Shah Rukh Khan, the hero from the north who charmed Madras

The distance separating Chennai from Mumbai’s iconic old-world theatre, Maratha Mandir, is 1,314 kilometres; Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol have theaters here. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) turned 30 on Monday, October 20, 2025. As the romantic blockbuster continues its seemingly endless run, it is also time to look at Shah Rukh’s celluloid connections with the Madras of yesteryear.

This bond was further strengthened recently when Shah Rukh won his first national award for best actor for his role in this film. jawanIt is a film directed by Chennai-based Atlee. in 1993 Baazigar It was a huge outrage in Madras and the film catapulted Shah Rukh to stardom.

This immediately followed darrIn this too, the actor played a negative role and when he appeared on the big screen, the cinema halls were filled with cheers. There were some theories about the Shah Rukh phenomenon at the Madras box office and inputs were received from the soft corner of the Tamil audience, who turned villains into heroes.

Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Darr’

At that time, some of these films made references to the evolution of Rajinikanth and even the Sathyaraj actors, who started as anti-heroes and later became mainstream stars. From this perspective, Shah Rukh’s popularity was no surprise. He also fit the template of Bollywood actors who cause mayhem in the south metro’s cinema halls every decade.

on Shah Rukh Khan jawan

Before Shah Rukh’s success, Anil Kapoor (Tezaab) and Jackie Shroff (Hero) achieved individually and together Ram Lakhan. Magazine articles explored the fact that both of these stars have whiskers, unlike their northern counterparts. This feature was considered to be a hallmark of the southern market, where heroes often had moustaches!

But Shah Rukh sported a clean-shaven look like Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, and it still came in handy as he transformed from pervert to outstretched love ooze on the big screen. Aamir also ran the bulls on Mount Road in 1988. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak I ran for a long time in the Safire complex. And once the Shah Rukh fever hit, companies started making bulk bookings for their employees. This is the same thing that Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan did in their films.

a photo Chennai Express

When DDLJ It premiered in Madras, crowds flocked and Shah Rukh’s appearance was greeted with the same wild jubilation usually reserved for homegrown talent. At the climax, screams of joy were heard when Kajol ran towards him. It now seems inevitable that at some point he will have to make a movie titled Chennai Express. And as Chennai progresses, Shah Rukh continues to attract an audience that accepts him in every shade of the acting spectrum.