SRK was born to parents of Pathan ethnicity. But was raised by Hindus for most of his life. His father Taj Mohammed Khan was a freedom fighter. His mother Lateef Fatima was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose.
SRK's father came to Gurgaon from Qissa Kahani Bazaar in Peshawar before the Partition of India, while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, also in present-day Pakistan.
SRK has an elder sister, Shehnaz.
Khan attended St. Columbus School where he distinguished himself in sports, drama and academics. He won the Sword of Honor, an annual award given to the student who embodies the spirit of the school. He later studied at the Hansraj College (1985-1988) for an Honors degree in Economics. He then studied for a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia University
After the death of his parents, SRK moved from Gurgaon to Mumbai in 1991. In 1991, he married Gauri in a Hindu ceremony. They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000)
SRK trained in acting under celebrated Theatre Director Barry John, at Delhi's Theatre Action Group (TAG). He began his acting career on television in 1988 in a serial called Fauji (on Doordarshan) where he played a Commando, Abhimanyu Rai. He appeared in several other serials, notably Circus (1989), which depicted the lives of circus artistes, directed by Aziz Mirza. That same year he played a minor role in a television film, In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones, written by Arundhati Roy and was based on life at Delhi University.
His second release Maya Memsaab was embroiled in a controversy over SRK’s love-making scene with the heroine of the film, Deepa Mehta.But it was the phenomenal success of Abbas Mustan’s thriller Baazigar (1993) that made the difference. His performance as the man driven by revenge, who goes to the extent of killing the girl who loves him, won him rave reviews and his first Filmfare award for Best Actor. He followed it with another brilliant interpretation of a negative role in Yash Chopra’s Darr (1994), where he stalks a married woman he gets obsessed with. He was equally impressive as a young musician in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa which won him Filmfare’s Critics’ Award for Best Actor. He once again played an obsessive lover/psychopath in Anjaam. Even though the film was not a box office success, SRK's performance in it won him Filmfare’s Best Villain Award. His biggest achievement came in 1995, when Yashraj Films’ Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ ), directed by debutante Aditya Chopra, broke all box-office records (the film is still running in its 13th year in one of the theatres in Mumbai). It also won a lot of critical acclaim. In DDLJ, SRK was paired again with with Kajol. The two made a great romantic team, which was adjudged the romantic pair of the millennium. They had some the biggest blockbusters of the decade to their credit, like Karan Arjun, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham besides Baazigar in which they came together for the first time.
After a lull in 1996, SRK’s run of success continued with Yash Chopra’s blockbuster Dil to Pagal Hai in 1997. That same year he had another blockbuster in Subhash Ghai's Pardes. Aziz Mirza's Boss, though moderately successful at the box office, was highly appreciated. In 1998, he had another record-breaker in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai , Karan Johar's debut film, which won him his fourth Best Actor award from Filmfare. The SRK juggernaught has rolled on relentlessly through the ‘90s into the new millennium, and continues to roll on. In 2000 he came face to face histrionically with Amitabh Bachchan in Aditya Chopra's second film as director, Mohabbatein, and stole a scene or two from the megastar in a controlled, brilliantly-nuanced performance. It won him Filmfare's Critics Award for Best Actor for the second time.
SRK had two mega hits (Chak De ! India and Om Shanti Om) in 2007, and there is no sign of the tide turning. His phenomenal reign at the top which has lasted an unprecedented spell of 15 years, includes an incredible filmography with a wide range of films, ranging from such art-house flicks as Ketan Mehta’s Maya Memsaab and Mani Kaul’s Idiot and Cloud to DDLJ, Swades and Chak De!India . Mani Ratnam's Dil Se which did not do too well at the box-office in India, was the first film to make a substantial dent in the overseas market. In 2001 SRK set up his own production house Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla, and produced Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani in which both he and Juhi starred. in the first film from their production house. He also played a supporting role in Kamal Hassan's controversial film Hey Ram for which he received much acclaim although the film was a failure at the box-office.
As a Producer
SRK has also produced some of the films he has starred in but has had mixed success as both the producer and the star of his films. He set up a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza in 1999. The first two of the films he produced and starred in: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) and Asoka (2001) were box-office failures. His third film, as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte (2003), was the first box office hit from his production house. In 2004 he set up another production company called Red Chillies Entertainment and produced and starred in Main Hoon Na which was another hit at the box-office. In 2005 he produced and starred in the fantasy film Paheli, which was a box-office failure. It was India's official entry to the Oscars for a nomination for Best Foreign Film, but it did not pass the final selection. That same year he also co-produced the supernatural horror film Kaal with Karan Johar and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora SRK. Kaal was moderately successful at the box-office.
The latest film produced by his company Red Chillies Entertainment is Om Shanti Om which he has also starred in is a huge success and has broken records in the box-office.
As Television Host
SRK was chosen as the host of the third series of the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who wants to be a millionaire?, in 2007 taking over from the original host Amitabh Bachchan who had hosted the show from 2000 to 2005. On Monday, January 22, 2007, "KBC" aired with SRK as the new host. The season ended on April 19 2007.
