Shah Rukh Khan, who recently saw massive success with Pathaan, is collaborating with a south Indian filmmaker after a long time for Jawan. Directed by Atlee, who has previously made hit Tamil films including Vijay’s Theri, Mersal, and Bigil, Jawan is set to release on September 7. The film also stars Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi and Priyamani, with Deepika Padukone making a special appearance. Jawan also marks popular Tamil music composer Anirudh Ravichander's debut in Bollywood. As fans look forward to Shah Rukh’s next Hindi film which is expected to be replete with the style of contemporary mainstream Tamil cinema, here’s a look at some of the superstar’s films when he collaborated with south Indian filmmakers.
Dil Se.. (1998) by Mani Ratnam
Dil Se.. was Mani Ratnam’s first Hindi original film. Shah Rukh plays Amar Varma, who travels to Assam for a news reporting assignment for All India Radio. There, he falls in love with a mysterious woman named Meghna/Moina (Manisha Koirala), who he eventually learns is part of a separatist organisation planning a suicide attack in Delhi. While the film’s handling of the politics of the Northeast region is often contested, Shah Rukh’s intense portrayal of an obsessive man who relentlessly pursues the woman he loves has been widely acclaimed. The film also marks Shah Rukh’s first collaboration with AR Rahman, and the song ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ featuring him and Malaika Arora is one of the most iconic Hindi film songs of all time.
Hey Ram (2000) by Kamal Haasan
Hey Ram is a Tamil-Hindu bilingual historical drama film set against the backdrop of the Partition and the assassination of Gandhi. Kamal Haasan plays Ram, a Hindu man, and Shah Rukh plays a Pathan Muslim named Amjad Ali Khan. Ram, who avenges his wife’s death by Muslims, plots to assassinate Gandhi. Shah Rukh plays his antithesis — a non-violent, forgiving man who wants Hindu-Muslim unity and steers Ram away from extremism.
Kamal Haasan, who also produced the film, has said that Shah Rukh acted in the film without remuneration when the budget ran out, and that he was only paid with a wristwatch. Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies Entertainment eventually acquired the rights to the Hindi version of the film.
Shah Rukh dubbed his own lines in the Tamil version of the film. But this seems unlikely in Jawan. When asked if he learned any Tamil for the Atlee film, the actor said he only mouthed a few lines for lip sync in Tamil.
Asoka (2001) by Santosh Sivan
Asoka is a dramatised cinematic retelling of the life of emperor Asoka, produced by the now defunct Dreamz Unlimited founded by Shah Rukh along with Juhi Chawla and Aziz Mirza. The film depicts his early life as a prince and later as a bloodthirsty emperor, and ends with the Kalinga War after which he renounces violence and embraces Buddhism. Asoka is also the only Hindi film appearance of Tamil superstar Ajith, who plays Susima, Asoka’s elder half-brother who plots against him to capture the throne.
Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) by KS Adhiyaman
KS Adhiyaman has written and/or directed several Tamil films including Thotta Chinungi (1995), for which he won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer. In his first Hindi film Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, Shah Rukh plays Gopal, a toxic husband constantly suspicious of his wife Radha (Madhuri Dixit)’s close friendship with Suraj (Salman Khan). He only changes his ways when Suraj’s girlfriend Suman (Aishwarya Rai) convinces him otherwise. This was also possibly the last time Aishwarya and Salman appeared together on screen.
Shakti: The Power (2002) by Krishna Vamsi
This remake of the Telugu film Anthahpuram (1998), also directed by Krishna Vamsi, was produced by Sridevi and Boney Kapoor. Shah Rukh plays Jai Singh, a petty thief who helps Nandini (Karishma Kapoor), a widowed woman, escape her powerful, violent father-in-law Narasimha (Nana Patekar) who wants her to leave her son with him.
Billu (2009) by Priyadarshan
Billu is an adaptation of the Malayalam film Katha Parayumpol (2007) starring Mammootty, which was also remade in Tamil as Kuselan (2008) starring Rajinikanth. Shah Rukh plays Bollywood star Sahir Khan, a self-referential role. Sahir and Billu (Irrfan Khan) are childhood friends whose lives take very different paths. Years later, Sahir unknowingly arrives for a film shoot in a village where Billu now works as a barber.
The film mainly revolves around Billu and various incidents in his life during the course of Sahir’s film’s shooting until he finally gets to meet him. The film makes many references to Shah Rukh’s real-life stardom and was possibly the only time Shah Rukh and Irrfan appeared together on screen. The film was produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment.
Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022) by R Madhavan
In an extended cameo, Shah Rukh Khan plays himself, interviewing Nambi Narayanan (Madhavan), a former ISRO scientist who was accused of being part of a spy racket and later acquitted. Nambi takes the audience through the major events in his life story while responding to Shah Rukh’s questions, and the actor apologises to Nambi on behalf of the whole nation when the interview ends. The same role was played by Suriya in the Tamil version of the film.