TV
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan needs no introduction. But, long before he became the 'Baadshah of Bollywood', SRK was known in Delhi’s St. Columba’s School as a sharp student with a flair for both academics and extracurricular activities. While most of his peers in the science stream were aiming for engineering or medicine, young Shah Rukh was more inclined toward economics and the arts. But, did you know that SRK cracked IIT just to prove a point to his mother.
The IIT Detour: Proof, Not Passion
According to interviews and published profiles, Shah Rukh Khan recounted that his mother challenged him to appear for the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) entrance exam, considered one of the toughest competitive tests in India. His mother believed that he should at least attempt the engineering entrance exams before choosing a different career path. To honour her wish, and perhaps to prove a point, he took the exam and cleared it.
Reflecting on the incident years later, SRK said, “My mom said, ‘show it to me.’ So I did it, and I passed it.”
The achievement demonstrated his intellectual ability, but it was never meant to be his career destination. For Khan, the IIT success was more about respect for his mother than a desire to pursue engineering.
Turning Toward The Stage
Despite cracking the IIT entrance, SRK chose a very different academic path. He went on to study Economics at Hansraj College, Delhi University, and later pursued a master’s degree in Mass Communication at Jamia Millia Islamia. However, fate had other plans.
His growing interest in theatre, nurtured at Barry John’s Theatre Action Group, gradually pulled him away from academics. Soon after, he began his journey in television with shows like Fauji and Circus, before making his Bollywood debut in the early 1990s.
