In honour of Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday, here is a look back at his first film role, as a gay college student, in the English telefilm In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones.
Those interested in Bollywood history may recall that Shah Rukh Khan made his film debut in the 1992 film Deewana. Actually, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman was the first film he signed, but fans of the actor know it was released much later.
Neither of these was, however, his first movie role. Shah Rukh Khan made his cinematic debut with an English-language picture produced by Doordarshan long before any of these two films were even conceived of. Today, in honour of Shah Rukh’s 57th birthday, let’s take a look back at his first film, the obscure In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones.
Anand “Annie” Grover (Arjun Raina) is the protagonist, an architectural student at Delhi’s School of Planning and Architecture who has a tense relationship with his principal, YD Bilimoria (Rakesh Bedi) (Roshan Seth). Arundhati Roy, who would go on to win the Booker Prize, penned and performed in the Pradip Krishen film, and she also played the female protagonist, Radha. Shah Rukh played a gay, effeminate senior for two brief scenes at the opening of the film. Manoj Bajpayee, another up-and-coming actor at the time, made a brief appearance in the film. In addition to these two, the film also featured Raghuvir Yadav, Divya Seth, and Himani Shivpuri, all of whom are well-known actors in their own right.
Even though Shah Rukh made a brief appearance, his portrayal was decidedly not in keeping with his usual persona. Unlike the Rahuls and Rajs he would portray later on, the elder he played was an intellectual who made lengthy, rambling speeches. A lot of people think his voice was dubbed because it doesn’t sound anything like his other roles.
In a 1995 interview, the actor revealed that he had felt awkward and apprehensive throughout filming, especially when instructed to make eye contact with the female lead. The SRK of the ’90s had that figured out, but young Shah Rukh, just 23 at the time, was completely unprepared.
The movie was only ever shown on television, not in theatres. In 1989, Doordarshan (India’s national television network) aired it. Shah Rukh had already established a name for himself at that point thanks to his starring role in the hit TV series Fauji and his guest spots on a number of other programmes.
The film was well received and ended up winning two National Awards: Best Feature Film in English and Best Screenplay (earning Arundhati Roy her only National Film Award).
Unfortunately, the film’s original print has been destroyed, and the only surviving copies are VHS tapes from the 1990s. Shah Rukh’s first film is available on YouTube in a digitally remastered form from 2015.