Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has been ruling the hearts of movie lovers for over two decades now. He has earned the reputation of being the ‘King of Romance’ in the cine industry, and dozens of movies are proof. In fact in his debut movie Deewana, his character was showcased as a lover boy. He tried to continue his journey with the same image in consecutive films, but in vain. However, he again hogged the limelight when he played antagonist or anti-hero avatars in Baazigar and Darr.
Several leading actors at the time had denied portraying the characters with a negative image, but, SRK took the risk and managed to grab the eyeballs of many who initially ignored him.
Talking about the days when he was making huge efforts to secure his place in Bollywood, SRK revealed that a director called him ‘ordinary and ugly’.
“If you really believe in something that you want to be, you don’t have to be talented enough, you don’t have to be good looking enough, you don’t have to be gifted enough, you don’t have to have any familial connections. It will all come by, it has for me. I don’t think I am either of these things. I never thought I am,” said the Pathan actor.
Narrating about his struggle in the initial days, King Khan said, “When I came to the film industry, one of the reasons and this is a secret, I have never said on any interview. When I came to the industry, the reasons I agreed to do roles which other guys were saying no to for whatever their mindset was. Darr or Baazigar, because I thought, I am not good-looking enough to be a hero, so let me just get a villain and get a job.”
SRK also revealed that a director referred to him as ordinary and ugly. “There’s a wonderful director friend of mine, and he met me and he said, ‘you are so ordinary and ugly looking’. Yeah, he told me on my face, ‘that I can use you for anything that’s very interesting about you and I believe that. Not because he told me, but I believe that. I took on the roles because I just wanted to act,” he said.
As a note of encouragement for aspiring actors who have dreams of reaching the pinnacle of success like SRK, the Jawan actor said, “Please go ahead and do whatever you really believe in. Don’t worry about the outside world, having assumptions, and having criterion for, this is right, this is how you should be. This is how you shouldn’t be, just do it. And I think it will turn out right.”