Shah Rukh Khan electrified his fans at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival last night by attending the international premiere of his last release "Don - The King is Back", the first Bollywood production filmed to a large extent here.

Braving freezing temperatures, hundreds of his fans waited for several hours outside the Friedrichstadt Palace theatre to catch a glimpse of their film idol and they gave him a rapturous welcome as he appeared before them, ending several days speculation about his participation.

Amidst shouts of "Shah Rukh, we love you", the 46-year-old actor walked along the red carpet and spent a few minutes chatting with his fans, shaking hands and signing autographs. Over 1,800 film enthusiasts greeted Khan with a standing ovation inside Berlin's largest cinema as he came on the stage to introduce his film.

Responding to their cheers, he told them he is quite delighted to be back at the Berlinale after attending the European premiere of his film "Om Shanti Om" in 2008.

Khan, who plays the titular character in the 140-minute action-thriller, was later joined by co-actress Priyanka Chopra, director Farhan Akhtar, producer Ritesh Sidhwani, German actor Florian Lukas and some other members of its cast and crew.

Berlin film festival organisers and many of Khan's fans were disappointed when he on Wednesday unexpectedly cancelled his trip to Berlin. He had told his fans through Twitter that he is recovering from fever and his doctors' advised him against travelling to Berlin, according to the festival organisers.

However, festival director Dieter Kosslick announced at the gala opening of the ten-day film festival on Thursday night that he had just received a confirmation from Khan in Mumbai that he will be present at Saturday's premiere of "Don2".

Khan's PR agents at the Berlinale told PTI that he will be in Berlin only for a day. Besides attending the premiere of "Don2", he has no other official itinerary in Berlin and he will be returning to Mumbai on Sunday.