After 33 years,  mega-star Shah Rukh Khan finally gets his first National Film (Best Actor) Award for 'Jawan ! Having missed it in 'Swades' and 'Chak De India' ? by Chaitanya Padukone

Many years ago when SRK was interacting with the news-media he casually mentioned that he had possibly won ALL the iconic esteemed film awards ( in India) that too multiple times. "Except the elusive National Film Acting Award"! I remember that optimist Shah Rukh Khan was also expecting the Best Actor National Film Award for his excellent role as an astro-space-scientist with NASA  in movie Swades (2004) directed by  Ashutosh Gowariker. Later on the 'King Khan was expecting for his realistic hockey-coach lead role in  YRF 2007 movie Chak De ! India directed by Shimit Amin ! In fact in this movie 'Chak De', king-of-romance SRK did 'Not' have a romantic heroine opposite him..

What is interesting and unfortunate to note that while Swades had won two National Film Awards for categories Best Male Singer and Best Cinematography, SRK  did not qualify for any Acting National Award ! While Chak De India won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film category, but SRK  missed out on getting the Best Actor National Award !.

So after completing 33 years as a versatile super-star actor Badshah King Khan finally qualified for the National Film Award for Best Actor for his action-thriller movie Jawan (2023), where he played a double role of look-alike father and son under the direction of Southside showman director Atlee !

This time however, the Best Actor National Award is jointly shared by SRK with amazing young actor Vikrant Massey for his excellent performance in Hindi movie 12th Fail ( 2023) directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra! Its an interesting coincidence that none other than actor-turned director Ashutosh Gowariker was the Feature Films Jury Chairman for the latest National Awards. It may be recalled that Gowariker was SRK's buddy co-star in movies  'Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa' (1994) and even in 1989 TV show 'Circus'.!

Off-screen,  i have known the Pathaan & Jawan mega-star-actor (King Khan) even before his film-debut. Buddy-actor-film- maker mentor Viveck Vaswani who first introduced me to Shah Rukh as the “star-material movie-actor”. Those days, TV star SRK (of Circus and Fauji fame) used in rented premises in Mumbai.

When  I  interviewed the ‘newcomer’ SRK for his initial movies like Deewana, King Uncle and Hema Malini’s Dil Aashna Hai (for the tabloid Mid-Day), he always had that self-confidence, the resilience, that rebellious, gutsy spunk. Which in turn motivated versatile SRK  to daringly take on anti-hero grey-shades roles as in Baazigar and Darr. When other macho star-heroes apparently backed out. #  What i admired about SRK was his downright candid and frank nature , but at times sprinkled with Scorpio zodiac-sign sarcasm.

But  I must admit that bade-dilwale SRK has always been articulate, chivalrous, witty, quirky, impulsive and so accomplished in the craft of both versatile acting and production-distribution.# Here’s wishing flamboyant  SRK ---good health and fabulous super-success ahead for his next upcoming mega-movie KING (likely to release by end of 2026) ,  in which his charming, talented daughter Suhana Khan will make her big-screen cinematic debut !

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