5 times Shah Rukh Khan played a defense personnel before portraying Captain Vikram Rathore in 'Jawan'

We love men in uniform, and when the nation's love Shah Rukh Khan dons one, it is a sight for sore eyes. He looks insanely attractive and every bit charismatic thanks to the uniform and his commanding presence. There's an added layer of charm to his personality when he portrays the role of a personnel in the Indian armed forces, and all eyes will be on the screen. 

With King Khan’s recent role as Captain Vikram Rathore in Jawan, which is breaking records every passing day, we look back at all the movies and shows where he has made a mark in an uniform. 

Fauji (1989)

Though the world is going gaga over Vikram Rathore's character, fans of SRK will argue the man always knew how to play a man in uniform. After all, his very first performance in front of the camera, albeit in a TV serial that aired on DD National in 1989, was that of Lt. Abhimanyu Rai in Fauji. He played a young recruit in the Indian army. At that time, little did anyone know that the 24-year-old would go on to rule Bollywood. 

Spanning 13 episodes, this military drama shows viewers what an intense training programme for new army recruits looks like. Along with their daily grind, viewers also love the camaraderie that grows between the cadets over the duration of their training. Khan's performance was loved so much that his character, who was the second lead, was soon made the central character of the show. A raw talent back then, SRK proved to the world that he belongs here. The performance landed SRK a few television commercials and his big break, Deewana, a few years later.

Army (1996)

Despite having acted in countless blockbusters, this was the only movie where King Khan and Sridevi shared screen space. In a special appearance, SRK played Arjun Singh, an army man who fights against gangster Nagraj (Danny Denzongpa) and gets brutally killed. His wife, Geeta (Sridevi), a lawyer, decides to avenge her husband and raises an army of dedicated young men to kill Nagraj. The movie also marked the first time SRK donned a mustache for a role.

Veer-Zaara (2004)

This story of an Indian Air Force pilot falling in love with a Pakistani girl was the perfect formula for a romantic story. Starring as Veer Pratap Singh, SRK was loyal, respectful, and sincere to his woman as well as the country he served. He engages Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukerji), and every member of the audience when he regales to her how tragedy struck a beautiful love story between him and Zaara (Preity Zinta) and how he spent 22 years in a Pakistani prison. It was a role tailor-made for him as he beautifully brought out the drama, emotions, and sentiments of the story. Packed with evergreen songs, this romantic saga by Yash Chopra gave us a memorable climax scene.   

Main Hoon Na (2004)

In the same year, SRK put on the uniform once again to play Major Ram in Farah Khan’s debut film, Mai Hoon Na. SRK goes undercover as a college student to protect the daughter (Amrita Rao) of an army general from a terrorist (Suniel Shetty). The mission gets personal when he finds his stepbrother (Zayed Khan) in the same college. While keeping his identity under wraps, he goes on to befriend him and moves in with his meet his step-mother (Kirron Kher). Along with beating the enemy to a pulp in uniform, he romanced the chemistry teacher (Sushmita Sen), bringing a smile to our faces.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)

Yash Chopra’s last film gave audiences the chance to watch SRK as an army officer once again. This time he played Samar Anand, a major in the Indian Army, who is a bomb diffuser specialist in Kashmir. The shining star of the bomb disposal unit, Anand earns the title ‘the man who cannot die’ because he diffuses bombs without any sense of feat in his mind. While the movie shows why he lives life with a nothing-to-lose attitude, watching SRK play a no-nonsense army officer and carefree youngster shows the range of the actor. 

Jawan (2023)

More than ₹320 crores in India and ₹575 crores worldwide in less than a week, what does one even say about the biggest Bollywood blockbuster of the year that hasn’t been said already? While everyone’s talking about the high-octane action sequences and the social message in this film directed by south sensation Atlee, it’s SRK’s character as Captain Vikram Rathore that’s made the entire world flock to the cinemas. It may be his salt-and-pepper look, that’s got everyone weak in the knees, but the scenes where he dons an army uniform is where King Khan looks every bit like a man on a mission. In the confrontation scene with the antagonist (Vijay Sethupathi) during a court hearing, he looks sharp as ever, and it is by far one of the best in the film.