King Khan In popular media

Public image

Khan was given the birth name "Shahrukh" (meaning "Face of the King"), but prefers his name to be written as "Shah Rukh Khan", and is also commonly referred to as SRK. Khan has various homes in India and abroad. His house in Mumbai called Mannat is a well-known tourist spot and is considered a heritage building, deemed important to the townscape and hence exempt from demolition.In addition, he also has a house in New Delhi. Khan also owns a £20 million apartment in London and a 4 billion villa on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. He said in a television interview that "I bought the house, because one can see the island from the moon." Khan's net worth is estimated at over 25 billion (US$540 million)

Khan is considered one of the most popular Bollywood celebrities in India, has been described as a sex symbol and heartthrob and has a reputation as one of the most desirable men in India.Khan's six packs abs and his dimples have been cited by the media as his characteristic distinctive physical features. Rediff noted: "The actor is the proud holder of probably the most famous set of dimples in India". He was voted the sexiest Asian man in the world by Eastern Eye in 2007, and was ranked third in 2008 and 2011. He has also been regularly featured on the top 10 in the Times of India 's list of the 50 most desirable men in India. Khan's look and performances have also established him as a style icon in India. In 2011, GQ magazine's British edition declared him one of the best dressed men in the world. The following year, GQ India included him in their list of Bollywood's 11 best dressed men Karan Johar stated: "Shah Rukh Khan is one person who will look good in casuals as well as in formals. He can carry off almost anything." 

Globally, Khan is considered to be one of the biggest movie stars, with a fan following claimed to number in the billions. He is also of one the most watched movie stars in the world, and one of the most recognisable faces of Indian cinema.In 2011, The Los Angeles Times noted: "He is the biggest movie star you’ve never heard of. And perhaps the world’s biggest movie star, period." His success and popularity have been attributed as the result of his emergence in the era of liberalisation and changing economic scenario in the 1990s. He is often described as the face and catalyst of a new consumerist urban society, and that he has managed to personify "the restless spirit of post-liberalization, ambitious, assertive and yet feel-good India."

Khan has been featured regularly in the listing of the most powerful names of Indian Cinema. In 2004, he was awarded the Filmfare Power Award (shared with Amitabh Bachachan) for topping the Filmfare list of the "Ten Most Powerful Names of Bollywood", and again in 2005. In 2006 he was ranked as second overall behind Yash Chopra and his son Aditya and the most powerful actor, an achievement he would go on to repeat till 2009. He occupied the top slot of Box Office India's Top Actors list for the first time in 1994 for two consecutive years, then again in 1998 and for the majority of the 2000s (from 2002 till 2008). He was also declared by FICCI as one of

the "Ten Most Powerful Entertainer of the Decade"In 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world. In a 2009 poll conducted by the newspaper DNA, he was voted one of India's most popular icons. In January 2013, Khan was ranked at number one on business magazine Forbes's Celebrity 100 list, which named him the most powerful celebrity in India with earnings of over 2.02 billion.

In popular media

In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced and directed 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. In 2010, Discovery Travel & Living channel produced a ten-part series titled Living with a Superstar-Shah Rukh Khan. The series was the biggest Indian show on television, with a budget of nearly 20 million, highlighting Khan’s daily living, film-making, IPL venture and global lifestyle. On 19 February of the same year, Discovery Channel aired a single-episode show titled Revealed: Shah Rukh Khan which invited specialists, ranging from social anthropologists, filmmakers, scholars, critics and lifestyle commentators to analyse and explain indepth the impact he has had on both Bollywood and India’s image abroad. In 2010, Makarand Deshpande directed a two hours film called Shahrukh Bola "Khoobsurat Hai Tu" (Shahrukh said "You are Beautiful") which centers around the story of an obsessed female fan of Khan who encounters the actor on a traffic signal one day (he then tells her she's beautiful). When met with disbelief from her family and friends, she embarks on a journey to prove her one time meeting with her favorite star and idol.

In 2005, Khan was the subject of a series of 20 paintings by Indian artist Anjana Kuthiala. Greatly inspired by M.F. Husains work with, Madhuri Dixit, she hence chose Khan (her favorite artist) to be the muse and subject of her collections. Kuthiala first met Khan in 2002, where she discussed with him the idea of "immortalizing him on canvas". In a 2011 interview with The times of India, she described her work with Khan as a turning point in her career.

The book Still Reading Khan by Mushtaq Sheikh, which details his family life, rare photographs and unusual memories from his youth 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. In 2007, well-known journalist, critic, columnist and screenwriter Deepa Gahlot released a book titled SRK: King Khan which analyses the various phases of Khan's life and career through the years. A second book by Sheikh, titled Shah Rukh Can was released in 2008. Khan is also the first actor and the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to have an official Opus dedicated to him.