A brilliant actor, performer and entertainer, he is an astute businessman too with deft marketing skills and exposure to film production, IPL team ownership, entertainment portals and businesses that spin off from film-making. Significantly, King Khan has been quite successful in most of his ventures.
SRK inherited the genes of business from his father Mir Taj Mohammad who had tried his hand at various businesses, though success eluded him. A determined Shahrukh then decided to banish failure in business from his life.
He started the production firm Dreamz Unlimited with director Aziz Mirza and Juhi Chawla, which he later took over and transformed it into motion picture production and distribution company Red Chillies Entertainment, producing and distributing several hit films.
Arclightz, another of SRK ventures, has imported state-of-the-art production and post-production equipment -- the latest Arriflex cameras, Kinoflo lenses, cranes, Avid editing suites - and hires them out.
The Badshah of Bollywood also runs srkworld.com, a complete entertainment portal covering films, music, theatre, advertising and travel, with a number of spin-offs which could be merchandised on- and off-line.
Co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders, SRK also has made a success of his status as celebrity ambassador, endorsing consumer products like Pepsi, Hyundai Santro, Smoodles, Mayur Suitings, Cinthol, Bagpiper, Clinic All-Clear, Omega, Sunfeast and Dish TV.
For SRK, having a back-end equipment company like Arclightz was the smart way to make a film at affordable cost as he was able to earn the equipment cost within three or four hirings, leading to the production of the next film at no equipment costs. Yet, ultimately Shahrukh wants to be known as an entertainer, spreading happiness and joy all around.
