Shah Rukh Khan thanks fans for 25 years in Bollywood

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has thanked all his fans and well-wishers for supporting him in his “glorious journey” of more than two decades in Hindi filmdom.

Khan on Monday night shared a 37-second clip on his Twitter handle, where he and his youngest son, AbRam, were seen addressing a crowd standing in front of his house, Mannat, in Bandra, Mumbai.

The father-son duo was seen twinning in all-white kurta pyjamas, while they greeted fans from the terrace of his home in the video.

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■ Shah Rukh Khan poses with the media at his home on Monday.

“Eid Mubarak! Thank you for making my day special. And thank you for joining me on this glorious journey of 25 years. Love you all,” Khan captioned the image.

The 51-year-old superstar completed the 25-year milestone on June 25, a date which saw the release of his debut film Deewana back in 1992.

Khan is now gearing up for the release of Jab Harry Met Sejal, which is directed by Imtiaz Ali. The romantic film is extensively shot in Lisbon, Prague, Budapest and Punjab.

The film also stars Khan’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi co-star Anushka Sharma. This is the third time the two will be seen sharing screen space together.

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■ Shah Rukh Khan impersonator strikes a pose outside the actor’s home in Mumbai.

The actor, who invited the media on Monday to celebrate Eid with him, said his parents encouraged him to respect all the religions.

“I believe religion is personal. You learn and respect each other because you learn about your religion on your own. I hope my children do the same,” he said.

The actor, 51, a voracious reader, is known for his well-stocked library. He revealed that he has been reading Indian epic Mahabharata for sometime now.

“I have been reading Mahabharata for last one and half years because I love the stories in it. I tell those stories to AbRam. Similarly, the stories that I know of Islam, I narrate them to him as well. I hope they learn all the religions on their own and respect it.

“I think those are the greatest stories that have been told ever. I want my kids to learn about religion themselves.”

The star, who has three children — Aryan, Suhana and AbRam — with wife Gauri, says he would cook pasta to celebrate the festival with his children as it is the only dish he knows how to make.

Suhana recently made an appearance with Khan for the launch of a high-end restaurant in Mumbai. Their pictures started trending on social media but Khan said their public outings are not related to movies.

The actor said too much media attention makes them feel “awkward”.

“They are not movie stars. They just happened to be a movie star’s children. And I think they are very respectful and they are very decent. When they come out with me I make sure that they stand and do a picture because I know it’s meant to be important.

“I request that if you see them publicly. don’t assume they’ll be able to handle media like I do. They get awkward. Secondly, they come out publicly doesn’t mean they want to be actors.”

SRK had earlier said his daughter wanted to become an actress. However, he maintains that Suhana will get into the profession only after completing her studies.

“My children will finish their studies because in my house there is a minimal qualification rule which is graduation. They have to finish their college.

“Suhana is in 11th and still has four-five years of studies left. So there’s a long long way to go. Just because she comes out publicly doesn’t mean that we’re taking her out in public so that people start calling her a ‘heroine’.”

The actor said he was an outsider when he came to Mumbai and did not need to come out publicly.

“I directly came in films and I hope my children do that once they are educated enough to do that.”

The actor also reacted to the censor board’s disapproval of the term “intercourse” in a promotional video, saying neither he nor people associated with his upcoming film Jab Harry Met Sejal need to use anything “disrespectful” to sell it.

This didn’t go down well with Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairman, Pahlaj Nihalani, who condemned the telecast of the mini-trailer which was meant for digital consumption only. After the brouhaha, he demanded that if he gets 100,000 votes from the common people in its support, he will clear the usage of the word.

Asked for his opinion about the episode, Khan said on Monday: “I think I am below 18, so I cannot vote [laughed].

“On a serious note, neither I, nor anyone in the film — Imtiaz, Irshad [lyricist Irshad Kamil] sahab, Pritam da or anyone would use any disrespectful word, that hurts a family or anyone’s sentiment. We are yet to send the film to the censors and they should watch the whole film to decide.”

Jab Harry Met Sejal is releasing on August 4 in India.