Shreyas Pande
1) Pehla Nasha (1993): This debut Ashutosh Gowariker film, with Deepak Tijori and Pooja Bhatt in the lead, had a cameo by Shah Rukh Khan along with Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan where the three of them mention their respective films while praising Deepak’s character for receiving accolades at an award show. “Tumne to ‘Chamatkar’ kardiya gentleman, main tumhara ‘Deewana’ hogaya”, Shah Rukh says.
2) Achanak (1998): Another film where Shah Rukh played himself was this action-thriller starring Govinda and Manisha Koirala. A brief scene is laden with references from his own filmography. There is also a dialogue, “Aisi badi badi shootings me, chote chote glass toont te rehte hai”, a flip on his iconic line from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995)
3) Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (2000): Reprising his role of Rahul Khanna from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) for a special appearance, this Salman Khan-starrer presents an alternate reality in which Rahul has turned mentally unstable after the death of his wife and mistakes Rani Mukerji’s character in the film for her.
4) Saathiya (2002): In Mani Ratnam’s musical-romance, SRK appears in a cameo as Tabu’s husband and has a small sequence towards the end. The superstar had played the lead in the director’s previous outing Dil Se.. in 1998.
5) I See You (2006): Before his charming street-singing on the streets of London in ‘Challa’ from Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), Shah Rukh made a cameo in this Arjun Rampal-starrer in a song where he can be seen strumming a guitar. Interestingly, even Hrithik Roshan appears in the song.
6) Heyy Babyy (2007): A song cameo, which has now become the subject of many memes on social media, happens in ‘Mast Kalandar’ in the Sajid Khan comedy in which Shah Rukh makes a memorable appearance mid-way. He steals the show as Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh and Vidya Balan gape in astonishment. It’s amusing to see Anupam Kher, a frequent SRK collaborator, dance in jubilation as Shah Rukh makes a wide-arm entry.
7) Luck By Chance (2009): Zoya Akhtar’s directorial debut featured a range of cameos from the who’s who of Bollywood. Shah Rukh also appears in a scene and advises Farhan Akhtar’s character on stardom. “Never forget who knew you when you were a nobody,” he reflects.
8) Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016): Karan Johar’s favourite romantic hero makes a cameo as the ex-husband of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s character in the film. He gives a poetic and cheesy advice about unrequited love to Ranbir Kapoor: “Ek tarfa pyaar ki taaqat hi kuch aur hoti hai…”
9) Tubelight (2017): This Kabir Khan directorial reunited Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan ten years after the former appeared in a song in Om Shanti Om (2007). In Tubelight, Shah Rukh plays a magician who inspires Salman’s character to take a major step in the story.
10) Lal Singh Chadha (2022): The Hindi remake of Forrest Gump had a meta-scene where a young Lal Singh claims to have taught the iconic wide-arm pose to Shah Rukh in a cheeky moment in the film.
11) Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva (2022): Ayan Mukherjee’s film features a special appearance of the superstar where he plays, Mohan Bhargav, a reference to the character he played in Swades. SRK’s electric screen-presence sets the stage for what follows later in this fantasy spectacle.
12) Tiger 3 (2023): The Salman Khan actioner in the YRF spy universe was the latest film that had a cameo by Shah Rukh as Pathaan as he arrives to save Tiger. The thrilling sequence is filled with a lot of gunfire and air-borne stunts—all done with a charming style by the Karan Arjun (1995) stars.