Fan was not the first film where Shah Rukh Khan plays the idolized starâ€¦Nor the last

By Subhash K. Jha -

May 6, 2016 - 10:26 AM IST

In Maneesh Sharma's Fan Shah Rukh the superstar was hounded by a fan also played by Shah Rukh Khan. Interestingly another film on release Nagesh Kukunoor's Dhanak is also about Shah Rukh Khan being tracked down by two little children who are his fans.

No actor has played himself or variations of himself in the endeavour to pay a tribute to his own stardom, so often. Way back in 1998 Shah Rukh Khan played himself for the first time in a little-know Govinda starrer called Achanak. Two years later in M F Hussain's Gaja Gamini, SRK again made a cameo appearance as himself.

In 1995 Shah Rukh's friend journalist Samar Khan who has made documentary on SRK, cast the superstar as himself in Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye and in 2009 SRK again appeared as himself in Zoya Akhtar's Luck By Chance. In 2011 debutant director Saahil Sangha persuaded SRK to play a brief role as SRK in Love Breakups Zindagi.

Priyadrashan's Billu is a special case. Irrfan and Shah Rukh Khan were cast as two childhood friends one of whom, SRK, grows up to be a Bollywood superstar. Though SRK was named 'Sahir Khan' he was clearly playing himself, grooving it up with Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra in three item songs.

Makarand Deshpande's Shah Rukh Bola 'Khubsoorat Hai Tu' was about a flower seller who dreams of meeting her idol SRK. One day she does meet him at the traffic stop. The film was about how her life changes after that one chance encounter.

Besides Chandan Arora's Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon, Shah Rukh Bola 'Khubsoorat Hai Tu' is the only film celebrating an actor's stardom so unconditionally.