Shah Rukh Khan at 55: the Ambanis are his friends, he owns IPL’s Kolkata Knight Riders – but did you know he launched the career of Deepika Padukone?
Shah Rukh Khan became an overnight Bollywood icon with 1995’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge – today he hangs out with the Ambanis and is one of India’s most powerful men, but did you know he and wife Gauri started out penniless in Mumbai?
But before the fame, before SRK became a brand, before he landed dozens of top brand endorsements and top billing in successful films – like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham , Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Chak De India – Khan was an ordinary middle class man from Delhi, who, unlike the star kids of Bollywood’s blue-blooded families, had to struggle to make it in Mumbai, the city that launches a million dreams every day.
From his harum-scarum school days in Delhi to starting out on the small screen in 1989, Khan has come a long way indeed. Read on to find out what his life was like before the world of showbiz changed it forever.
He was a naughty kid who was top of his class in school
Whether in interviews or movie promotional events, Khan frequently talks about his childhood, which he remembers as a halcyon time. He went to St. Columbia’s School in Delhi, where, despite his antics and frequent run-ins with the teachers, he managed to excel, both in academics and sports like hockey.
Few know that the actor is well educated: he holds a degree in economics and a master’s degree in mass communications.
He and wife Gauri were practically penniless in Mumbai
Delhi-born Khan arrived in Mumbai in the late 80s with new bride Gauri in tow, and the couple spent long days in Bollywood studios as he worked, and lived off fresh air, love and omelettes.