First marriage, early roles, and breakthrough (1991–2000) In 1991, Khan was cast as the male lead in
Rahul Rawail's romantic drama
Bekhudi (1992) alongside debutante
Kajol. After completing the first
shooting schedule of the film, he was considered to be unprofessional by Rawail, and was replaced by
Kamal Sadanah. While filming
Bekhudi, Khan met actress
Amrita Singh whom he married in October 1991. Singh gave birth to their daughter
Sara in 1995, and to their son
Ibrahim in 2001. The couple separated in 2004. In 1993, Khan made his acting debut with Yash Chopra's
Parampara. The film, which tells the story of two estranged brothers (played by
Aamir Khan and Khan), failed to find a wide audience. For his performance in the former, Khan earned the
Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut at the
39th Filmfare Awards. Khan paired up with
Akshay Kumar for his next two releases—
Yash Raj Films' hit romantic comedy-drama
Yeh Dillagi and the action film
Main Khiladi Tu Anari. The former was an unofficial remake of the 1954
Hollywood film
Sabrina, and depicted a love triangle between a chauffeur's daughter (played by
Kajol) and the two sons of her father's employers (played by Kumar and Khan).
Main Khiladi Tu Anari (the second film in the
Khiladi series) featured Khan as an aspiring actor, and emerged as the fifth highest-grossing film of the year.
The Indian Express singled out his performances in both films, noting his comic timing in the latter kept the audience "in splits whenever he appears on screen". Khan's next two releases of the year, the dramas
Yaar Gaddar and
Aao Pyaar Karen, were unsuccessful. His career observed a steady decline through the 1990s; all nine films he starred in
Surakshaa (1995),
Ek Tha Raja (1996),
Bambai Ka Babu (1996),
Tu Chor Main Sipahi (1996),
Dil Tera Diwana (1996),
Hameshaa (1997),
Udaan (1997),
Keemat: They Are Back (1998) and
Humse Badhkar Kaun (1998)were commercially Average Grossers and some unsuccessful. The romantic comedy
Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan (alongside
Twinkle Khanna) and the romance
Aarzoo (alongside
Madhuri Dixit and Akshay Kumar) earned little at the box office, but the action-thriller
Kachche Dhaage (a story about two estranged brothers becoming the target of a terrorist conspiracy) was Khan's first commercial success since
Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Imtihan . Directed by
Milan Luthria, the film was generally well received, but critics noted that Khan was overshadowed by co-actor
Ajay Devgn. The film, however, earned Khan his second Best Supporting Actor nomination at Filmfare. The film featured an
ensemble cast (
Mohnish Behl,
Tabu,
Salman Khan,
Sonali Bendre and
Karisma Kapoor) and emerged as the highest-grossing film of the year, earning over worldwide. During the filming of
Hum Saath-Saath Hain, Khan was charged with
poaching two
blackbucks in Kankani along with co-stars Salman, Tabu, Bendre and
Neelam Kothari. That year, he also appeared briefly in the
David Dhawan-directed comedy
Biwi No.1, a box office hit. The film addressed themes of
single parenthood and
teenage pregnancy, and emerged as a
sleeper hit.
The Indian Express believed Khan "looks debauched enough to be the rogue he plays. He is the only dark aspect in a film that is sunny and bright even at its most tragic."
Rise to prominence (2001–2004) In 2001, Khan appeared in
Eeshwar Nivas' box office flop
Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, (a film loosely inspired by the 1996
black comedy Fargo). Following this, he featured alongside
Aamir Khan and
Akshaye Khanna in
Farhan Akhtar's
coming-of-age comedy drama Dil Chahta Hai. Depicting the contemporary routine life of Indian affluent youth, it is set in modern-day urban Mumbai and focuses on a major transitional period in the lives of three young friends. Khan played Sameer Mulchandani, a "hopeless romantic", and was particularly drawn to the qualities of his character.
Dil Chahta Hai was very popular with critics and won the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The film performed well in big cities, but failed in rural areas, which was attributed by critics to the urban-oriented lifestyle it presented. The feature marked a significant turning point in Khan's career, and
Shah Rukh Khan at an event for
Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003 Following appearances in two poorly-received films (
Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (2001) and
Na Tum Jaano Na Hum (2002), Khan played a photographer in the second chapter ("No Smoking") of
Prawaal Raman's
anthology ensemble thriller
Darna Mana Hai (2003). The film failed to find a wide audience and earned little at the box office.
Bollywood Hungama described his next film, the
Nikhil Advani-directed romantic comedy-drama
Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), as a "landmark" in his career. Set in
New York City, it was written by
Karan Johar and co-starred
Jaya Bachchan,
Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta. With a worldwide revenue of over , the film was received favourably by critics and became India's biggest hit of the year. It also did well internationally and became the highest-grossing film of the year overseas. Writing for
Outlook,
Komal Nahta described Khan as a "natural" and "extremely endearing", and
Ram Kamal Mukherjee from
Stardust opined that he was successful in displaying "a gamut of emotions". Khan garnered several awards for his performance, including his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, He explained that the film's success led to Yash Raj Films casting him in the 2004 romantic comedy
Hum Tum. At the end of the year, he appeared briefly as Cpt.
Anuj Nayyar in
J. P. Dutta's ensemble box office flop
LOC Kargil. For his performance, Khan received nominations at the
Screen, Zee Cine and
IIFA ceremonies. With worldwide revenue of , the film proved one of the biggest commercial successes of the year and Khan's first success in which he played the sole male lead. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role, in addition to his first nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor, and was conferred the
National Film Award for Best Actor at the
52nd National Film Awards amid much controversy. In 2004, Khan began dating model Rosa Catalano; they separated three years later.
Established actor and film production (2005–2010) In 2005, Rediff.com published that Khan had established himself as a leading actor in Hindi cinema with starring roles in the romantic drama
Parineeta and the comedy-drama
Salaam Namaste. An adaptation of
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's
1914 Bengali novella by the same name,
Parineeta was directed by
Pradeep Sarkar, and narrated the love story of an idealist (Lalita, played by
Vidya Balan) and a musician (Shekhar, played by Khan), the son of a capitalist businessman. Although the film's producer,
Vidhu Vinod Chopra, considered Khan too inexperienced for the part, he was persuaded by Sarkar who felt that Khan was perfect for the role. The film garnered critical acclaim upon release and Khan's portrayal earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. and went on to become the year's highest-grossing Bollywood production outside of India with worldwide ticket sales of . The film tells the story of a contemporary
cohabiting Indian couple (Khan and Preity Zinta), and their subsequent struggle with an unexpected pregnancy. Khan played the role of Nikhil Arora, a single modern young man who leaves India to make his own life in
Melbourne. The critic Taran Adarsh praised Khan for delivering his third successive performance and
Khalid Mohamed noted that he "rescues several untidily written scenes with his neat wit and that flustered [...] facial expression." '' in 2006 He next played the protagonist in the English language
art film,
Being Cyrus (2006), co-starring alongside
Naseeruddin Shah and
Dimple Kapadia. Directed by debutant
Homi Adajania, the psychological drama revolves around a dysfunctional
Parsi family with whom Khan's character moves. The film received predominantly positive reviews, and Khan was particularly praised. Later in the year, he portrayed the character of
Iago in
Omkara, the Indian adaptation of
William Shakespeare's
Othello. Directed by
Vishal Bhardwaj, the film is a tragedy of sexual jealousy set against the backdrop of the political system in
Uttar Pradesh. The film premiered at the
2006 Cannes Film Festival and was selected for screening at the
Cairo International Film Festival.
Omkara was received positively by critics, and Khan went on to receive widespread critical acclaim and accolades, earning the awards for Best Performance in a Negative Role at the Filmfare, Screen, Zee Cine and IIFA ceremonies; his performance was later included in the 2010 issue of the "Top 80 Iconic Performances" by
Filmfare.
Variety described it as a "powerhouse performance" and wrote that "[i]t is Khan's film through and through, in a performance of rugged, contained malevolence which trades on his previous screen persona as a likable best friend as well as his stint as the manipulative outsider in
Being Cyrus. It is smart casting, superbly realized." By 2007, Khan was keen on branching out into
film production to "explore various genres of commercial and intellectually stimulating cinema". The critical success of
Being Cyrus led him to create
Illuminati Films and partner up with producer
Dinesh Vijan, someone whom he shared a "like-minded perspective and ideology [...] with regard to cinema". it was chosen as
India's official entry to the Oscars.
BBC Online described the film as a "cinematic experience" and praised Khan's growth as an actor, particular noting his scene with Bachchan's character. Following an appearance in the poorly-received action-comedy
Nehlle Pe Dehlla (a production that had been delayed since 2001), Khan featured opposite Rani Mukerji in the 2007 family drama
Ta Ra Rum Pum. Directed by Siddharth Anand, it received mixed reviews from critics, but earned over in India and abroad. Writing for
Hindustan Times, Khalid Mohamed praised Khan for displaying a new maturity, but
Rajeev Masand thought that neither he nor Mukerji "are able to make much of an impression because their characters are so unidimensional and boring." Khan achieved further success in 2008, starring in the
Abbas–Mustan thriller
Race with an ensemble cast including
Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna,
Bipasha Basu,
Katrina Kaif and
Sameera Reddy. The feature was loosely adapted from the 1998
American film Goodbye Lover, and became one of the year's biggest box office hits, earning worldwide. This was followed by three projects produced by Yash Raj Films: the action-thriller
Tashan, the fantasy comedy-drama
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, and the animated film
Roadside Romeo, all of which were unsuccessful. at an event for
Love Aaj Kal in 2009; it was the first film to release under his production company
Illuminati Films. In 2009, Khan appeared in the romantic drama
Sanam Teri Kasam, a production that had been delayed since 2000. The film garnered negative reviews and poor box office returns. Khan's role was small, and not well received. He next starred in his company's first project:
Love Aaj Kal (2009), a romantic comedy-drama from the writer-director
Imtiaz Ali. Featured opposite
Deepika Padukone, the film documented the changing value of relationships among the youth, and Khan played dual rolesthe younger version of
Rishi Kapoor's character (Veer Singh) and Jai Vardhan Singh, an ambitious architect.
Love Aaj Kal received highly positive reviews from critics and became one of the highest-grossing films of the year, earning over worldwide. Gaurav Malani of
The Economic Times described his performance as "refreshing natural" and "outstanding". At the
55th Filmfare Awards,
Love Aaj Kal was nominated for
Best Film and Khan received his fourth nomination for Best Actor.
Career fluctuations and second marriage (2011–2015) In 2011, he appeared in
Prakash Jha's multi-starrer drama
Aarakshan. Set in the city of
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, the film deals with the policy of
caste-based reservations in government jobs and educational institutions. Khan portrayed Deepak Kumar, a rebellious student who joins the mafia. To prepare for the role, Khan was required to take acting workshops along with the rest of the cast. Prior to its release, the film was banned from release in select cities across India due to its controversial subject. The following year, Khan produced both of his own films. For his first release, he collaborated once again with director Sriram Raghavan, as the protagonist in the action thriller
Agent Vinod. Khan described it as his "most ambitious project", but the film opened to mixed reviews and eventually under-performed at the box office grossing in India on a budget of . In his next release, Homi Adajania's romantic comedy-drama
Cocktail, he featured as software engineer Gautam Kapoor. Set in London, the film follows Kapoor's relationship with two temperamentally different women: an impulsive party girl (Veronica, played by Padukone) and a submissive
girl next door (Meera, played by
Diana Penty). Khan described the project as "a love story with a modern sensibility and treatment", and agreed to produce and feature in the film after his role was declined by
Imran Khan. Critics were divided in their opinion of the film, but it emerged a financial success grossing over worldwide. at their
registry marriage ceremony in 2012 On 16 October 2012, Khan married actress
Kareena Kapoor after a five-year courtship in a private ceremony in
Bandra, Mumbai. A
reception was later held at
The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the
Lutyens Bungalow Zone in Mumbai and Delhi respectively. The couple have two sons, Taimur born in 2016 and Jeh born in 2021. The following year, Khan collaborated with Padukone for the fourth time (alongside Anil Kapoor,
John Abraham,
Jacqueline Fernandez and
Ameesha Patel) in Abbas–Mustan's
Race 2 (2013), an ensemble action thriller that served as a sequel to
Race (2008). The film received predominantly negative reviews from critics, but with a total collection of , it proved to be a commercial success. in
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.'s
Go Goa Gone (described as "India's first
zom-com") alongside
Kunal Khemu and
Vir Das. Khan, who
bleached his hair for the film, was particularly drawn to the project for its novel concept and its "action, comedy and violence". The critic Rajeev Masand described the film as "a winning cocktail of laugh-out-loud dialogue and well-timed performances by the three leads", and in particular noted Khan's scene with Khemu's character.
Bullett Raja earned little at the box office and received predominantly negative reviews. Writing for
Firstpost, Mihir Fadnavis found Khan to be "miscast" and described his performance as "
farcial". In an interview with
The Times of India, Khan explained that he regretted starring in
Sajid Khan's 2014 comedy
Humshakals. Co-starring with an ensemble cast (
Ritesh Deshmukh,
Ram Kapoor, Bipasha Basu,
Tamannaah and
Esha Gupta), Khan portrayed three different characters in an attempt to "expand my market" and step out of his comfort zone. He next produced and featured in
Happy Ending (2014), a romantic comedy directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee found Khan's character (a struggling writer) to be "a breezy rejig of his
Hum Tum and
Salaam Namaste persona of a decade ago", and noted that "the many collegiate hook-ups and break-ups he pulls off in
Happy Ending do not look completely at odds with the film's purpose."
Humshakals proved to be a commercial disaster and
Happy Ending underperformed at the box office. Following a brief appearance in the comedy
Dolly Ki Doli (2015), he appeared alongside Kaif in
Kabir Khan's
counter-terrorism drama
Phantom (2015). Based on the book
Mumbai Avengers by
Hussain Zaidi, the film is a retelling of the aftermath of the
26/11 Mumbai attacks. Khan was cast as Cpt. Daniyal Khan, a former soldier hired by the
RAW agency.
Phantom generated controversy when the
Central Board of Film Censors deemed that the film represented Pakistan in a negative light and banned the film from being released there. and Rachit Gupta of
Filmfare described his performance as "a heady mix of bravado and restrained intensity [which] works in parts only." Although Khan was pleased with the film's performance,
Phantom was generally perceived to be a box-office failure grossing worldwide on a budget of .
Commercial setbacks and professional expansion (2016–2022) '' in 2017 During his year-long absence from the screen, Khan actively looked to play different parts, saying: "These are smarter movies, the interaction with them is deeply rewarding... I think I am finally beginning to understand my sense of style as an actor. I am developing my craft, understanding what acting and communication is." He found such a role in his second collaboration with director Vishal Bhardwaj,
Rangoon (2017), an epic romance set during
World War II. Cast alongside
Shahid Kapoor and
Kangana Ranaut, Khan drew inspiration from the mannerisms of his grandfather and the character
Darth Vader to portray filmmaker Rustom "Rusi" Billimoria. Rajeev Masand termed the film "overlong, indulgent to the point of exhaustion", but praised Khan for "imbu[ing] Russi with the swagger and the arrogance of an aristocrat from the forties". He next starred as the protagonist (Roshan Kalra) in 2017 comedy-drama
Chef (an official adaptation of the 2014
film of the same name) from the director
Raja Krishna Menon. Anupama Chopra wrote: "Khan get[s] his groove back... [He] doesn't play Roshan as a hero having a bad day. He gives us a flawed, fumbling man who is trying to repair the broken chords of his life." As with his last few releases,
Rangoon and
Chef earned little at the box office, leading trade analysts to question his commercial appeal. Following an appearance in the poorly-received 2018 black comedy
Kaalakaandi directed by Akshat Verma, Khan appeared as
Inspector Sartaj Singh in India's first
Netflix original series, the crime thriller
Sacred Games, based on
Vikram Chandra's
novel of the same name. Cast alongside
Nawazuddin Siddiqui and
Radhika Apte, Khan was drawn by the opportunity to be part of a "creative zone, devoid of certain pressures and constraints that one would associate with the kind of films we normally do." The show received high critical acclaim; Ankur Pathak of
HuffPost called it "a sure-shot winner" and took note of Khan's "stellar performance, one that [he] chews on slowly as he disappears into the broken persona of a tormented cop." In his next release, he starred as the businessman Skakun Kothari in Gauravv Chawla's
Baazaar, a drama set against the backdrop of
Mumbai's stock exchange market. Khan worked with Chawla to provide off-screen inputs, and was attracted to the idea of playing the antagonist, describing it as "a devious character" from the
Indian epic poetry Mahabharata. The critic Udita Jhunjhunwala of
Mint commended Khan for "blending the right amount of wickedness with willfulness", but
Namrata Joshi found him to be "stiff [and] stern ... to communicate a rather facetious sense of menace."
Baazaar was a box-office failure grossing worldwide on a budget of . at an event for
Tanhaji in 2020. It marked their second collaboration and the film emerged as Khan's highest-grossing release. Khan's desire to choose films based upon artistic merit rather than commercial appeal led him to feature as the protagonist in the 2019 action-drama
Laal Kaptaan. Directed by
Navdeep Singh, it is set in the 18th century and tells the story of a
sadhu (Khan) who goes on a killing spree with the intention of exacting revenge upon a
subedar. Filming in the barren landscape of rural Rajasthan proved physically daunting for Khan, and in preparation for the role he learned sword-fighting and horse-riding, and worked with a dialect coach to speak in a
Rajasthani accent. He described it as "the hardest thing I have done so far", and considered the opportunity a critical learning experience that helped him personally and professionally; however, it failed at the box office.
The Huffington Post praised Khan's decision to choose "morally ambiguous roles", but noted that he was "too wooden, bereft of any allure or mystery." Khan began the new decade with a starring role in 2020's
Tanhaji, a
historical drama directed by
Om Raut. Set in the 17th century, it revolves around the attempt by a
Maratha warrior (played by Devgn) to
recapture the Kondhana fortress from a
Rajput fort keeper (played by Khan). He was attracted to the idea of starring in a "larger-than-life" film and felt challenged by Raut's insistence on
overplaying his character; he explained that the process left him "very enriched" and he was pleased with the collaboration.
Tanhaji was acclaimed by critics and emerged as a major commercial success, grossing over worldwide. Reviewing the film for
Film Companion, Anupama Chopra found Khan's performance to be the film's prime asset, and credited him for playing "the exaggerated evil with a cheeky panache."
The Hindustan Times opined that Khan had delivered his best performance to date, noting his "moments of mirth with his sinister laugh amid killing people."
Tanhaji earned Khan his second Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. His next release of the year was
Jawaani Jaaneman, a comedy-drama about the life of a bachelor (played by Khan) who discovers that he has a daughter (played by
Alaya Furniturewala). The feature was produced under his new company, Black Knight Films, and received generally positive reviews. Kunal Guha of
Mumbai Mirror found that the film allowed Khan to "slip into a familiar-yet-age appropriate avatar in a refreshing coming-of-age story." In 2021, Khan first appeared as a politician in
Amazon Prime Video's drama series
Tandav created and directed by
Ali Abbas Zafar. The show opened amid protests and police complaints against its makers for allegedly insulting
Hindu deities and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus, following which Zafar cut several scenes and issued an apology. Critical reception was mixed. Khan then starred in the crime comedy
Bunty Aur Babli 2 opposite Mukerji, and the horror comedy
Bhoot Police alongside
Arjun Kapoor. In 2022, he collaborated with Hrithik Roshan on the action film
Vikram Vedha, a remake of the
2017 Tamil film. Saibal Chatterjee wrote that he "inhabits the character of the tough cop with conviction and exudes the external toughness that defines the man and his mission".
Telugu cinema and stabbing incident (2023–present) Khan began 2023 by playing the villainous
Lankesh in the mythological film
Adipurush, inspired by the Hindu epic
Ramayana, starring
Prabhas as the heroic
Raghava. It was filmed simultaneously in Hindi and
Telugu. Budgeted at , it is one of the
most expensive Indian films. It received negative reactions from both critics and audiences, and emerged as a box office bomb. In the following year, Khan had his second Telugu film release in the action film
Devara: Part 1, starring
N. T. Rama Rao Jr.. Avinash Ramachandran of
The Indian Express bemoaned that his performance suffered due to poor writing. With a gross of over , it emerged as the highest-grossing film of his career. On 16 January 2025, Khan was stabbed multiple times during an attempted robbery inside his Mumbai residence. He was admitted to
Lilavati Hospital for surgery. He sustained major injuries on his neck, back and waist. A
neurosurgery was conducted on his
spinal cord, where a piece of the knife was lodged which led to leaking
spinal fluid. Hospital representatives reported that Khan was stable after surgery. He was discharged after five days. Using CCTV footage,
Mumbai Police arrested Mohammad Shariful Islam Shahzad, a 30-year-old Bangladeshi national, as the culprit. In March 2025, Mohammad Shariful Islam appealed for bail in the case, claiming that he was falsely implicated by the police. Following no release in 2024, Khan played a jewel thief in the 2025 Netflix action thriller
Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins, alongside
Nikita Dutta and
Jaideep Ahlawat. Sukanya Verma criticised Khan's role but was appreciative of his "momentary banter" with Ahlawat. == Off-screen work ==