It’s easy to intellectualise Shah Rukh Khan ’s three-decade reign over Hindi cinema — to dissect his craft, his charisma, his business acumen. But none of those quite explain his magic. The truth is simpler and perhaps more romantic. Millions love him not just as a movie star, but as a love story that India dreamt of and then later witnessed it turn into a reality.

In a 2022 BBC article on Khan, economist and author Shrayana Bhattacharya explained the phenomenon that is SRK very interestingly. Khan rose to fame in the 1990s, just as India opened its doors to the world. Liberalisation was reshaping the economy , cable TV was bringing global culture home and a new generation was learning to dream bigger.

Khan has been a glittering constant through over 30 years of change, aspiration an

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