Shahrukh Khan first came into limelight while appearing on various television series, particularly when playing the character of `Abhimanyu` in Fauji (Soldier) in 1988; he also had a minor role in the teleserial Circus in 1989, which illustrated the life of circus performers. Shahrukh Khan made his movie debut in 1992 with Deewana. In 1993 he shot to stardom with two consecutive villain roles as a paranoid lover in Baazigar and Darr. 1995 proved to be a crucial year in his career, with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge resolutely positioning him as the most successful actor in Hindi romantic movies. He followed DDLJ with a string of successes, love stories like Pardes, Dil to Pagal Hai, and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

The first person to suggest Shah Rukh to enter movies is Barry John. During the summers of 1985, the students of Lady Shri Ram College planned for a stage show. Shah Rukh had been working in a production of Annie Get Your Gun. Barry John was the founder and director of TAG, which was the leading theatre company of the town and was about to perform in the college`s show. Since it was a big production, male dancers were auditioned and elected from outside the company. After the show was done, Shah Rukh joined TAG. Barry was his first and only acting teacher.

Barry was born and raised in the United Kingdom and was part of the first wave of hippies who came to India in the late 1960s. Barry used to grow his hair long, wore kur-tas, and listened to Ravi Shankar. Barry trained many actors who were senior to him both in age and experience, who later became successful on film and television. Some of his students included Shah Rukh, Benny Thomas and Divya Seth. Eventually, Shah Rukh enrolled at Hans Raj College for a degree in economics, but his real education took place in the evenings with TAG.

Shah Rukh was an ardent movie buff and watched Hindi movies almost daily. His maternal aunt had sent them a VCR from London. Shah Rukh pressed his mother`s feet when the drama unfolded. Shah Rukh knew obscure details about ancient films and actors. Shah Rukh had more realistic viewpoint about short films, television, and advertising. Fatima was exceptionally supportive of Shah Rukh`s acting. Shah Rukh occasionally helped his family by running chores for the restaurant or doing some bookkeeping at times. His mother rarely interfered in Shah Rukh`s life. He often came home at 2 A.M. and asked for a cup of tea and then without a question or irritation, got up to make it. She believed that her son one day would become as big a star as Dilip Kumar. Fatima was Shah Rukh`s first and biggest fan.

Barry was a smart and patient teacher. He did not dictate his students; rather he gently trained them to become real performers. Workshop was the method of teaching and his students would struggle with characters and situations. Barry never directed his students instead, he would question each expression and gesture to see the actor`s conception and check his ability to leave away the excess and act out the heart of the character. They trained extensively in the use of liberty and movement. Shahrukh practiced extensively the mime exercises with masks. A few days just before the show time, Barry would give a few suggestions to polish up the final act. The interpretation of the character came from the student`s conscience and presentation. Shah Rukh acknowledges Barry throughout his interviews and said that he learned a vital lesson in these workshops.

Shah Rukh learned the basics of acting in Barry`s theatre and these lessons actually helped him to grow as a flawless star in theater and later in television and films. He was an energetic actor and never stopped trying unless he got the act perfectly. Shah Rukh being a flamboyant actor, his performances always had gymnastic, forceful, and extravagant effects. This spontaneous actor took his acting classes much more seriously than the other students; which is perhaps why his most successful performances. Shahrukh was the first preference while doing the major roles in boisterous comedies like the Old King Cole and The Incredible Vanishing.

Shah Rukh spent around five years learning acting in TAG. In 1990, Barry directed a play called Whose Life Is It Anyway? This play said about a paralyzed sculptor who fights for the right to die. The lead spends the majority duration of the play lying in bed. Shah Rukh wanted to play the sculptor, but Barry was not convinced that he could carry the role. Ultimately Rituraj played the sculptor and Shah Rukh did the cameo of a ward boy, who was cheerful, comic, a positive life force in the gloomy, death-ridden environment.

Shah Rukh`s acting was as much about charisma as craft, from the time he started performing professionally. An energetic determination decorated every role he played. He was impulsively an entertainer.

Ironically, this high-beam star excellence confronted few rejections in early life. Shah Rukh has also seen days when he was passed over for the lead role in, a small, unconventional movie of 1988. During these years the art films established their own star system with their own set of artists including Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, and Smita Patil. In April 1988, fifteen actors started to participate in workshops held in a small house in Chanakyapuri - the participants included Shah Rukh, Rituraj, Benny, and Divya. It was the first time when Shah Rukh came on-screen. To get into character, the men developed beards and let their hair grow. Each one of them hoped to land a major role.

The two leads in the film, Annie and Radha, were already cast: an actor called Arjun Raina would play the idiosyncratic idealist Annie, and Arundhati was going to be Radha. But there were a slew of other attention-grabbing characters. The best male role was that of Radha`s boyfriend, also called Arjun. But strangely, Shah Rukh was cast as a character with nominal importance on screen. He played the character of a "Senior," the gay college gossip who appeared in exactly four scenes. Shah Rukh`s career was never stable until his when he was established as a King Khan. In nearly all the early television serials and films, he was either the second or third choice for the role or he was originally cast as a minor character during the early days of his career.

Shah Rukh`s first scene ever in a film was standing at a door explaining to a fresher why a classmate from Uganda grinds his teeth while sleeping. The appearance in this scene had his hair plastered down with oil and parted in the middle. He was wearing a short Chinese robe. Shah Rukh did not forget his initial failures and learnt the lessons of life from each of them. Probably that is the reason why today he has not only emerged as a superstar but also a super-human being. He is his fan`s favorite, who cannot be actually counted in numbers. The national and international fame of Shahrukh Khan is undisputed in today`s era.