Revisiting Shah Rukh Khan’s grey characters as he gears up to play a don in King

Once upon a time, Bollywood’s Baadshah Shah Rukh Khan defined the grey roles he portrays onscreen as ‘human characters’. These are neither positive nor negative, neither black nor white. These are also roles that test the versatility of any actor. One such character played by him was Don. Even though he won’t be reprising the iconic character in Farhan Akhtar’s Don 3, rumours suggest that SRK will be seen as a don in his upcoming film King, co-starring his daughter Suhana Khan. As we eagerly wait for him to take over the silver screen as an anti-hero again, let’s revisit the times Shah Rukh went dark in his films. (Also Read: Shah Rukh Khan may return as don, but not in Farhan Akhtar’s threequel)
Remember the time Shah Rukh Khan dropped jaws as Ajay Sharma/Vicky Malhotra? He played the role of a man out to avenge his family, no holds barred. Love, money and fame meant nothing to him. His sole focus was to punish the man who wronged him and his loved ones
The same year, SRK went on to create a new milestone in his career when he portrayed the character of a stalker. He is known as the king of romance but seeing him play the role of an obsessive lover was refreshing proof of his versatility as an actor
After leaving us in awe with his performance in Darr, Shah Rukh once again played the role of an obsessive lover in this psychological thriller. But his character in Anjaam, a much darker film, was very different because he portrayed an out-and-out unapologetic villain this time
This is undoubtedly one of SRK’s most iconic characters of all time. Don was stylish, suave and badass but also a ruthless criminal and the master of a drug cartel. What won hearts was how beautifully Khan played the innocent Vijay all along, until it was revealed that he was actually Don who faked his death
Five years later, Shah Rukh reprised his character in the sequel of Don and won us over yet again. This time he made us believe that Don turned over a new leaf after he worked with the police. But alas, he was never a hero and we got proof once again in the end
Which grey character played by Shah Rukh managed to drop your jaw?