Dear India, Bangladesh’s SRK is coming to you. With movies and skincare

Shakib Khan has spent more than two decades as the top star of Dhallywood. Now he is crossing the border with a still-in-production pan-Indian film Dard.

File photo of Shakib Khan | By special arrangement

Shakib Khan is the undisputed number-one of Dhallywood. His moniker—Bangladesh’s Shah Rukh Khan—only drives the point home.

He was once asked what role he likes playing the most: hero, father, son or brother. Khan replied that he loves playing all roles equally as he is an actor. This year he has two new roles to play—businessman and diplomat. He’s been named the director of health and beauty brand Remark and cosmetics brand Herlan. And he wants to be a brand ambassador for Bangladeshi cinema in India. Khan’s vehicle to win over Bollywood is the still-in-production pan-Indian film Dard—set for a release in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam.

Khan’s new ventures don’t phase him. Talking to ThePrint over the phone from Dhaka, Khan, 44, said he is not new to business, having dabbled in the production and distribution of movies in Bangladesh.

And when it comes to taking the leap across the border, his four National Film Awards, eight Meril Prothom Alo Awards, three Bachsas Awards and four CJFB Performance Awards speak for themselves.

Cosmetics and cinema 

At a glittering ceremony at a Dhaka luxury hotel on 20 January, with the city’s who’s who in attendance, Shakib Khan announced his foray into the world of cosmetics. He made the business venture sound like public service. His crusade is against adulterated products. “My new business venture has an ethical part to it, spreading awareness against adulterated products that can lead to fatal diseases like skin cancer. I want to protect the public from this menace,” Khan told ThePrint.

He added that this shift into business is a natural transition, “The skincare business is closely connected to the work I do as an actor. We actors have to take care of our skin.”

But he also has another goal. Just as the garment industry has put Bangladesh on the world map, he wants to use his star power to make the cosmetics industry synonymous with the country.

And of his star power, Khan is as confident as he was when his biggest film Priya Amar Priya was released in 2008. A remake of the 2002 Kannada film Appu starring Puneeth Rajkumar, the film catapulted Khan to another sphere of stardom. He debuted in 1999, with the romantic action film Ananta Bhalobasha.

In 2000, his films Hira Chuni Panna, Phhol Nebo Na Oshru Nebo, Bishe Bhora Nagin were superhits. The hits continued and by 2005, fans and critics knew he was an unstoppable force. In 2007, he began to be referred to as a superstar. But it was after Priya Amar Priya that his value skyrocketed—he started asking for the highest remuneration ever for a Bangladeshi actor: Bangladeshi Taka 80 lakh.

And with good reason, Priya Amar Priya is the highest-grossing Bangladeshi film of the 2010s and the fifth-highest of all time. At the time of its release, it smashed many previous box office records. But its collection of Bangladeshi Taka 15 crore, was eclipsed by Shakib’s biggest film Priyotoma, the highest-grossing Bangladeshi film of all time. The 2023 movie raked in Tk 41 crore at the box office.

The King Khan factor

His string of hits has earned him the moniker of Bangladesh’s Shah Rukh Khan or King Khan.

Khan brushes off the comparison.

“Shah Rukh is not just an Indian superstar, but a global icon. He has made all Asian actors proud by conquering the world with his acting prowess and star power. I love him and respect him, but I do not consider myself Bangladesh’s Shah Rukh Khan,” he said.

Khan said it was his fans who compared him to the Bollywood star when his films started doing well and he became a national heartthrob.

“Somehow, the moniker stuck. Women love me. Not just college students, but women of all ages have showered me with love,” he said.

And while he might not have SRK’s reach, Bengali speakers from around the world are fans.

Dhaka journalist Zia Chowdhury said the comparison with SRK has only heightened Khan’s popularity in Bangladesh.

Khan may say he does not capitalise on the comparison, but he named his son Abraham Khan Joy. The name bears a close resemblance to Shah Rukh Khan’s youngest son AbRam Khan.

“It [the comparison] gives Shakib Khan a kind of respectability the Dhaka elite often denies him,” said Chowdhury.

Khan, he added, is the star of the masses, the garment workers, the rickshaw pullers, the so-called lower classes, he is truly the SRK of Dhallywood.

“But he never quite got the nod of the critics or the consumers of ‘good content’. The Shah Rukh comparison gives him that,” said Zia.

Waiting on a hit

All that may change if Dard becomes a hit in India. The film is being directed by filmmaker-distributor Anonno Mamun. Mamun has directed Khan previously in the controversial courtroom drama Nabab LLB. He is also known for bringing Bollywood blockbusters ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawan’ to Bangladeshi theatres.

Shooting began in October 2023 in Varanasi and was wrapped up in 22 days.

“Dard is only the beginning. I am in talks for bigger projects in India. But this truly will be the beginning of an India-Bangladesh partnership in cinema,” Khan said.

While a release date has not been fixed, Khan is sure of one thing—it will premiere in theatres and not on OTT.

Two of his Dhallywood colleagues, Azmeri Haque Badhon and Jaya Ahsan, have made their mark in the Indian OTT space with Khufiya and Kadak Singh, Khan has opted for the big screen instead.

“Big cinema has made me who I am. I do not feel the need yet to do only-for-OTT films. In Bangladesh, my films are released in theatres first and OTT later. Dard will follow the same route. So will my future ventures,” Khan said.

Kolkata film critic Bhaswati Ghosh who has closely followed Khan’s career said he is a “phenomenon” in Bangladesh, “the story, director, and production house don’t matter, only Khan matters.” But she has a word of caution, “He should choose a good story and a good character if he wants to make a mark in India. His superhit films in Bangladesh have not done well in West Bengal.,” she said.

“No one will go to watch Shakib Khan in a pan-India film. So, conquering Bollywood may be a distant dream for now.”

(Edited by Theres Sudeep)