10 underrated Shah Rukh Khan films to watch on his birthday

Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday is usually a good excuse to replay the hits. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Chennai Express and Pathaan are never far from a playlist. But a birthday list from Filmfare makes a different case: some of the actor’s most interesting work sits in the films people skipped, misread or forgot.

The other Shah Rukh Khan

These ten titles stretch from 1992 to 2017, and they follow a clear pattern. The star is still there, but the actor takes the lead.

• Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992): SRK’s first solo lead, as a small-town engineer chasing a Mumbai dream.
• Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na (1994): A rare, openly flawed romantic hero — awkward, vulnerable and real.
• Yes Boss (1997): A corporate romance about ambition, love and compromise with Juhi Chawla.
• Dil Se (1998): Mani Ratnam’s political love story where obsession and poetry collide.
• Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000): A media satire that takes on truth, sensationalism and power.
• Asoka (2001): A gritty, regal turn as the emperor moves from warrior to spiritual leader.
• Swades (2004): A NASA scientist rediscovers purpose in rural India in his most subdued role.
• My Name is Khan (2010): A sensitive portrayal of a man with Asperger’s syndrome in post-9/11 America.
• Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012): Yash Chopra’s final film, with a mature SRK as a bomb disposal expert.
• Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017): A quiet study of loneliness that was sold as a rom-com.

The list is a reminder that stardom and craft do not always run on the same clock. At the time, audiences sometimes wanted the familiar SRK; today, the choices that felt risky are exactly the ones that deepen his filmography.

Box office is not the whole story

Several of these films underperformed when they opened. Dil Se struggled at the Indian box office but later built a global cult following. Swades met a similar fate commercially, only to be remembered as one of his most powerful performances. My Name is Khan worked overseas but never received the same domestic attention its themes demanded.

Where to start

If you only have one evening, start with Swades, then Dil Se. For a lighter introduction, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman show where the risk-taking began. And Jab Harry Met Sejal is worth a second watch without rom-com expectations — its unhurried loneliness becomes the point.

Source: Filmfare