SRK turns 58: Films that prove the actor is not just the 'King of Romance'

Mumbai, Nov 2 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is celebrating his birthday on Thursday, has been billed as the eternal king of romance. The man can sweep anybody off their feet with his irresistible charm, and his dialogue delivery in films that are laden with the themes of love and romance.

While he has done a 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' - a milestone in itself, 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', 'Veer-Zaara' among others, Shah Rukh Khan is not just all about romantic films.

Coming from a theatre background, SRK is adept at other genres as well, and his filmography has plenty of films to prove that.

On the King of Bollywood's 58th birthday, let's take a look at some of SRK's films that do not belong to the "romance" genre but still prove his mettle as an actor.

'Baadshah': The film has everything from good music (remember the viral Instagram Reels of 'Woh Ladki' and Dua Lipa's 'Levitating' mashups?), comedy, action and most important of all SRK at the helm belting it out on multiple aforementioned fronts. Over the years, 'Baadshah' has cultivated a loyal following owing to its narrative, the famous car scene that could give the Artificial intelligence of 2023 a run for its money, tense moments (a staple bomb defusion scene done with exemplary conviction) and the meme-worthy frames and Gifs. It won't be wrong to say that the film has aged like a fine wine.

'Don' franchise: Farhan Akhtar's reimagination of Chandra Barot's Amitabh Bachchan-starrer brought a shift for SRK from his stints in mid-2000s. Matching upto the veteran megastar's personna wasn't an easy feat but SRK broke grounds with his work not just amassing a huge fan base for the 2006 release but also setting the stage for the 2011 release 'Don 2'.

In fact, when it was announced that SRK will take a departure from the franchise by passing on the baton to Ranveer Singh, the fans of the franchise were left heartbroken and expressed their disappointment at SRK not being the 'Don' that they wanted, a protest that was not registered for Big B when SRK took over the reins from him in 2006 for the part.

'Swades': One of the finest films of Hindi cinema, saw the King in his full glory sketching up the performance of a lifetime that sadly did not connect with the masses at that time. The film narrates the story of an Indian origin NASA scientist who visits his homeland and decides to stay forever after witnessing the injustice, the discrimination, and different conflicts between his people.

One of the most poignant moments from the film is when in mid-close up shots, SRK buys a "kulhad" of water and hands a coin to a kid selling the water at a railway station. That one scene defines who and what Shah Rukh Khan is and what he could do with his eyes and his face. While 'Swades' may not have found success in theatres at the time of its release, over the years, it has become a cult film and has been downloaded and shared on Torrent a million times, viewed and respected for its path-breaking storytelling and SRK's stellar performance.

'Chak De! India': Another film from SRK which broke new grounds with its title track becoming the sports anthem for the nation every time it's on field battling its opponents, a phenomenon that started with India’s stellar stint at the 2007 T20 World Cup. 'Chak De! India' was born from the urge to do something for the Indian Women's Hockey Team by writer Jaideep Sahni, who met with the team for a documentary while they were struggling in the face of adversities.

When every door was shut on his face, Jaideep went to the YRF head-honcho Aditya Chopra with the idea who gave him the opportunity. A humble and obscure story suddenly became a core mainstream stuff the moment SRK came on-board for the film. His part as the coach of the women's hockey team - Kabir Khan, came with a lot of baggage as he was falsely accused of letting a crucial game slip away in the hands of India's arch-rivals - Pakistan and this became the bedrock for the story and for the character development of each player of the women’s hockey team.

The film exploded on the screen invoking patriotism and a strong feeling of coming together for the nation. SRK's monologue of "70 minute hain tumhaare paas" still reverberates in the locker rooms of sportspersons, and the scene where he breaks down after India's win at the finals makes you feel relieved of the weight that rested heavily on his chest throughout the course of the film, a mark of his acting prowess. Truly a stuff of legends.

'Pathaan': The final film on the list is his 2023 release which was a litmus test of his stardom given that he wasn’t seen on the big screen in over four years and was coming to the theatres after the controversy surrounding his son - Aryan Khan. With another controversy unfolding over the song 'Besharam Rang' for the use of saffron colour, 'Pathaan' released to a flying start on the big screens. Scores of fans and moviegoers flocked to theatres and before everyone knew it, the film switched on its nitro boost as it raced on the box-office destroying everything that came in its way.

The film became the biggest hit in Hindi cinema - a record that was later broken by another SRK film 'Jawan'. 'Pathaan' is an important film in his filmography in the sense of his tonal shift towards the genre of action from a romantic hero. It's strange that SRK got to do full-blown action in his 50s - a dream that he harboured during his 20s - to be an action hero - but was talked out of it by Aditya Chopra as the director told him, “Your eyes have something that cannot be just wasted on action".