Uneventful entry into cinema (1988) Khan entered the world of cinema with a short cameo in Mira Nair’s National Award-winning Salaam Bombay! However, his parts were later removed from the final film after editing. Khan got his first official release in Tapan Shah’s critical hit Ek Doctor Ki Maut sta .. Read More
Uneventful entry into cinema (1988) Khan entered the world of cinema with a short cameo in Mira Nair’s National Award-winning Salaam Bombay! However, his parts were later removed from the final film after editing. Khan got his first official release in Tapan Shah’s critical hit Ek Doctor Ki Maut starring Pankaj Kapur and Shabana Azmi had Khan in a supporting role; the project funded by NFDC did no good for Khan as it was a failed commercial outing. Khan was next seen in the emotional drama Such a Long Journey; an Indo-Canadian production English language film in the year 1998 yet again in a trivial role which too shared the same fate as his previous film. Khan got encouraging reviews for his role in The Warrior in 2001 which resulted in instant recognition among the audience. Khan then went on to act in the Hindi adaptation of William Shakespeare’s famous play Macbeth in which Khan reprised the title role of Macbeth by playing Miyan Maqbool which won him many accolades that year for his brand of acting. First Official Bollywood Break (2005) Khan’s very first Major Bollywood movie was the 2005 thriller Rog, where Khan came under the spotlight again for his easygoing approach towards conveying emotional scenes and his highly expressive eyes came to be noted by all. Khan after going through some negative lead roles in some unnoticed outings, only to come back by winning the Filmfare Award for best villain in 2004 for his mesmerizing and hard-hitting evil looks and scary mannerisms in the movie Haasil. After another villain role in the Telugu movie Sainkudu, Khan paired opposite Konkana Sen in Life in A Metro with a huge cast which garnered highly positive reviews for his performances which raised his status to be an actor to look out for in the short tenure itself, which incidentally also saw the first super hit in Khan’s career, Khan followed up with the Indo-American drama movie Namesake in 2006 which also received rave reviews. Short return back to television (2004-2006) After delivering some quality performances in major Bollywood productions, the years 2004 up to 2006 saw his homecoming to TV with shows like Mano Ya Na Mano and Kyaa Kahein, also playing the part of the narrator for the touring programme ID-Identity of the Soul. Khan came back to acting in 2008 playing the role of a cop in The Academy Award-winning British film Slum Dog Millionaire; which was set in India. The movie was a highly awaited comeback for the actor which got him back on the track delivering a solid punch with an understated performance. Khan committed next in the 2009 paranoid thriller Acid Factory with an ensemble cast which surprisingly got stunning critical reception and drew him close to action avatars in his career from there on. Khan’s outspoken performances in the social thriller New York and the American romantic anthology New York, I Love You! Both so to it that Khan maintained his position as one of the most bankable and sought-after actors in B-town. First National Award in Paan Singh Tomar (2012) Paan Singh Tomar, the real-life story of an athlete turned dacoit saw a major shift in Khan’s life and career and was considered his dream project for a long time; for which Khan had to undergo extensive research to study the character, and the movie was a challenging character which Khan pulled off with maximum conviction which also received hugely progressive reviews from the critics and was said to Khan’s career-best till then also getting him his very first National Best Actor Award in 2012. Return to Hollywood in 2012 Khan made his return to Hollywood with the second instalment of The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012 where he played Dr Rajit Ratha which was a pivotal character who saw his awe-inspiring return to Hollywood after his sabbatical which was followed by the crucial title role in Life of Pi by Ang Lee where he portrayed the middle-aged Pi; the film is considered to be a modern-day masterpiece with a huge fan following worldwide. Lunch box which told a story of an epistolary relationship between two strangers who start influencing each other in a good way. Lunch Box saw Khan at his very best when he underplayed the retiring middle-ager in the most convincing of ways; a major break for the actor in Khan, and was also considered a cult movie though with a cold box office response. Recent cinema outings (2014-2016) Khan returned to Bollywood in 2014 with the action thriller Gunday starring Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor; Gunday was yet another supporting role in Khan’s career. After doing a cameo in the romantic thriller Xpose later that year Khan was also a part of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Hindi adaptation starring Shahid Kapoor where he served in an extended cameo in the revenge drama but was able to serve his part exceptionally well. In the year 2015, Khan was seen paired with Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone in the comedy-drama Piku where Khan played an owner of a taxi agency who embarks on a life-changing journey with a hot-tempered young girl and her father who suffers from chronic constipation which leads to quite a turn of events which unites them on the journey to explore their inner self. Khan’s performance in the movie was considered priceless by many critics and eventually, Amitabh Bachchan went on to win the National Award for Best Actor for his deadly interpretation of the mental nuances of the character. Piku was followed by Talvar which was based on the famous Noida double murder case, Khan appears as a CDI officer who investigates the case and sets out to prove the possible innocence of the parents of the dead girl in the double homicide, Khan just towered over the finely crafted proceedings with his radiant energy and his characteristic casual acting ways. Talvar was a big critical hit which Khan followed with the action movie Jazbaa which repeated the same to him. Khan was cast in the Jurassic World in the same year after which he was last seen in Tom Hank’s Inferno; although the movie only gained lukewarm responses worldwide Khan’s character was considered to be a major highlight of the movie.