Dreamz Unlimited
Dreamz Unlimited was an Indian film production and distribution company
founded in 1999 by Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Aziz Mirza. The company
produced three films.[1][2] In 2004, Khan took over the company and
transformed it into Red Chillies Entertainment.
Films produced
Year
Film
2000 Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani
2001 Asoka
2003 Chalte Chalte
Red Chillies Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment; abbreviated as RCE is an Indian motion picture
production and distribution company, based in Mumbai. The company was
founded in 2002 by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan.
It formed from Dreamz Unlimited.
The company has five sub divisions, apart from film production, REC has a
visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX, a studio for TV commercials
known as Red Chillies TVC, a Television programs production division under
the name of Red Chillies Idiot Box and an equipment Leasing division. The
company also has a little over 50% stake in the Cricket team Kolkata Knight
Riders.
Sanjiv Chawla is the Executive Producer of the company while Gauri Khan
serves as a producer. Red Chillies Entertainment was ranked as the third, fifth
and seventh most powerful production house in Bollywood in 2007, 2008 and
2009 respectively
Product Divisions
Red Chillies Entertainment holds five divisions which are
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Film production,
VFX,
TV Ads,
Television program / Serials
Equipment Leasing.
History
In 2004, choreographer Farah Khan, a good friend of Khan, decided to direct a
film with him. He then took over the production company Dreamz Unlimited
which he created with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza and transformed it
into Red Chillies Entertainment with his wife Gauri Khan, who became
producer of the first production Main Hoon Na in which Khan starred as well.
The movie did well at the box office, becoming the second highest grossing film
of the year. Khan also starred in the company's 2nd release, the 2005 movie
Paheli, belonging to the genre of indian Parallel Cinema, the film was critically
acclaimed and was selected as India's official entry to the 79th Academy
Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category, but was a commercial
failure.
The third film produced by the company was Farah Khan's mega-budget Om
Shanti Om, which was released in November 2007. The film was set in the
1970s and 2000s and paid tribute to, and pokes fun at the, Indian film industry
of both these eras. Upon release, it broke many box office records, grossing
over 1.48 billion and thus became the highest-grossing Hindi film of all-time
at the time of its release.[4] The 2009 film Billu starring Irrfan Khan and Lara
Dutt was the company's next release, the film opened to good reviews, but was a
box office failure. The latest film produced by the production company is
Roshan Abbas's Always Kabhi Kabhi, the film did poorly.
The company continued working on other projects until finally deciding on
Ra.One (2011) staring Khan himself, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The
pre-production work began in 2007 after the release of Om Shanti Om. The
film's crew consisted of more than 5,000 members from India, Italy and the US,
and was pieced together by more than 1,000 people, working in shifts, in around
15 studios across the world.[5] It saw the inclusion of several visual effects
techniques being incorporated in the production which were carried out by Red
Chillies VFX. With an estimated budget of 1.25 billion, Ra.One was the
second-most expensive film ever produced in Indian cinema, and the most
expensive Bollywood film.[6] The film witnessed a level of publicity
campaigning previously unseen in India films, with marketing taking place over
a period of nine months and involving major brand tie-ups of a 52 crore
(US$9.88 million) which set the record for the largest marketing budget in
India.[7]
The film released across 3,100 screens in India and 904 prints overseas in both
2D and 3D,[8] making it the largest Indian cinematic release in the world. Upon
release, while the Indian critics gave mixed reviews, the overseas film critics
received it warmly. The film has been widely praised for its visual effects and
action, though criticism has been generated regarding its script and direction.
Subsequently, the success of the effects and the 3D version of the film prompted
multiple other Bollywood filmmakers to consider technology as a part of filmmaking, especially in view of the success of Ra.One and the inordinately higher
returns generated from 3D ticket sales.[9] The film went on to break multiple
box-office records and according to its distributors, is the second highestgrossing Bollywood film worldwide earning over 2.4 billion. Their next
production will be Karan Johar's next directorial venture, Student Of The Year,
which will be co-produced by Johar's production company.
Visual effects
The company also has a visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX which
flagged off in 2005.[10] Apart from home productions, the VFX team had been
involved with many major movies like Chak De India, Don - The Chase Begins
Again, Dostana and De Dana Dan.[11] The division has won accolades for its
work in India and abroad. Don: The Chase Begins Again won European
accolades for Best Special Effects in 2006. A year later, Om Shanti Om won
best visual effects from Filmfare, Zee cine, IIFA, Star Screen, Indy's and Apsara
Producer's Guild Awards and in 2011, Ra.One swept all major awards in
Bollywood for visual effect, including a National Film Award and Filmfare
Award for Best Special Effects and was nominated for the Asian Film Awardas
well.[10] The division has the largest manpower among the group companies
with a staff strength of over 130.[12]
Television content
The company have also ventured into television content production under Red
Chillies Idiot Box. It produced its fist television show in 2009, since then, the
company has made twelve chat shows and serials.[13] They are also responsible
for the conception of Coke Studio (India), a popular Music TV Show featuring
live music performances by renowned artists.[14] In 2010, the company co-
produced Living with a Superstar-Shah Rukh Khan with Discovery Travel and
Living. The 10-part series was the biggest Indian show on TV, with a budget of
nearly 20 million.[10] The same year, they created along with Walt Disney
Studios Motion Pictures, the highly popular Teen drama Ishaan. The show
received positive response and recorded the highest TRP for a kids' show in
recent times.[15] In 2011, the production company collaborated with UTV for
their newly-launched channel UTV Stars, first with the celebrity based chat
show Up Close & Personal with PZ with actress Preity Zinta as host. Shot at her
own penthouse in Mumbai, the show stated airing on September 2011.[16] Then
through the reality TV show Live My Life, the show became one of the first big
shows on the channel and also one of its longest running series. It completed
more than 25 episodes in a span of six months. The show received good
feedback, especially from the youth.[17] and Superstar Santa, a show that deals
with issues relating to life featuring one celebrity each week solving the issue at
hand.[1
Commercials
Red Chillies TVC, the sub-division of RCE responsible for producing television
commercials has been active since 2001. The company has produced over 250
commercials (with an average of 45 commercials yearly) for various national
and international brands , such as TAG Heuer, Lux Cozy, Sprite, Pepsi, Dish
TV, Airtel & Videocon
Sports
In 2008, Red Chillies acquired ownership rights for the franchise representing
Kolkata in the a Twenty20 cricket tournament Indian Premier League, for a
price of USD 75.09 million, and have since named the team Kolkata Knight
Riders. KKR is the richest team in the IPL and it has been ranked as the most
valued with a brand value of $42.1 million.[20] Financially, the KKR are the
most profitable and successful franchise in the IPL as well.[21][22] The home of
the Kolkata Knight Riders is Eden Gardens, the largest and most iconic cricket
stadium in India. It is also one of the largest stadiums in Asia. In 2011, they
introduced the Mumbai franchise in the motorsport racing league i1 Super
Series.
Film Production
Film Production
Year
Film
Director
Notes
Phir Bhi Dil Hai
Hindustani
Aziz Mirza
The studio's first release as Dreamz Unlimited
Asoka (2001 film)
Santosh Sivan
Won a Filmfare Award
Nominated for 4 more including Best Film
2001
2003 Chalte Chalte
Aziz Mirza
Farah Khan
The studio's first release as Red Chillies
Entertainment
Won a Filmfare Award
Nominated for 8 more including Best Movie
Kaal
Soham Shah
Co-produced with Dharma Productions
Paheli
Won a National Film Award
Nominated for 2 Filmfare awards
Amol Palekar
Nominated as India's official entry to the 79th
Academy Awards
2004 Main Hoon Na
2005
2007 Om Shanti Om
Farah Khan
Won a National Film Award
Won 2 Filmfare Award
Nominated for 10 more including Best Movie
2009 Billu
Priyadarshan
a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha
Parayumbol
Karan Johar
Co-produced with Dharma Productions and Fox
Searchlight Pictures
Won 3 Filmfare Award
Nominated for 7 more including Best Movie
2010 My Name Is Khan
2011
Always Kabhi Kabhi Roshan Abbas
Ra.One
Anubhav
Sinha
2012 Student Of The Year Karan Johar
Co-produced with Dharma Productions
Television
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Ghar Ki Baat - 2009
Ladies First - 2009
Tere Mere Beach Mein - 2009
Knights and Angels - 2009
Ishaan - 2010
Living with a Superstar: Shah Rukh Khan - 2010
Luv Ho Jaane De - 2010
Like I Love You - 2010
Men Will Be Men (Television film) - 2011
Filmy Dabba Party -2011
Ye Parindey- Impossible ki maa ki aankh- 2011
Live My Life - 2011
Up Close & Personal with PZ (A chat show with Preity Zinta as host) –
2011
RED CHILLIES VFX
Red chillies vfx-About us
Award Winning visual effects company redchillies.vfx, is a division of Red
Chillies Entertainment, with a remarkable expertise in producing photorealistic animation and believable visual effects by using premium technology
in feature films and commercials. Established in 2006, the company aspires to
create and serve millions of discerning viewers with impressive and convincing
visual experience.
Based in the heart of the showbiz district of Mumbai, redchillies.vfx is a
privately owned and operated post production studio specializing in visual
effects for feature films & commercials. We have established ourselves as one
of India's top visual effect studios in the short span of 2 years. Our film portfolio
includes several bollywood films, and we have won a few awards along the
way.
Our state-of-the-art facilities are taking giant strides at bringing dramatic
changes to the industry. The new 10,000 sq ft studio facility has some of the
best talent & equipment in the country. The unit has been planned keeping in
view the present and future needs of the industry. Our unique proprietary
production pipeline allows us to handle several complex jobs at a time with
ease.
We are proud of our high quality work, and maintain a close working
relationship with our clients to ensure their creative vision is realized.
Feature film work in our pipeline for 2008 includes projects by some of
bollywoods' best known production houses - Mukta Arts, Percept Productions,
Dharma Productions, and our very own Redchillies Entertainment.
PEOPLE
redchillies.vfx is managed by Haresh Hingarani (Production Director) & Keitan
Yadav (Chief Operating Officer). Partnership, integrity and enthusiasm are the
key principles driving this duo.
The main focus is always to ensure that the clients' creative vision is realized.
Together, they share the responsibility of understanding the requirements of a
job, budgeting for it, set up and managing processes which will result in a top
quality product.
The team that is credited for the birth of redchillies.vfx is the same team that
worked on Award Winning film Main Hoon Na (2004) and Oscar nominated
film Paheli (2005). The company has done path breaking work in Bollywood
Blockbusters. redchillies.vfx has given its cutting-edge graphic touch to movies
like Don - The Chase Begins Again (2006), Chak De! India (2007), Om Shanti
Om (2007), Dostana (2008), My Name is Khan (2010), Ra.One (2011) and
many more, making the experience of watching a film, a visual treat for the
viewer. Within 6 years of its being, redchillies.vfx has proudly established itself
as one of India's top Visual Effects Studio. We have been conferred with many
awards, by the jury of various reputed Bollywood Award Functions, for the
finest visual effects created, and hope to continue bag more in our journey.
Ra.One
Ra.One is a 2011 Hindi science fiction superhero film written
and directed by Anubhav Sinha, produced by Eros International
and Red Chillies Entertainment.
Awards
 Filmfare Award in 2012 for Best Special Effects
 Apsara Film and Producers Guild Award in 2012 for Best Special Effects
 Zee Cine Award in 2012 for Best Visual Effects
 Indian National Film Award in 2012 for Best Special Effects
 Colors Screen Award in 2012 for Best Special Effects
 FICCI - BAF Award in 2012 for Visual Effects in a Motion Picture
 FICCI - BAF Award in 2012 for Visual Effects Shot of the Year(Special Jury
Award)
Awards Nominated
 Hong Kong International Film Festival Award in 2012 for Best Special Effects
Om Shanti Om
Om Shanti Om is a 2007 Bollywood musical film directed and
choreographed by Farah Khan distributed by RedChillies
entertainment. The film broke many box office records and
thus becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film of all-time at the
time of its release.
Awards

Filmfare Award in 2008 for Best Special Effects
 Star Screen Award in 2008 for Best Special Effects
 Zee Cine Award in 2008 for Best Visual Effects
 IIFA Award in 2008 for Best Special Effects
Chak De India
Chak De India is a 2007 Indian sports films about field hockey
in India. It is directed by Shimit Amin, produced by Yash Raj
Films, written by Jaideep Sahni. Chak De India, one of the top
grossing films of 2007, won critical acclaim in India and abroad.
Awards Nominated
 Apsara Film and Producers Guild Award in 2008 for Best Special Effects
Don: The Chase Begins Again
Don: The Chase Begins Again is action film directed by Farhan
Akhtar. It is a remake of the 1978 film Don. The film is
produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under the
banner Excel Entertainment.
Awards Nominated
 Filmfare Award in 2007 for Best Special Effects
 Zee Cine Award in 2007 for Best Visual Effects
Paheli
Paheli is a supernatural love story Directed by Amol Palekar,
produced by Gauri Khan and Sharukh Khan, Paheli made an
official entry to Oscars in 2006 from India to compete in the
'The best foreign film' category.
Awards Nominated

Screen Award in 2006 for Best Special Effects
 Apsara Film and Producers Guild Award in 2006 for Best Special Effects
Red chillies vfx-Studio
redchillies.vfx believes in preserving and working in a close relationship with
our clients, as well as our team, in order to transfer the clients creative vision
into reality.
redchillies.vfx was founded by Bollywood actor Mr. Shah Rukh Khan, along
with Mr. Keitan Yadav & Mr. Haresh Hingorani in 2006, and is based in the
Bollywood hub, i.e. Mumbai. Our state-of-art facilities spread across 3 floors
are taking giant strides at bringing dramatic change to the VFX industry in
India.
Our 14,000 sq ft studio garners rich creative talent and is home for the finest
and unparalleled equipment in the country. These equipments are powered to
enable us to perform multiple jobs in harmony, without any hindrance.
redchillies.vfx is the only studio in India, to meet International standards in its
area of work, and thus to receive ISO - 9001 and ISO - 27001 certification.
redchillies.vfx has been acclaimed for its stupendous work in Ra.One, that
comprises 3500+ VFX shots
Red chillies vfx- Management
Keitan Yadav (Chief Operating Officer/ VFX Producer/ CTO): Keitan
Yadav wears many hats in the organization by controlling the Operations,
Production and getting the right Technology for the studio. With over 15+ years
of experience in the industry he has demonstrated his expertise with keen
interest in a number of departments, making him a multi-talented individual of
the company.
Keitan well initiated as a VFX Supervisor, and thereafter shifted to handling
Production and Management, at redchillies.vfx. Besides his ability to
adequately handle Operations and Production of the company, he effortlessly
manoeuvred the technology department, and eventually constructing the studio
to become the most dexterous in terms of possessing cutting-edge hardware and
software.
During his tenure, redchillies.vfx has bagged several awards including
Filmfare, IIFA, Zee Cine Awards, Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild
Awards and Screen Awards. Under his position at redchillies.vfx, the company
received its first International Standard's certification ISO-9001 and ISO-27001.
Keitan has contributed significantly in preliminary design & development of the
studio in Mumbai & successfully managed overseas shoot deals in countries
like US, UK & Australia. Keitan is known in the industry for his vision,
leadership skills, youthful energy, and his tactical abilities, that reflect in other
important functions including programming, production, content management,
advertising, financing, etc.
Haresh Hingorani (Chief Creative Officer / Production Director / VFX
Supervisor): With a number of years as VFX artist behind him, Harry has been
passionately serving the VFX industry since 1993. He has been credited for
skillful VFX in various Bollywood films like Ra.One, Kites, My Name is Khan,
Om Shanti Om, Don, and many more. Harry is unvaryingly zealous for
achieving realism in VFX and progressively yielding quality work.
His career started with working on commercials, and subsequently he has
successfully worked on more than 200 ad films. Harry then set his foot in
feature films in 2003, and there is no looking back after that. One of his
noteworthy assignments has been in Bollywood Blockbuster Ra.One, where he
exposed his team work skills, by managing 300+ in house artists and working
with VFX supervisors from 14 studios across the globe.
Harry is endowed with superior knowledge of 2D and 3D softwares, that also
includes simulation and matchmove, background creation, editing, fundamental
concepts of shoots and photography. He uses various off the shelf applications
and also provides ideas and suggestions to the R & D team to develop capable
tools.
Even though at an elated degree at redchillies.vfx, he still personally works on
complex VFX shots, apart from prosperously managing the team. Harry is
prestigiously credited for nourishing the company in visualizing, supervising,
delivering realistic VFX and high quality service.
Harry believes in setting benchmarks of his own creations and achieving it with
his next best work.
He has been bestowed with awards for Main Hoon Na, Paheli and won awards
for Om Shanti Om and Ra.One in totality.
Harry handles a variety of functions and strives progressively to produce quality
work. His interpersonal skills, prioritizing ability and potential to effectively
meet deadlines, has been appreciated by top-notch individuals of the industry.
He handles both domestic & foreign clients with ease & that makes him an
accomplished supervisor & a thorough professional.
Keitan Yadav(Chief Operating Officer/ VFX Producer/
CTO):
Haresh Hingorani (Chief Creative Officer / Production
Director / VFX Supervisor)
red chillies vfx-The Team
The company’s expanded production team supports in managing multiple
projects synchronously and discharging them efficiently. redchillies.vfx's core
team has professionals with 12+ years of experience. These experienced artists
practically understand the functionality and working of the studio.
redchillies.vfx has built a creative team that includes a department of highly
skilled compositors, animators, effects artists, editors and developers. The
company also comprises of 180+ multi-talented artists, who work with Maya,
Houdini, 3dsMax and Nuke.
A dedicated team of 10 engineers of the IT/ System Support department,
manage the render farms, storage and other software and hardware resources in
the studio, whereas the production/ line producers team sincerely value the
project delivery, and work hard towards achieving good results.
redchillies.vfx effectively serves the requirements of clients, with this set of
multi-skilled team. The company always looks to hire artists who have a keen
eye for realism and are able to bring CG objects to life.
red chillies vfx- Technology
redchillies.vfx is geared with latest state-of-the-art storage with a capacity to
work on 3-4 visual effect film projects at the same time. The data centre
comprises of 3200 cores of rendering power estimating to 8.3 THz of
computing power. The studio also has a heterogeneous OS environment with
Linux, Mac and Windows powered by high-end workstations with latest highend Nvidia Quadro GPUs.
red chillies vfx- Research & Development
redchillies.vfx has a strong R & D team that constantly strives to develop tools
and technologies, to combine them with award winning 3rd party applications
that are used in the studio. The software and tools that we have developed help
us to complete multiple projects simultaneously without compromising on the
schedule and quality standards. Our developers create software that addresses
the needs of our clients in today's constantly evolving visual effects
environment.
The software development team has created a unique proprietary pipeline
management tool that allows us to work on several complex jobs at a time with
ease. This pipeline tool is backed by the proprietary render management tool
that manages the resources in the studio and also commissions cloud computing.
SHAHRUKH KHAN HISTORY
Shahrukh Khan, Fame of Bollywood film industry was born on 2 November 1965 in New
Delhi, India. He is an indian Bollywood film actor and a prominent figure, as well as a film
producer and television host. Mine several television serials in the 1980s his career began to
appear. He made his film debut in Deewana (1992).Since then he has been part of several
commercially successful movies and critical acclaim for his performance earned many. Khan
has won fourteen Film fare Awards for his work in Indian films, eight of which are in the
Best Actor category (a record). In 2005, Indian cinema to the Indian government awarded
him the Padma Shri for his contribution.
Dilwale Dulhania Le (1995) will, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Chak De India (2007), Om
Shanti Om (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) as the biggest Bollywood films of mine
Hit a few remain, the Kabhi Khushi Kabhie (2001) Gum, Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer Zaara
- (2004), Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006) and films like My Name is Khan (2010) was the top
has been grossing Indian film overseas markets. Since 2000, Khan branched out into film
production and television presenting as well. Khan film production and television presenting
as well as the outside branched. He is the founder/owner of two production companies,
Dreamz Unlimited and Red Chillies Entertainment. Khan, considered the world's biggest
movie stars numbering in the billions today after a fan and a net Rs 2,500 crore Indian rupee
(U.S. $ 555 million) with an estimated value. In 2008, Newsweek named him one in the
world 50 most powerful people.
STORY OF SHAHRUKH KHAN LIFE
Khan was born in 1965 to Muslim parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India. His father,
Taj Mohammed Khan, was an Indian independence activist from Peshawar, British India.
According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan. His mother,
Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua
Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose.
Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the
partition of India, while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, British India.Khan has an
elder sister named Shehnaz.
Growing up in Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood, Khan attended St. Columba's School where
he was accomplished in sports, drama, and academics. He won the Sword of Honour, an
annual award given to the student who best represents the spirit of the school. Khan later
attended the Hansraj College (1985–1988) and earned his Bachelors degree in Economics
(honors). Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia
Islamia, he later opted out to make his career in Bollywood.
After the death of his parents, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991.In that same year, before any
of his films were released, he married Gauri Chibber, a Hindu, in a traditional Hindu wedding
ceremony on 25 October 1991.They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter
Suhana (b. 2000). According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Allah, he also values his
wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with the Qur'an being situated
next to the Hindu deities.
In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced a two-part documentary on Khan, titled The Inner
and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. Featuring his 2004 Temptations concert tour, the film
contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. The
book Still Reading Khan, which details his family life, was released in 2006. Another book
by Anupama Chopra, King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian
cinema, was released in 2007. It describes the world of Bollywood through Khan's life.
SHAHRUKH KHAN ENTRY IN BOLLYWOOD
BACKGROUND OF SHAHRUKH KHAN
Khan studied acting under celebrated Theatre Director Barry John at Delhi's Theatre Action
Group (TAG). In 2007, John commented thus on his former pupil that, "The credit for the
phenomenally successful development and management of Shahrukh's career goes to the
superstar himself."Khan made his acting debut in 1988 when he appeared in the television
series, Fauji, playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. He went on to appear in several
other television serials, most notably in the 1989 serial, Aziz Mirza's Circus, which depicted
the life of circus performers.The same year, Khan also had a minor role in the made-fortelevision English-language film, In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones, which was based on
life at Delhi University and was written by Arundhati Roy. When Khan appeared in those
teleserials, people found in him some resemblance with legendary actor Dilip Kumar and also
compared his acting style with the thespian.
SHAHRUKH KHAN 1990S FILM
Upon moving from New Delhi to Mumbai in 1991, Khan made his Bollywood movie debut
in Deewana (1992). The movie became a box office hit, and launched his career in
Bollywood.His performance won him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. He went on to star
in Maya Memsaab, which generated some controversy because of his appearance in an
"explicit" sex scene in the movie.
In 1993, Khan won acclaim for his performances in villainous roles as an obsessive lover and
a murderer, respectively, in the box office hits, Darr and Baazigar.In Khan's entry in
Encyclopedia Britannica's "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" it was stated that "he defied the
image of the conventional hero in both these films and created his own version of the
revisionist hero."Darr marked his first collaboration with renowned film-maker Yash Chopra
and his banner Yash Raj Films, the largest production company in Bollywood. Baazigar,
which saw Khan portraying an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, shocked its
Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula. His
performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award. In that same year, Khan played
the role of a young musician in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, a performance that
earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Khan maintains that this is his
all-time favourite among the movies he has acted in.[28] In 1994, Khan once again played an
obsessive lover/psycho's role in Anjaam, co-starring alongside Madhuri Dixit. Though the
movie was not a box office success, Khan's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Villain
Award.
In 1995, Khan starred in the two biggest hits of the year in India. His first release was Rakesh
Roshan's Karan Arjun. The film, which dealt with reincarnation, became the second-highest
grossing film of the year.He followed it with Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romance
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. A major critical and commercial success, the movie became
the year's top-grossing production in India.In 2007, it entered its twelfth year in Mumbai
theaters. By then the movie had grossed over 12 billion rupees, making it one of India's
biggest movie blockbusters.Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge won ten Filmfare Awards, and
Khan's performance as a young NRI who falls for Kajol's character while on a college
vacation, won him his second Best Actor Award. In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the
movie amongst the 25 Must See Bollywood Films, citing it as a "trendsetter of sorts".In that
same year's retrospective review by Rediff, Raja Sen stated, "Khan gives a fabulous
performance, redefining the Lover for the 1990s with great panache. He's cool and flippant,
but sincere enough to appeal to the junta. The performance itself is, like the best in the
business, played well enough to come across as effortless, as non-acting."
1996 was a disappointing year for Khan as all his movies released that year failed to do well
at the box office. This was, however, followed by a comeback in 1997. He saw success with
Subhash Ghai's social drama Pardes — one of the biggest hits of the year — and Aziz Mirza's
comedy yes Boss, a moderately successful feature. His second project with Yash Chopra as a
director, Dil to Pagal Hai became that year's second highest-grossing movie, and he won his
third Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role as a stage director who falls in love with one of
his new actresses.
In 1998, Khan starred in Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was the
biggest hit of the year. His performance won him his fourth Best Actor award at the Filmfare.
He won critical praise for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se. The movie did not do
well at the Indian box office, though it was a commercial success overseas. Khan's only
release in 1999, Baadshah, was an average grosser.
SHAHRUKH KHAN 2000S FILM
Khan's success continued with Aditya Chopra's 2000 film, Mohabbatein, co-starring Amitabh
Bachchan. It did well at the box office, and Khan's performance as a college teacher won him
his second Critics Award for Best Performance. He also starred in Mansoor Khan's action
film Josh. The film starred Khan as the leader of a Christian gang in Goa and Aishwarya Rai
as his twin sister, and was also a box office success.[40] In that same year, Khan set up his
own production house, Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla (see below). Both Khan and
Chawla starred in the first movie of their production house, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.His
collaboration with Karan Johar continued in 2001 with the family drama Kabhi Khushi
Kabhie Gham which was the second biggest hit of the year. He also received favorable
reviews for his performance as Emperor Asoka in the historical epic, Asoka, a partly
fictionalised account of the life of Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC).
In 2002, Khan received acclaim for playing the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's awardwinning period romance, Devdas. This was the third Hindi movie adaptation of Sharat
Chandra Chattopadhyay's well-known novel of the same name, and surfaced as one of the
biggest hits of that year.Khan also starred opposite Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the
family-drama Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, which did well at the box office.In 2003, Khan
starred in the moderately successful romantic drama, Chalte Chalte.That same year, he
starred in the tearjerker, Kal Ho Naa Ho, written by Karan Johar and directed by Nikhil
Advani. Khan's performance in this movie as a man with a fatal heart disease was
appreciated. The movie proved to be one of the year's biggest hits in India and Bollywood's
biggest hit in the overseas markets.
2004 was a particularly good year for Khan, both commercially and critically. He starred in
Farah Khan's directorial debut, the action comedy Main Hoon Na. The movie did well at the
box office. He then played the role of an Indian officer, Veer Pratap Singh in Yash Chopra's
love saga Veer-Zaara, which was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas.The film
relates the love story of Veer and a Pakistani woman Zaara Haayat Khan, played by Preity
Zinta. Khan's performance in the film won him awards at several award ceremonies. In that
same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance in Ashutosh Gowariker's drama
Swades. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for all three of his releases in
2004, winning it for Swades.
In 2006, Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the fourth time with the melodrama Kabhi
Alvida Na Kehna. It did well in India and much more so in the overseas market, becoming
the biggest Bollywood hit in the overseas market of all-time.[45] His second release that year
saw him playing the title role in the action film Don: The Chase Begins Again, a remake of
the 1978 hit Don. The movie was a success.
Khan's success continued with a few more highly popular films. One of his most successful
works was the multiple award-winning 2007 film, Chak De India, about the Indian women's
national hockey team. Earning over Rs 639 million, Chak De India became the third highest
grossing movie of 2007 in India and won yet another Filmfare Best Actor Award for
Khan.[46] The film was a major critical success.In the same year Khan also starred in Farah
Khan's 2007 film, Om Shanti Om. The film emerged as the year's highest grossing film in
India and the overseas market, and became India's highest grossing production ever up to that
point.[46] It earned him another nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare ceremony. His
2008 release, the romantic drama Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was a box office success. His only
2009 release was Billu where he played film superstar Saahil Khan who is reunited with his
childhood friend Billu played by Irrfan Khan.
SHAHRUKH KHAN 2010S FILM
Khan's next film was My Name Is Khan, his fourth collaboration with director Karan Johar
and the sixth movie in which he is paired with Kajol. Filming commenced in December 2008
in Los Angeles and ended in October 2009. While on one shoot in Los Angeles, along with
his wife Gauri and director Karan Johar, he took a break from filming to attend the 66th
Golden Globe Awards, held in Los Angeles, California, on 11 January 2009,where he was
introduced as the King of Bollywood.Khan introduced Slumdog Millionaire, a movie he had
previously turned down, along with a star from the film, Freida Pinto. My Name Is Khan was
released on 12 February 2010.Based on a true story, and set against the backdrop of
perceptions on Islam post 11 September attacks, My Name Is Khan stars Khan as Rizwan
Khan, a Muslim man suffering from Asperger syndrome who sets out on a journey across
America on a mission to meet the country's President and clear his name. Upon release, the
film received positive reviews from critics and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film
of all time in the overseas market. Khan won his eighth Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his
portrayal, threby joining Dilip Kumar as the record holder in this category. He is currently
filming for Anubhav Sinha's science fiction Ra.One opposite Kareena Kapoor, which is due
for release on October 26, 2011.
SHAHRUKH KHAN TURNED PRODUCER
Khan turned producer when he set up a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with
Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza in 1999. The first two of the films he produced and
starred in: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) and Asoka (2001) were box office
failures.However, his third film as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte (2003), proved a box
office hit.
In 2004, Khan set up another production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and produced
and starred in Main Hoon Na, another hit.[44] The following year, he produced and starred in
the fantasy film Paheli, which did poorly.It was, however, India's official entry to the
Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not pass the
final selection. Also in 2005, Khan co-produced the supernatural horror film Kaal with Karan
Johar, and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora Khan. Kaal was
moderately successful at the box office.His company has gone on to produce Om Shanti Om
(2007), in which he starred, and Billu (2009), in which he played a supporting role as a
Bollywood superstar.
Apart from film production, the company also has a visual effects studio known as Red
Chillies VFX. It has also ventured into television content production, with shows like, The
First Ladies, Ghar Ki Baat Hai', and Knights and Angels. Television advertisements are also
produced by the company.
In 2008, Red Chillies Entertainment became the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the
BCCI-backed IPL cricket competition.
Television
In 2007, Khan replaced Amitabh Bachchan as the host of the third series of the popular game
show Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The
previous had hosted the show for five years from 2000–05. On 22 January 2007, Kaun
Banega Crorepati aired with Khan as the new host and later ended on 19 April 2007.
On 25 April 2008, Khan began hosting the game show Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?
the Indian version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, whose last episode was telecasted
on 27 July 2008, with Lalu Prasad Yadav as the special guest.
In February 2011, he began hosting Zor Ka Jhatka, the Indian version of the American game
show Wipeout, on Imagine TV.
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Main article: List of Shahrukh Khan's awards and nominations
Khan has been awarded several honours which include the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest
civilian award from the Government of India in 2005.In April 2007, a life-size wax statue of
Khan was installed at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London. Another statue was installed
at the Musée Grévin in Paris, the same year. During the same year, he was accorded the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of the Arts and Literature) award by the French
government for his “exceptional career”. There are also statues in Hong Kong and New York.
In October 2008, Khan was conferred the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka which carries the
honorific Datuk (in similar fashion to "Sir" in British knighthood), by the Yang di-Pertua
Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia. Khan was
honoured for "promoting tourism in Malacca" by filming One Two Ka Four there in 2001.
Some were critical of his decision. He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate in arts
and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009.
SRK Inc. ShahRukh Khan and His Empire!
"But what impressed me most was his
knowledge of consumer behaviour and
marketing. He could easily give a
lecture at an IIM on the subject," says
Kapoor. The ad is shot over three days
after which SRK walks away with a Rs
7-crore cheque.
Bollywood's Richest ActorTHE Rs 1,500*
cr HERO






BRAND ENDORSEMENTS: Rs 238
cr, 34 brands; charges Rs 7 crore for
each
SHOWS AND EVENTS: Rs 75 cr
ACTING IN FILMS: Rs 12 cr Per film
or a share of the profit
RED CHILLIES ENTERTAINMENT
(Including Kolkata Knight Riders): Rs
500 cr
MISC. ASSETS: Rs 10 cr Includes
luxury cars, designer watches, etc.
REAL ESTATE: Rs 650 cr Includes
homes in Mumbai, London and Dubai,
and other real estate investments
* Estimates based on sources such as TAM,
www.mca.gov.in, and industry sources
February 12, 2010: My Name is Khan,
produced by Karan Johar's Dharma
Productions, is slated for release. The
story of an autistic Mumbai Muslim
who marries a Hindu could add some
Rs 10 crore to SRK's kitty if audiences
lap it up. Eleven days prior to this,
Shah Rukh rang the opening bell at the
New York-based NASDAQ stock
exchange, an honour usually reserved
for CEOs.
February 26: Discovery Travel and
Living's 10-part series, Living with a
Superstar-Shah Rukh Khan, will go on
air.
The biggest Indian show on TV, with a
budget of nearly Rs 20 crore, delves
into different shades of SRK's life: As a
father, a husband, a businessman, and
of course, an entertainer. SRK
personally will not earn much from
this show.
Red Chillies Idiot Box, an arm of SRK's
Red Chillies Entertainment, which is
co-producing the show, stands to gain
much of the spoils. Discovery has
already sold all ad inventories for this show.
Every step he takes, every move he makes, somebody's out there watching him-and
somebody's out there willing to pay a small fortune to see him perform. Whether he's
acting, or endorsing a brand, or just being himself at an awards ceremony, SRK
mints money.
And let's not forget the company he owns along with wife Gauri: Red Chillies
Entertainment, which has diversified into highgrowth areas of entertainment like
visual effects, television commercials, television programming, in addition to the
mainstay of film-making.
Put all these interests together and you have a superstar with a net worth of roughly
Rs 1,500 crore, making him arguably Bollywood's richest star.
To put that in perspective, SRK today is as valuable as papermaker Ballarpur
Industries. Those that come close to SRK: Amitabh Bachchan, whose AB Corp
(earlier known as Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd. or ABCL) has got a second
lease of life and Aamir Khan, who has perfected the balancing act of turning out boxoffice busters and minting money from brand endorsements.
But it's doubtless SRK who has his finger in virtually every lucrative pie. Every brand
he puts his stamp on earns him nothing less than Rs 7 crore (he's shot over 30 print
and television ads in the past five years), and charges between Rs 3 crore and Rs 40
crore for an event, depending on what he has to do (just "appear" or be the funny
man or dance or all of these).
And let's not forget the films he appears in-for which he either takes home a share of
the profits or at least Rs 12 crore. And then there's the Rs 73 crore company that he
has built that has only scratched the surface of the huge entertainment market.
Not least is the cricket team he owns in the star-studded Indian Premier League-The
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) does not have much silverware to show for its efforts
but then it is one of the few teams that is in the black. KKR is owned by a company
called Knight Riders Ltd., in which Red Chillies Entertainment owns a little over 50
per cent of equity (the rest is owned by actor Juhi Chawla and her husband, Jay
Mehta).
Make no mistake: SRK is not a passive investor in Red Chillies Entertainment
looking to grow the wealth he earns from his celluloid life. Sure, he wants to make
money- lots of it-but he also has the sharp vision of a businessman. He loves to be
modest and self-deprecating-"I am not a businessman, I am not as intelligent as
people think I am," he quips to BT-but at the core of that casual exterior exists a
canny entrepreneur who's quick to spot an opportunity and get cracking on it.
"I believe in striking when the iron is hot…These businesses (within Red Chillies) are
my passion…and all related to the entertainment industry. (They're) not just a means
to invest my hard-earned money," says Shah Rukh, sitting in the drawing room of his
massive bespoke van, lighting up as many as six cigarettes in a 45-minute-long
conversation.
Consider, for instance, the VFX division, an
appropriate reminder of SRK's foresight. Flagged
off in 2006, the special-effects studio contributes
just 4.5 per cent to Red Chillies' overall revenues,
but it could be a different story in five years. "Quite
simply, I want this to be the best VFX company in
India. I see this as the main revenue generator for
Red Chillies (in five years)," says SRK.
"Shah Rukh wanted a path-breaking special-effects
studio, which would bring Hollywood's slick
sophistication to Indian cinema," adds Keitan
Yadav, COO, Red Chillies VFX, which has won
accolades for its work in India and abroad. To be
sure, it is not the Oscar, but Don-The Chase Begins
Again won European accolades for Best Special
Effects in 2006.
A year later, the Star Screen Awards singled out
Om Shanti Om for best visual effects (2007). In
2008, Red Chillies VFX followed up its winning
streak by clutching all the biggies to expand its
awards arsenal with the Filmfare, Zee Lux, IIFA (Bangkok), Star Screen, Indy's and Apsara
Producer's Guild Awards. The division has the largest manpower among the group companies
with a staff strength of over 100. The team will work through 2010 on SRK's dream project,
Ra One, a special-effects driven film on a superhero that will be played by the superstar
himself.
Another division that could prove a game-changer -not just for Red Chillies but for the
industry itself-is television programming. Red Chillies Idiot Box is the baby in the team with
3-4 shows till date and a couple more in the pipeline. Shah Rukh isn't quite thrilled about the
genre of programming that works currently on TV, but he expects audience tastes to change
(perhaps even mature) in a few years by which time his company will be ready to deliver.
Still, Idiot Box contributes 15 per cent to overall revenues, and SRK realises the need for a
diversified spread-films in 2009 accounted for 60 per cent of revenues (down from almost 86
per cent in 2005 and 88.4 per cent in 2008). Just one turkey at the box office could mar the
company's prospects-for instance, one reason for Red Chillies hurtling into the red in the year
ended March 2009 was higher salary costs, investments in TV division and lower recovery
from films than in the previous year (ended March 2008) when the company showed a profit
of Rs 7.5 crore, thanks largely to the success of Om Shanti Om.
If films can be a volatile business, 20:20 cricket is a virtual lottery. But here too SRK's
business acumen comes to the fore. Despite being saddled with the wooden spoon in IPL's
second edition (and finishing sixth in the first), the company that owns the franchise (Knight
Riders Ltd.) is one of just 8 IPL teams to be in the black. Over 2007-08 and 2008-09, KKR
has clocked net profits of Rs 37 crore and revenues of Rs 197 crore, thanks to a steady stream
of sponsorships, earnings from gate receipts and merchandise, amongst others. But SRK is
clear: KKR has to win to justify its existence. "I didn't buy an IPL team to make crores of
rupees…I can make money by dancing at weddings," he quips.
With businesses that traverse virtually the entire spectrum
of entertainment-from films to cricket-SRK is trying
something that no Indian film star has done before. And he
realises that he can't do this without the help of
professionals who are passionate and understand the
business.
The experience with Dreamz Unlimited- SRK's first, and
unsuccessful, attempt at a production company in 1997
with actress Juhi Chawla-has taught him some valuable lessons. Shah Rukh, who is
superstitious about the number 5 (his BMW 7 series car and van have registration plates with
555) like telecom billionaire Sunil Mittal, doesn't mess with finances-he has a CFO, Blesson
Oommen, who has managed the company's finances since 2000 (from the Dreamz Unlimited
days)-and stresses that he lets his "boys and girls" take the business decisions. "In creative
decisions, I am totally involved," says Shah Rukh.
He's also involved in hiring most of the "boys and girls"-in his own inimitable style. Shah
Rukh's more likely to spot talent within his immediate environs than on B-school campuses.
Consider how he pulled in Samar Khan, a former television journalist covering entertainment,
to head Red Chillies Idiot Box. A little over two years back, the ex-scribe, who had started
his own TV production firm, got a phone call that changed his life. On the phone line was
Shah Rukh, whom Samar had interviewed several times in his career.
"I remember you asking me in your interviews as to why I wasn't getting into the business of
television. Well, I am doing so now and I have a few plans for the next three years. Why
don't you head the division?" "I could hardly say no," grins Samar. "I told him I knew
nothing about number-crunching or about running a business. But he was willing to back me.
It's not everyday that you get to work with SRK on a long-term basis." Clearly, if SRK's
charm works with audiences, it would also with his employees.
"He is the most down-toearth superstar you will ever see," says Sanjeev 'Bobby' Chawla
(Juhi's brother), who has been part of the core team right from the Dreamz Unlimited days
and runs the Red Chillies TV commercial division. Yet, the danger here for a company that
has such a larger-than-life person at the helm is that people working with him will hesitate to
call a spade a spade, tow the boss' line even if he is prone to make stupid decisions, and
ignore glaring threats just because the owners don't see them. The way SRK sees it, that's not
quite the case.
"The people I have hired don't just work hard but each of them thinks of the business as his
(or her) own. They think of ways to improve matters- they're not just employees working to a
mechanical plan." Yet, the biggest threat to SRKcould well be somebody he can do little
about-himself. Superstars aren't allowed to fail, as Amitabh Bachchan discovered in the 90s.
One error and he could well be condemned. "…No one allows a big star to make mistakes or
fail. Whereas business is actually a series of success and failures. The skill lies in quickly
setting your failures right and building on your successes," says Pritish Nandy, Chairman,
Pritish Nandy Communications.
That would seem precisely the road SRK is traversing-for instance, if KKR turns out to be a
failure (by not winning), don't rule out the possibility of him selling the team. He'll move on
to something new. Last April, on the last day of the month, SRK flew into Mumbai from
South Africa after witnessing KKR's disastrous performance.
After voting in the general elections, the same night SRK lands up to perform at the wedding
reception of a real estate baron's nephew. He breaks a glass over his head, Devdas style,
cracks jokes about his IPL team and signs autographs for guests for all of the 30 minutes.
At the end of it, he goes home to sleep closer to dawn (that's almost a routine), richer by a
little over Rs 5 crore. That's a model that's difficult to replicate, that requires zero leverage (if
he needs money, he'd rather shake a leg than enter a bank) and that will ensure that for some
time to come SRK will be generating sufficient cash to fuel his creative and business
ambitions.
THE BUSINESS TREE
Shah Rukh Khan, CEO: Oversees all creative decisions, takes final call on policy matters
such as entering new areas.
Gauri Khan, Managing Director: Manages business affairs with SRK and oversees HR; also
signs all pay cheques.
Blesson Oommen, CFO: Looks after finances of the entire group, including taxation issues.
RED CHILLIES ENTERTAINMENT (Total Revenues Rs 73 cr in 2008-09)
RED CHILLIES
FILMS
RED CHILLIES IDIOT
BOX
RED CHILLIES
VFX
RED CHILLIES TVC
KOLKATA
KNIGHT RIDERS
(The KKR team is
owned by Knight
Riders Sports, in
which Red
Chillies has a
little over a 50
per cent stake)
Head: Sanjeev
Chawla
Head: Samar Khan
Head: Keitan
Yadav
Head: Sanjeev
Chawla/Haroon Aziz
Head: Joy
Bhattacharya
Staff: 10
Staff: 12
Staff: 100
Staff: 10
Staff: 40 (players
and officials)
What It Does:
Produces
films under
the Red
Chillies
banner. Films
produced so
far include
Main Hoon
Na, Paheli,
Om Shanti
Om and
Billoo.
What It Does:
Produces/coproduces TV
shows/serials.
Shows/serials done
so far include Tere
Mere Beech Mein,
Knights and Angels,
Ghar ki Baat and
First Ladies.
What It Does: A
post-production
and special
effects business.
Works include:
Don: The Chase
Begins Again,
Om Shanti Om,
Chak De India,
and its current
project Ra One.
What It Does:
Makes commercials
for television.
Clients include Hero
Honda, Pepsi,
Airtel, Hyundai,
ICICI Bank,
Videocon, Nokia,
ITC.
What It Does: A
cricket team in
the Indian
Premier League,
no major
victories but is
profitable.
SRK'S Vision:
Do 3-4 films
every year,
with SRK
starring in the
big-budget
ones (over Rs
20 crore).
SRK'S Vision: To be
ready in five years
to make
programming that
isn't being made
today.
SRK'S Vision: Be
the best VFX
company in
India, and the
biggest revenue
generator for
Red Chillies.
SRK'S Vision: Do
100 commercials in
a year - up from 4045 currently before 2015.
SRK'S Vision:
Make KKR like
the ManU of the
IPL, and own a
stadium of its
own.