Baazigar

There’s a big reason why this otherwise commercial movie is considered a path breaking decision in Shah Rukh’s career. At a time when stars were massively cognizant about building an image, SRK shattered the very perception in style and then some! Going all out to play a negative lead at a very early stage of his career, it was more than evident he didn’t think like most others.

Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa

Anybody who’s watched this Kundan Shah directorial would know why Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa was such a special film. Despite narrating a routine lighthearted romance, the film wasn’t made for the ‘Aam Janta’. The niche treatment of the subject did hamper its business but guess what? Shah Rukh won the Filmfare Best Actor Critics Award. Yes, you read it right, critics!

Koyla

After having successfully collaborated with Rakesh Roshan in Karan Arjun, viewers’ expectations from Koyla were monumental. Going with an impression of Shahrukh displaying his heroics again, the actor surprised us by playing a mute minion to Amrish Puri. He didn’t have a dialogue to speak till about eighty percent of the movie. Understandably so, the film got its share of flak. However, it is now considered as one of the bravest experiments made by an actor along with the filmmaker.

Dil Se

Imagining Shah Rukh in a Mani Ratnam brand of cinema was tough, but he did that too. Late in the 90’s when actors were either doing out and out comedy or hardcore action, King Khan didn’t shy away from working in a film like Dil Se that had an offbeat component to itself in abundance. The film that dealt with a subject of growing insurgency in the Northeast India, was enough to convey how surprising a decision it was by SRK.

Hey Ram

The film that got banned in most parts of the country just days after its release had Shah Rukh playing a short but important role. Playing Amjad Ali Khan, a friend of Kamal Haasan in the movie, he did give a big surprise to a lot of his fans. The film was in fact a bilingual made in both Hindi and Tamil.

Asoka

Going one step ahead by producing this movie, Shah Rukh gave historical drama a try. Trying to bring the essence of Ashoka The Great on screen, he did push himself to justify the very tough character. However flopped, the film is still one of the most expensive films produced by King Khan.

Shakti: The Power

In a woman centric film that didn’t have him for the most part, Shah Rukh shows up only to get brutally beaten and later killed. The film had him in a brief but gripping role that had enough weight to give answers to a lot of his critics. Of course, he also shed out a number like Ishq Kameena, but that doesn’t take away anything from the performance he delivered.

Swades

One of the most loved performances of his long career, Swades ranks amongst the best films made post the 90’s. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, Shah Rukh plays a NASA scientist who gives up living abroad after he’s met with India’s grassroots reality. The film earned him yet another Filmfare Award and placed him in the hearts of critics who didn’t think he was good enough to pull such roles. In the same year he had releases like Main Hoon Na and Veer-Zara. No prizes for guessing, the best of the lot was a box office failure.

Paheli

The very next year Shah Rukh teamed up with an unusual filmmaker, Amol Palekar. Amol, who all his life had been a symbol of parallel cinema directed Shah Rukh-Rani in a rural love story that went beyond the routine realms. A bride falling in love with a ghost! That’s what this film was about. This was Shah Rukh’s second flop in a row after Swades. Despite that, we commend him for having taken up the role.

Chak De! India

Probably the best SRK performance ever, Chak De India is a film that gave every Indian a reason to feel patriotic. A done and dusted ex hockey player who coaches the Indian Women’s Hockey team to the glory of the world cup, this story didn’t have any taker in the beginning. What made Chak De India so special was SRK’s captivating performance along with some fabulous one liners. The film that obviously didn’t have a linear screenplay sprung a surprise and was without a doubt the best film of 2007.

My Name Is Khan

It had to come at some stage. The combination of Shah Rukh, Kajol and Karan Johar etching out a gem when we least expected them to do so. Everything about the three of them loudly speaks commercial cinema and yet when they brought out a film like My Name Is Khan, it was a shocking surprise. While playing an autistic husband boarding on journey to meet the president of USA, Rizwan Khan aka Shah Rukh was in an element we had never seen him in.

Fan

And now from February 2010 to April 2016, this is officially the longest Shah Rukh has got us waiting for him to do something new. While Fan isn’t really a normal masala box office outing, we still expect him to spell magic he’s pulled on more occasions than a few. If Shah Rukh thinks the only way he can still rule the box office and his audiences is by doing a Happy New Year or a Dilwale, maybe he should head out and see there’s a chunk of us. We love him only when he does a Swades or a Chak De or a Fan. Let's hope Fan lives up to the expectations!