There are people who hate him. There are people who love him. And there are people who are crazy after him. My affection for him has always been variegating. While I have loved some of his performances, I don’t like certain avatars of him.
One big problem I have had with Shahrukh khan’s acting is the times he hams on screen – you know when he is crying and gives that typical facial expression – which is totally a turn off.
Whenever he has steered clear from doing that on screen, he has given some brilliant performances. He is a fantastic actor, no doubt, and over the years, I have fallen in love with some of the characters he has played. Below is a list of my ten favorite Shahrukh films –
DISCLAIMER – Kuch kuch hota hai, Kabhi khushi kabhi gham, Devdas, Main hoon Na have not been included. Now you may read further.
SWADES
This is undoubtedly Shahrukh’s finest performance ever. With a wardrobe of only five to six simple smart shirts in the entire movie (And a dhoti in one scene), Shahrukh delivers his most restrained performance ever in this movie. He never hams, acts with utmost earnest and delivers a strong and effective performance. He brings in subtle humor where needed, and emotes brilliantly where needed without going overboard. His metamorphosis from the NRI Mohan to the Indian Mohan is portrayed brilliantly. Why I like this performance of his above all is because he is totally natural here. There are almost no hints to the fact that he is acting on screen. And that is a big feat.
My favorite dialogues –
Melaram – It is like, apni chaukhat ka diya, and giving light to neighbor’s house…
John – You do realize what you’re losing mohan.
Mohan – I do realize what I’m gaining john.
John – But you could have gone places.
Mohan – I AM going places.
John – Okay mohan, go light your bulb.
(aayo ree….)
CHAK DE INDIA
This one is almost at par with his performance in Swades. This one purely relies on his acting, expressions and maturity to handle a role. Playing a role sans a female lead, this movie tracks Ex – hockey player Kabir khan’s journey from a falsely accused player to becoming the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team and leading it to victory. He plays the rogue–ish coach with conviction. And the high point of the film is the scene in the climax where he finally breaks down on seeing his team win. The turmoil of emotions he undergoes is delivered by him with so reality that even we can’t help but cheer to see him getting his due finally.
My favorite dialogues
Pehli baar kisi gore ko bharat ka tiranga leheraate huye dekh raha hoon.
Woh kya hai na, hamari team mein chhakke nahi hote.
VEER ZAARA
This was bread and butter stuff for Shahrukh. Being the undisputed king of
Romance in the movies of both the Yash’s (Chopra and Johar) this one was cake walk. As squadron leader Veer pratap Singh, he leaves no stone unturned in charming us as he woos Zaara Hayaat khan. His portions with amitabh and hema malini are highly entertaining. But he gets even better when he confesses his love to zaara on the railway station. The portion where he is shown an aged prisoner is brilliant too. In short, he charms you for three full hours and he does it with aplomb.
My favorite dialogues (There are many)
Zaara’s mother – Kya tere mulk ka har beta tere jaisa hota hai?
Veer – Yeh toh pata nahi, lekin haan. Mere mulk ki har maa tere jaisi zaroor hoti hai.
Zaara – Aap kitni baar meri jaan bachaayege?
Veer – Aap jitni baar apni jaan ganwaayegi.
Veer – Sarhad paar ek aisa shaqs hai jo aapke liye apni jaan bhi de dega
KABHI HAAN KABHI NAA
This one is one of my personal favorite films. And from what I’ve read, this remains Shahrukh’s favorite film in which he has acted. Playing the role of the loser yet loved by all Sunil, he is superb in the film. His one sided love for Anna, falling to low grade levels to make her fall in love with him, his fight with his band – all only make us fall in love with the innocent character he portrays. As a viewer, our heart goes out for him when he searches for his roll number in the newspaper, only to discover he has failed (Again) or when his parents sing “Woh toh hai albela” for him. The performances by the rest of his group – suchitra krishnamoorthy, Deepak tijori, aditya lakhia, a young ashutosh Gowarikar, the “Rustam” of munnabhai, Naseerudin Shah and Tiku Talsania are superb, making this a gem of a movie. The ending of the movie only makes the experience better.
This is a movie to be savored, enjoyed, purely for its innocence. We actually feel happy for sunil when juhi chawla makes a cameo in the end and they both go together, as the don’s narration ends the movie.
KAL HO NA HO
A kind of tribute to “Anand”, Shahrukh plays the role of Aman. Entering the problem filled life of jennifer’s family, he charms and brings changes in the life of everyone, right from the youngest Gia to the oldest Dadi. While he battles with heart disease and his feelings for Naina, he makes sure he brings rohit and naina together before dying. One of Shahrukh’s most poignant performances, he is brilliant as the funny entertaining guy in the first half and as the ailing and dying hero in the second half. He does overdo his emotional scenes at places, but being a Karan Johar movie, he was expected to ensure that the audience left the theatres with their towels handkerchiefs wet.
My favorite dialogue
Naina kaash main tumhe bataa sakta, main tumhe kitna chaahta hoon.
I love you, I love you very very much naina.
Main aankhein bandh karta hoon toh tumhe dekhta hoon,
Aankhein kholta hoon toh tumhe dekhna chahta hoon.
MY NAME IS KHAN
Playing the role of Rizvaan khan suffering from Asperger’s syndrome, Shahrukh delivers one of his most earnest performances ever. Right from his style of walking to his way of talking and repeating things (Please don’t die mandira, don’t don’t die…), he totally enchants us. His attempts at impressing Kajol, or helping the flood stricken town of Georgia or his final meeting with the president – leave us impressed with his performance. A complex role, yet he plays it with finesse.
My favorite dialogue
Physics ki ek entrainment theory hai, jiske mutaabik kuch khaas aawaazon se dil ki dhadkane tez ho jaati hai. Mere liye toh mandira, woh aawaaz hamesha tumhari hasi ki rahi hai.
PARDES
Backed by a full patriotic theme, Subhash ghai left no stone unturned in defaming the American culture and glorifying the Bhartiya parampara and sanskriti. And so we have our hero – “Jo America mein palaa bada hua, magar phir bhi uske sanskaar Hindustani hai”. No wonder the gaav ki ganga ultimately marries him, leaving behind the “biting” “Rajeev from america”.
This one had all the material for Shahrukh fans – a kabaddi match where he is shown battling the entire opposite team single handedly, few studio and sad songs, and a typical climax where he departs wounded and covered in blood, only to be ultimately accepted back by Kishorilal. And shahrukh made full use of it. He made the audience laugh, made the oldies think “Kaash mera beta bhi tere jaisa hota” and the girls think “Kaash mera pati bhi tere jaisa hota”. This movie even gave me my all time favorite song till date – “Dil deewana”.
My favorite dialogue
Kishorilal – Kya rishta hai tumhara ganga ke saath?
Arjun – Vishwas ka, maan ka, maryaada ka, pooja ka, pyaar ka. Agar ganga ki hifaazat karna pyaar hai, toh pyaar hai, TOH HAI
MOHABBATEIN
This film was all about the intense chemistry between Amitabh and Shahrukh. At a point when amitabh was slowly sinking into failures, this film changed it all. It would be unfair to actually conclude which one of the two actors was better. If amitabh totally dominated the screen with few of his scenes with Shahrukh, the latter equally stands up against him especially in the climax scene. Shahrukh’s performance as Raj Aryan Malhotra was awesome. He looked superb with his round framed glasses and that amazing style of his where he tied his sweater in his neck (Something I still imitate). And the mere fact that his performance actually matches that by the greatest actor ever, is nothing short of an achievement. This one will be remembered for a long time for its dialogues, songs and the two leads.
My favorite dialogues
Megha – Koi pyaar kare toh tumse kare, tum jaise ho waise kare.
Aur agar koi tumhe badal kar pyaar kare, woh pyaar nahin sauda hota hai.
Raj Aryan – Main yahaan par itni mohabbat bhar doonga ki dus janmo tak bhi use koi yahaan se nikaal nahi paayega. Main yahaan par surya ki roshni itni tez kar doonga ki 25 saal se jo suraj se nazrein milaate aaya hai, use bhi jhukna hoga. Jo hamare saath hua woh kisi aur ke saath nahin hoga.
DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAAYENGE (DDLJ)
Need I say anything more? This one has the distinction of being the longest running film in the history of hindi cinema. Maratha mandir shows this movie even today in a matinee show, and from what I know, it goes houseful even today after 17 years. Everything about this movie is known upside down by film lovers, including me – I know each and every dialogue, every song (male and female portions both), the names of all characters, the SLAP in the end, and finally the EPIC-est train wala scene “JAA SIMRAN JEE LE APNI ZINDAGI”.
Even today, I watch this movie whenever it comes on television. While Shahrukh and kajol’s performances and chemistry were perfect, we also remember this movie for mandira bedi, parmeet sethi, Anupam kher as Pops, amrish puri, and of course Arjun Sablok (Director of na tum jaano na hum, neel n nikki) and Karan johar.
CHALTE CHALTE
This one released sometime around the time Saathiya released. Having a similar storyline, there were chances that this one might not have worked. But chalet chalet went on to become a hit – Dreamz unlimited’s first and last hit movie. Playing the role of a very egoistic and yet lovable truck driver Raj, shahrukh khan plays the romantic role brilliantly once again. The first half where he keeps following priya, wooing her, and reminding her that he still had a chance, instantly brings a big smile on our face. The tension between the couple post marriage is also shown wonderfully. The music and the two stellar performances made this movie superb. Why I love this movie, even I exactly don’t know one single reason. But it is one of my all time favorite films. That’s it.
My favorite dialogues
Raj – Yaad rakhna, duniya ke kisi ek kone mein ek aadmi khush hai, kyonki tum khush ho.
Raj – Main zindagi bhar kaash nahi kehna chahta priya
Some of his guest appearances I liked - Kuch meetha ho jaaye (Awesome), Bhootnath (Very good) and Saathiya (Short but superb).
Please do write your favorite movies in the comments section and do let me know how far you agree with me.
