Shah Rukh Khan is not new to the idea of playing the bad guy, the outlaw or even the flawed-but-real boy next door. In fact, he has made each one of his ‘greys’ count (pun intended). From the creepy Rahul of Darr and the innocent but selfish Sunil from Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Shah Rukh Khan has come a long way in portraying complex characters, to his more recent avatars in Don and the obsessive Fan Gaurav Channa. With Raees ready to hit theatres across the country on 25 January, we’re pretty sure that SRK will ace his bootlegger character too, a man who is righteous by his dhanda, even though he might be wrong by the world.
But while we wait, here’s looking back at his best ‘bad’ guys-
Raj Mathur From Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992)
Shah Rukh Khan plays Raj Mathur, a budding engineer, who gets caught in the conspiring and conniving world of the rich and the glamorous. He does a commendable job of playing both, the innocent Raju and the disenchanted Raj. Though this film doesn’t place SRK in the ‘bad guy’ category, his young and aspiring character is one that’s caught between reasonable success and stardom at any cost. So he loses himself but finds himself again just before he’s about to ruin lives as a power-craving high flier.
Rahul from Darr (1993)
Even though Shah Rukh Khan creeped the hell out of every girl who watched this 1993 hit, our hearts went out to him. Yash Chopra’s psychological thriller got a cult status thanks to Shah Rukh’s signature stalker stammering. He played the obsessive lover with such conviction that even after two decades, there isn’t another filmi stalker that comes close. Shah Rukh always wanted to be an action hero, but Yash Chopra told him that he’ll never become a star unless he becomes a romantic hero. I guess Darr, Anjaam and even Fan were somewhere in the middle, uncomfortably emotional and hauntingly real.
Sunil From Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994)
Shah Rukh Khan plays the boy next door in this 1994 hit film, and his character Rahul emerges victorious despite doing the worst one can do for love. He wants Ana to love him back and for Chris to be out of the picture. So in sheer desperation he tells Chris that Ana is of loose character. In the process he breaks her heart and looses her forever. One doesn’t expect this from an ernest character like Rahul. But again, Shah Rukh plays Rahul and his dichotomy beautifully as the always late, undependable young boy, who only wants to be loved back.
Ajay from Baazigar (1993)
Remember Shah Rukh Khan as the cold-blooded killer in Baazigar? The scene where he throws Seema off a high rise is still etched in our memory and his revenge stricken expressions are hard to forget too. The dark character won SRK the Filmfare award for Best Actor back in the day. But we also haven’t forgotten the fact that he had a deeply emotional reason for being the bad guy in this Abbas-Mustan flick. Unlike Salman, who has never quite attempted a villainous role, SRK does so fearlessly and it has only added to his versatility and superstardom.
Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006)
For a change, instead of playing a grey character, SRK decided to play both black and white, in the remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Don. He plays the villain because he wants to be the bad guy. And even as the simpleton look-alike he’s fighting the larger evil, Vardhan. Like Raees, SRK plays the game to stay in power, but plays by its rules too. He’s clever, creative and charismatic in and as Don. Even though he’s a smalltime goon who rises in power in Raees, his crisp and daring one-liners do all the talking.
With these iconic roles behind him, Shah Rukh Khan has certainly emerged as a power-packed performer, whose stardom is not dependent on the colour of the characters he plays. He plays the good, bad and ugly with equal plan and comes out shining at the end. That’s probably why Rahul Dholakia picked the superstar to play the daring miyanbhai in Raees.
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