Khans of Bollywood unite in Riyadh

Bollywood’s iconic trio — Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan — made a rare joint appearance at an event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they spoke candidly about their enduring stardom, friendship, and their respective journeys that have defined Hindi cinema for over three decades.

The three superstars, often hailed as the Khans of Bollywood, appeared together on the stage during a session at the Joy Forum 2025 on Friday.

Salman, known for his trademark humour and straight talk, downplayed the idea of stardom and said the three of them never considered themselves “stars”. “None of us call ourselves stars. Some journalists may write ‘Salman Khan, star’ or ‘Aamir Khan, super duper star’, but we don’t believe in it at all. At home, we are just like everyone else. I still get yelled at by my father and mother,” he said.

According to Shah Rukh, the stardom is because of the emotional connect that they have with the fans. “Aamir is extremely organised, perfectionist as they call him... He works very hard trying to tell a story. Salman has his freewheeling way to come in and work because it comes from the heart. I try to amalgamate both of these. But at the end, the core value that the three of us, all other stars and lots of other stars who will come along the way, there is an emotional connect that our films have.