When SRK's Name was Not Khan

Being an actor allows one to engage in all sorts of experiences. And so, one day you're a bhajan-chanting Hindu and the next you're a Church-hopping Christian, so on and so forth.

In Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming release, My Name is Khan the actor quite emphatically plays a Muslim in the modern world.

While the ethnic roots of a role aren't that big a deal, they influence the nature and nuances of its characterization.

On that note, here's a look at some significant communities SRK has portrayed on the big screen, considering he's made a career out of playing a Punjabi munda in films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Veer Zaara.

Are you looking forward to My Name is Khan this Friday? Tell us!

Under Amol Palekar's aesthetic sensibilities, SRK spewed a convincing mish-mash of Hindi-Marwari mix whilst essaying the dual role of Kishen, a typically disinterested, moustache, turban and dhoti-sporting Rajasthani merchant as well as a fancy free spirit taking his physical form to keep company to the former's much neglected young bride.

His outing as a Goan catholic in Mansoor Khan's last outing, Josh wasn't as iconic as Amitabh Bachchan's Anthony Gonsalves but SRK, nevertheless, lend Max his blend of style, sound and charisma. Not to forget the mandatory, 'What man?'

SRK worked on his Rajasthani accent for Mahesh Bhatt's gory drama, Chaahat, to play an animated singer, Roop Rathore struggling to make it big in the city to save enough for his ailing father's treatment.

In the process, he attracts obsessive attention from a ruthless hotelier's demented sister (played by Ramya).

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's kitschy opulence is the most memorable aspect of his reworking of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novella.

And stepping into the depressing, lovelorn shoes of the dejected aristocrat Devdas Mukherji, SRK plays the saddest role of his career, occasionally uttering a phrase or two in Bangla and taking utmost care to not step over his dhoti.