Actors must explore different kinds of roles and not let fans down: SRK on his ‘dark & grey' character in ‘King’

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan says it is important that actors like him play different kind of roles and hopefully his “very dark and grey” character in ‘King’ will be liked by fans.

At a special fan event to celebrate Shah Rukh’s 60th birthday on Sunday, the actor discussed his career milestones, disappointments, the advice he gave to son Aryan Khan before ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’ and his new release around the corner.

“The distinction between hero and villain is made by people. I did films like ‘Darr’, ‘Anjam’ and ‘Baazigar’ early in my career and they (roles) will be considered villain, stalker... I just feel if we don’t do interesting films, then it will be the same shots — the hero comes, sings two songs and fights.... I think for storytelling, and not because youngsters watch movies today, it is important that heroes like me do different kind of roles, some should be inspiring, some aspiring, some comic and some romantic. This is what I am trying because there is one big film in a year and I also know that it has become a little more difficult to make films so we should be careful so that we don’t let you guys down,” Shah Rukh shared at the fan event last night.

A fan immediately shouted back, “We will not let you down”. To which, SRK said, “Nahi tum to nahi karoge par main to kar sakta hoon na.”

‘King’, which features Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh’s daughter Suhana Khan, reunites the superstar with Siddharth Anand after 2023’s ‘Pathaan’. The movie has been written by Anand and Sujoy Ghosh.

Shah Rukh said, “The character has many bad qualities. He is a murderer, ruthless... He is very dark and grey. But it’s a very interesting role and on a big scale,” he said.

Though Shah Rukh had no release in 2025, it turned out to be an eventful year for the actor, who won his career’s first National Film Award and saw the successful directorial debut of son Aryan Khan with ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’.

When a fan asked what advice he gave to Aryan, Shah Rukh said he does not believe in telling his children what they should do or not do. “Because I think there is not much need to tell anything to creative people. I have been working in films for 35 years, so I know I come with a big baggage. ‘Will have to listen to papa because he is Shah Rukh Khan’. I don’t want them to have that baggage,” he said.

“With Suhana in acting, and Aryan in writing and direction, they do it themselves. And when they need, they ask me how something is looking. And I tell them a point of view. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes bad. But I tell them ‘tum vahi karo jo karna chahte ho’”

Despite this rule, Shah Rukh said he advised Aryan to direct the script he had written while developing his Netflix show. “He was not sure if he could direct or not, and whether they should hire some other director...But I feel that those who write and then direct themselves become better directors in a sense. So, I told him to follow his heart and direct it. ‘We’ll see what happens. How bad can you do? We will figure it out’,” he assured his son.

Shah Rukh said his attempt is always to create something that sets a trend in the industry and brings in more opportunities. This is why he did his career’s first superhero movie ‘Ra.one’.

“I thought that when I make ‘Ra.One’, everyone would say, ‘It’s a superhero film!’ Not just a superhero one, but it was also about visual effects. Studios would come here; a lot of things would change. So yes, it didn’t quite live up to those expectations. But as a film, it did very well. I think people loved it even then,” he said.

The star also opened a possibility of a sequel to the superhero saga, which ended on a cliffhanger.

“If Anubhav (Sinha) ever decides to… because he’s the one who made it, and I think only he can make it again. We worked really hard on it. And God willing, if the time ever feels right, we might do it again. It’s easier now anyway,” he added.