Shahrukh Khan - in The Media

In The Media

Khan was given the birth name "Shahrukh" (meaning "Face of the King"), but prefers his name to be written as "Shah Rukh Khan", and is also commonly referred to as SRK. Khan has various homes in India and abroad. His house in Mumbai called Mannat is a well-known tourist spot and is considered a heritage building, deemed important to the townscape and hence exempt from demolition. In addition, he also has a house in New Delhi. Khan also owns a £20 million apartment in London and a 4 billion villa on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. He said in a television interview that "I bought the house, because one can see the island from the moon." Khan's net worth is estimated at over 25 billion (US$540 million)

Globally, Khan is considered to be one of the biggest movie stars, with a fan following claimed to number in the billions. He is also of one the most watched movie stars in the world, and one of the most recognisable faces of Indian cinema. In 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world. In 2011, The Los Angeles Times noted: "He is the biggest movie star you’ve never heard of. And perhaps the world’s biggest movie star, period. " His success and popularity has been attributed as the result of his emergence in the era of liberalisation and changing economic scenario in the 1990s. He was often described as the face and catalyst of a new consumerist urban society, and that he has managed to personify "the restless spirit of post-liberalization, ambitious, assertive and yet feel-good India. "

Khan has been noted for having several trademark mannerisms, gestures and ways of delivering dialogues. As it has been cited by CNN-IBN: "The mannerisms that have earned him both brickbats and endeared him to his fans over the years – that half nod, raised brow gesture, a deep dimpled smile and a deliberate stammer – were absent when he debuted. If he picked them up later to addapt to the big screen, they stayed for the rest of his acting career. " Due to his appearance in numerous romantic films, Khan has developed a "romantic lover boy" image and is referred to as the "King of Romance" by media outlets. He has been accused of repeating himself through the type of characters that he played, referred to as the "Rajs and Rahuls", or him not being able to shed the superstar persona on screen. In 2011, Rediff listed him in the top 10 "Readers Choice: The Greatest Actors of all time".

Khan has been featured regularly in the listing of the most powerful names of Indian Cinema. In 2004, he was awarded the Filmfare Power Award (shared with Amitabh Bachachan) for topping the Filmfare list of the "Ten Most Powerful Names of Bollywood", and again in 2005. In 2006 he was ranked as second overall behind Yash Chopra and his son Aditya and the most powerful actor, an achievement he would go on to repeat till 2009. He occupied the top slot of Box Office India's Top Actors list for the first time in 1994 for two consecutive years, then again in 1998 and for the majority of the 2000s (from 2002 till 2008). He was voted the sexiest Asian man in the world by Eastern Eye in 2007, and was ranked third in 2008 and 2011. He was also declared by FICCI as one of the "Ten Most Powerful Entertainer of the Decade". In a 2009 poll conducted by the newspaper DNA, he was voted as India's second most popular icon behind Sachin Tendulkar. In a 2012 Hindustan Times Youth Survey, Khan was declared as the biggest role model for youth in India.

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 by Mushtaq Sheikh, 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. It describes the world of Bollywood through Khan's life. In 2010, Discovery Travel & Living channel produced a ten-part series titled Living with a Superstar-Shah Rukh Khan. The series was the biggest Indian show on television, with a budget of nearly 20 million, highlighting Khan’s daily living, film-making, IPL venture and global lifestyle. Khan is also the first actor and the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to have an official Opus dedicated to him.