Shah Rukh Khan Reinvented The Dress Code For Romance In Hindi Cinema

Shah Rukh Khan Reinvented The Dress Code For Romance In Hindi Cinema

Shah Rukh Khan stands synonymous with romance in the world of Hindi cinema. The actor who commenced his journey from a small television program, travelled the road to becoming India’s king khan. For many, Khan is an emotion, that they wish to feel over and over again. This emotion is filled with sheer love and respect for the actor, who has given Hindi cinema some impeccable films, dialogues, and special moves, that we happily open our arms to. This undying love and admiration for SRK have made him the crowned king of Bollywood’s genre of romance. Over a hundred films, that the actor has worked in, he has mastered the art of tutoring audiences the love language. From romantic hit tracks to loveable roles, SRK is the only badshaah of romance, that Hindi cinema has loved with all its heart.

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Besides his contribution to the big screen, the actor’s sartorial choices have travelled the iconic road. Weaving his charisma with his character looks, is something that Khan is known to do for years. Be it the gamut of colourful knitted sweaters or his take on sexy see-through shirts, he has built an equivalent to the YashRaj staple chiffon sarees, as seen on India’s leading heroines. And as the star celebrates his 57th birthday today, we take a walk back in time, to cherish some of his best performances, and relationship with fashion in films.

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Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

An iconic film that gifted us with Raj and Simran, is a still cherished love story for the world. Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in pivotal roles, Aditya Chopra’s DDLJ, weaved the charm of Raj through Mandolin, a feathered hat and a leather jacket. For many of us who are still looking for our Raj IRL, Shah Rukh Khan’s undeniable charisma is still a missing factor in films today. In the film, we spotted the actor in a bunch of checkered shirts, vintage sunglasses, half vests, bomber, and leather jackets, which helped us understand the world of his character. This uber-cool sartorial choice was a refreshing addition to the wardrobes of Bollywood’s leading men, who would often trust a knitted sweater to romance their heroines on hilltops.

Dil Toh Pagal Hai

For Yash Chopra’s 1997, romantic blockbuster, SRK was the perfect pick to play Rahul, a name he has often used to portray the loving lead of his films. For this narrative, the actor experimented with a range of fitted athleisure, two-toned t-shirts, a signature neck chain, and oversized white blazers. Curated by designer–Rocky S, Shah Rukh’s Rahul would effortlessly slide into sorbet-hued t-shirts for romantic tracks, and collared, baseball jerseys for exciting dance routines.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Weaving the traits of Hindi cinema’s toxic romantic hero, was Shah Rukh Khan’s other version of Rahul. The actor tutored his fans the lessons of love, that were loaned from Mrs Briganza. Decoding the answer to “Pyaar kya hai,” Rahul would happily lend his hand to dosti, through a million friendship bands for every girl he liked. His characteristics were tailor-made using gelled-up hair, graphic shirts and body-hugging t-shirts, which were as alarming as his behaviour in the first half of the film. Making audiences fall for this cool-boy image was a task that filmmaker Karan Johar easily accomplished. And well, we still fall for every Rahul who comes our way in the name of friendship. 

Mohabbatein

In another Aditya Chopra film, Khan played his romantic best as Raj Aryan Malhotra. Romancing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s character–Megha, SRK was packaged with a violin, a sweater resting on his shoulder, and clear glasses to hide his teary heart eyes. This time, Shah Rukh dropped his romantic hero dress code of leather jackets to live in the signature aesthetic of YashRaj’s leading hero in films. Knitted sweaters mixed with turtle necks reinvented the image of a romantic protagonist for Hindi cinema.

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Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Shah Rukh Khan’s successful partnership with filmmaker Karan Johar was the 2001 film–Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. The actor again played Rahul, with a khandani “Raichand” surname, as he swiftly fell in love with the not-so-rich Anjali Sharma. Throughout his shared frames with Anjali played by Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan delivered another popular song–“Suraj Hua Maddham.” For the same, the actor reinvented the idea of romance through sequin-laden, see-through shirts teamed with loose-fitted pants. This modern-day idea of flaunting a hero’s body was weaved by costume designer–Shabina Khan, who also moulded the SRK charm into glittering kurtas, sherwanis, and office-staple suits. 

Main Hoon Na

The actor played the role of Major Ram in friend/filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan’s directorial debut–Main Hoon Na. For the 2004 film, SRK marinated his charisma with printed cashmere, and white shirts that were thankfully age-appropriate. Designed by Manish Malhotra, SRK’s look for the film was gift-wrapped using, sweater vests, layered over white shirts, a nerdy black bag, and tons of turtle necks. In between, the actor juggled a handful of see-through kurtas for his screen time with Sushmita Sen’s character–Chandni. 

Veer-Zaara

Shah Rukh again played the romantic part in Yash Chopra’s 2004 film–Veer-Zaara. Also starring actress Preity Zinta, Shah Rukh’s Veer Pratap Singh was a boy from pind (village) and was often seen dressed in denim jackets and basic checkered shirts. Again curated by designer Manish Malhotra, the star rounded up a gamut of easy sartorial options for the film, to keep the rawness of his rural roots intact.

Om Shanti Om

A fanboy turned protagonist, Shah Rukh Khan’s double role in Farah Khan’s blockbuster film–Om Shanti Om, was another piece of gold. Flavoured with the charm of vintage Bollywood, was Shah Rukh’s wardrobe which was filled with plaid blazers, bright vests, bow-ties and a mesmerising face sealed with sideburns. Besides a bunch of foil-like gold suits, and statement lapel jackets were high-waisted bellbottom pants that stitched the nostalgia well in his character look. For the second half of the film, Shah Rukh played the reincarnated version of his character, and manufactured the modern-day hero figure through washboard abs, his signature see-through shirts, and uber-cool sweatshirts. 

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Also Read: ‘Pathaan’ Teaser: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone In Their Badass Avatars And Kickass Action Scenes Make Us Want More!

Tryst With Long Hair

King Khan’s tryst with long hair, and stubble, soaked in all the spotlight in films like Dilwale, Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Happy New Year. Through his newly-curated character avatars, Shah Rukh Khan delivered a brand new version of the romantic hero in Hindi cinema and inspired many men to grow their tresses. It was then, we bid his clean-shaved face adieu. These films also witnessed the homecoming of the actor’s signature white shirts, which would make any girl feel weak in the knees.

Tell us your favourite Shah Rukh Khan role.

Video Credits: YouTube

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Jasveen Kaur Sawhney

Jasveen Kaur is a fashion writer, and pyjama hoarder, who loves watching interviews of all kinds, and checking her Pinterest mood board every hour!

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