon constituency; he lost the elections to Maulana Azad. ^[18]Hindustan Times ^[19]1957 General Election – Statistical Report

• Shah Rukh’s parents had a love marriage. They met each other for the first time in a hospital, where his mother was injured and needed blood. At that time, his father donated blood to his mother. Their love started at that moment.

• He was just 15 years old when his father died due to cancer in 1981.

• Just like his parents, Shah Rukh also had a love marriage. In an interview, Shah Rukh’s wife, Gauri, revealed that they faced many obstacles from their families because of their religious differences, and her mother was against her wedding with Shah Rukh completely. Gauri said,
  

  We were so young and then to take a decision to get married and to a person who is going to join films, and being from a different religion.”

  Gauri also revealed that Shah Rukh once changed his name to Abhinav to make her parents believe that he was a Hindu. Gauri said,

  We changed his name to Abhinav so they (her parents) feel he is a Hindu boy but that was really silly and very childish.”

  Mustaq Sheikh, in his book Shah Rukh Can, revealed that for his Hindu wedding with Gauri, Shah Rukh changed his name to Jeetendra Kumar Tulli,’ which was a tribute to yesteryear stars Jeetendra and Rajendra Kumar, whose full name is Rajendra Kumar Tulli.  One more reason to choose the name was that Shah Rukh’s grandmother believed he resembled a lot like Jeetendra. Similarly, Gauri too had to change her name for their Muslim wedding ceremony; she changed her name from Gauri to Ayesha. ^[20]Zee News

• He was named Shahrukh, which means “Face of the King,” but he prefers to write his name as ‘Shah Rukh Khan.’

• Shah Rukh Khan has an immense love for video games.

• He was a sportsman in his school days. Once, while he was playing football in the Dr. Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi, he kicked a ball during a penalty and tore up his entire right side muscle. He was then, on bed rest for a month and his sports career came to an end.

• Apart from being good at sports like football, hockey, and cricket, Shah Rukh was also fond of the many popular Indian street games like flying the kites and playing Gilli-Danda and Kancha (Marbles).

• While playing cricket in his school and college days, Shah Rukh mostly used to do wicket-keeping.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan Playing Cricket In His Younger Days

• He was awarded the ‘Sword of Honor’ title at St. Columba’s School, New Delhi, which was assigned to the best student of the school.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan Received Sword Of Honour

• During an interview, he shared that he doesn’t take shower on Sundays.

• In his school days, Shah Rukh, along with four of his close friends, Bikash Mathur, Vivek Khushalani, Raman Sharma, and Ashok Vassan, had formed a special gang at St Columba’s School, known as the C-gang, where ‘C’ stood for cool.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan’s C Gang

• In his youth, he used to mimic legendary Bollywood actors like Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Mumtaz, etc.

• While he was in Hansraj College, SRK was closely involved with the Theatre Action Group (TAG) and was mentored by Barry John.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan Performing in a Play During His College Days

  

  Shah Rukh Khan With Barry John

• When asked about his connection with the National School of Drama (NSD), he said,
  

  I wasn’t a part of the National School of Drama, but I used to work with a lot of actors who were from there. Manoj (Bajpayee) wasn’t from there either, but he and I worked with actors like Raghuvir Yadav and others who were a part of NSD. They used to help with our syntax and enunciation when we were doing theatre in Delhi. I learnt a lot from them. My father used to run the canteen at NSD, which is how I got to know all the amazing actors from there.”

• His first salary was ₹50, which he earned by working as an escort at Pankaj Udhas‘s concert in Delhi. Once, he even tried to expand a small restaurant in Dariya Ganj, but it didn’t work.

• After receiving his first salary, Shah Rukh took the train to Agra and visited the Taj Mahal.

• His friend, Vivek Vaswani, helped him in his struggling days. The latter also went on to work with him as a co-actor in the films, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Josh.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan With Vivek Vaswani

• He was first offered a role in Lekh Tandon’s television show “Dil Dariya,” but there were continuous delays in the broadcasting of the show, which led his series “Fauji” to become his television debut.

• A strong reason to do Fauji was that before coming into the field of acting, Shah Rukh wanted to join the Indian Army. During an interview, when asked what he would have done if he wasn’t an actor, he said,
  

  I always wanted to join the Army, so I would have aimed for that had acting not happened.”

  

  Shah Rukh Khan During the shoot of the film, Fauji

• He has done small roles in TV serials like “Umeed,” “Wagle Ki Duniya,” and “Mahan Karz.” He even featured in the English film “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones,” in which he worked with Arundhati Roy. The film is also considered his debut English film.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan in a still from In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (L), a young Arundhati Roy (R)

• After his mother’s demise in 1991, he shifted to Mumbai along with his sister.

• According to Gauri, she was not pleased with the decision to relocate from Delhi to Mumbai with Shah Rukh Khan, who then wanted to become an actor. She found the film industry and the city itself unfamiliar at that time. While talking about this, in an interview, Gauri revealed that at one point, she secretly wished that Shah Rukh Khan’s films would not go well at the box office as it would give them a reason to return to Delhi. ^[21]Hindustan Times In the interview, Gauri Khan said,
  

  Because I was not too happy about him coming to Bombay. I actually didn’t even know when he became a star. It was very shocking for me first to be here, and films and everything. It was very, very difficult. I actually didn’t want his films to do well. I thought if it flopped, I should go back to Delhi. Because when you are so young and I got married at 21. Films, how and what happens, everything was so new. For me it was like nothing should run and everything should be a flop.”

• SRK got his first offer in Hema Malini‘s directional debut “Dil Aashna Hai,” but he made his acting debut with “Deewana,” which was released in June 1992.
  

  Dil Aashna Hai Poster

• Later, he featured in films like “Chamatkar,” “Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman,” “Maya Memsaab,” “King Uncle,” “Baazigar,” and “Darr.” He even did a cameo in the Bollywood film “Pehla Nasha.”

• Although he doesn’t stammer in his real life, his dialogue “I love you K…k…k Kiran” from the film “Darr” became an evergreen hit.

• In 1994, he signed the film “Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa” and was offered an amount of ₹25,000 only for the entire film. He even sold the movie tickets at the booking window on the opening day of the film in one of the cinemas in Mumbai.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan In Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa

• He became a household name after the blockbuster film “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.”

• While shooting for the song “Chaiya Chaiya” from the film “Dil Se” on a moving train, Shah Rukh was the only person who was not tied to the train. All the other dancers were tied to the train for protection.

• By the late 90s, he had become a public sensation, especially among teenagers, and was identified as an icon of romance in India without even actually kissing any of his co-stars on screen till then, which led him to earn the title of the “King of Romance.”

• Besides ruling the world of acting, he is also famous for his hosting skills, which have been justified in numerous award shows starting with the 48th Filmfare Awards and then in a row- 49th, 52nd, 53rd, 55th, 57th, 58th, 61st, 62nd, and 63rd Filmfare Awards. He has also hosted the 20th and 21st Life OK Screen Awards and the 6th, and 14th International Indian Film Academy Awards.

• SRK also hosted season 3 of the game reality show Kaun Banega Crorepati, which aired on StarPlus.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan Hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 3

• Shah Rukh later hosted the game show “Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?” which was an Indian version of the popular American game show, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
  

  Shah Rukh Khan hosting Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain?

• He has a fear of riding horses and hates eating ice-creams.

• SRK, along with Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta, bought the ownership rights to the franchise representing Kolkata in the Twenty20 cricket tournament IPL for $75.09 million and later, renamed it to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
  

  Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders

• He has also been the brand ambassador of various government campaigns like “Pulse Polio” and “National AIDS Control Organisation.” He was delegated by the UNOPS as the first global ambassador of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.

• In 2012, SRK made his first on-screen kiss in the film “Jab Tak Hai Jaan.”

• In 2013, Shah Rukh Khan founded the Meer Foundation (NGO), which works to rehabilitate burn and acid attack survivors and empower women in India.

• In the same year, his biography titled “King Khan: The Official Opus of Shah Rukh Khan” was published, which made him the first Indian actor and the second Indian citizen, after Sachin Tendulkar, to have his biography published by Kraken Opus.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan’s Book- King Khan: The Official Opus of Shah Rukh Khan

• On 27 May 2013, his son, AbRam Khan, was born through surrogacy.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan With His Son Abram

• SRK’s double role in the film “Fan” was highly praised by viewers. For this movie, he was transformed into a 25-year-old individual, and this challenge was taken up by the International makeup artist Greg Cannom, who has won three Academy Awards.
  

  Shahrukh Khan’s Transformation In Fan

• In 2017, he came up with an Indian talk show- TED Talks India Nayi Soch produced by TED conferences.

• SRK was conferred the 24th annual Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum for his tremendous work for women’s empowerment, acid attack victims, and child rights.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan Receiving Human Rights Awareness Award

• He has his wax statue showcased in London’s Madame Tussaud’s Museum.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan With His Wax Statue At London’s Madame Tussaud’s Museum

• SRK has charmed people worldwide with his signature pose, i.e., spreading his arms wide open.

• In 2018, Aanand L. Rai came up with a movie titled “Zero,” featuring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role. The film was also in the news for Sridevi‘s last appearance in films.

• SRK has a great obsession with numerology and is very much superstitious about the number 555 as he believes it brings good luck for him. Moreover, most of his cars have registered number 555 and his personal e-mail ID also contains the same number.

• Despite believing in Islam, he equally values his wife’s religion and teaches his children too, to do the same. He once said that at his home, the Qur’an was situated next to the Hindu Gods.

• Shah Rukh Khan revealed in an interview that he was not a nature lover.

• In 2019, he made headlines for his appearance in a series of videos for Dubai Tourism’s #BeMyGuest campaign. In the video, he was seen alongside superheroes Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor as they joined hands to solve a riddle in Dubai.

View this post on Instagram

Superpowers… Do I need them to find all the Dubai coins? Can I beat the odds this time? Watch the action unfold… #BeMyGuest @visit.dubai

A post shared by Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) on Mar 21, 2019 at 12:27am PDT

• In October 2019, Shah Rukh Khan appeared on David Letterman’s talk show, which featured on Netflix.

• He is a night person and sleeps every day at around 5 in the morning.

• During a rapid-fire round of a chat show, he revealed that he was obsessed with computers.

• During the 2019 Diwali bash at Amitabh Bachchan‘s house, Shah Rukh Khan saved Aishwarya Rai‘s manager, Archana Sadanand, from fire. Archana was with her daughter in the courtyard when her lehenga caught fire. While everyone else got stunned by the incident, Shah Rukh rushed to her and put out the fire.

• In 2019, La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia started a PhD Scholarship named after Shah Rukh Khan. The scholarship was announced at an event where the actor was the chief guest; India’s Gopika Kottantharayil Bhasi from Thrissur in Kerala was awarded the maiden scholarship. Later, the scholarship was put to a halt amid the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions. In August 2022, the actor announced to revive the scholarship. ^[22]The Times of India

• In June 2022, he announced on Twitter that he had become the owner of a women’s cricket team named Trinbago Knight Riders under his Knight Riders cricket team franchise.

This is such a happy moment for all of us at @KKRiders @ADKRiders & of course the lovely set of people at @TKRiders Hope I can make it there to see this live!! https://t.co/IC9Gr96h92

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) June 17, 2022

• In July 2023, he was announced as the brand ambassador for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. While launching the World Cup 2023 campaign, the ICC shared a video clip of the actor’s iconic voice on its official social media platforms.

• Shah Rukh Khan was a chain smoker, a habit that he has admitted on several occasions. He has apologized many a time to his fans for this bad habit and advised them to get themselves away from this evil habit. ^[23]Koimoi He was often spotted smoking in public. ^[24]The Free Press Journal On 2 November 2024, he claimed that he had quit smoking, further revealing that he experienced breathlessness due to excessive smoking.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan smoking in public

• Apart from his smoking habit, the actor is often spotted consuming alcoholic beverages on various occasions.
  

  Shah Rukh Khan consuming alcoholic beverages

• In 2023, Shah Rukh Khan played a dual role in the film ‘Jawan,’ which got a collection of Rs. 129.6 crore on its first day, making it the biggest opening day in the history of Indian cinema. ^[25]Hindustan Times

• In October 2023, the Maharashtra government granted Y+ security to Shah Rukh Khan due to death threats from the Bishnoi gang. These threats emerged following the release of the films ‘Jawan’ and ‘Pathaan.’ ^[26]Business Today

• He was reported to have played a part in the release of seven Navy officers in Qatar on 12 February 2024, but he denied his involvement and credited the Indian government instead. ^[27]The Times of India

• In the same year, there was an argument between him and Ness Wadia, the co-owner of Punjab Kings, regarding the number of retentions or Right to Match cards that should be allowed for the mega auction before IPL 2025. This argument took place during a conference organized by the BCCI.

• In October 2024, he organised a party in Dubai to launch his streetwear brand, D’YAVOL X. The party was attended by many popular Dubai-based influencers such as Mariam Hussein, Faryal Makhdoom, Farhana Bodi, Loujain Adada, and Elvira Jain. It took place at Sky 2.0 in the Dubai Design District (d3).

• On 2 November 2024, Khan received a death threat from a man in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The man on the call demanded Rs. 50 lakh in ransom and threatened to kill him if he did not receive the money.

• Initially, the Mumbai Police registered a case against the person whose name was associated with the phone number; however, it was later discovered that the man had lost his phone and had even filed an FIR for it.