Bollywood’s King Khan steals show at India’s IIFA, wins best actor

Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan declared “it’s good to be back” as he won best actor at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) on Saturday after a long absence from the limelight.

The 58-year-old stole the show as event co-host before walking off with the coveted prize for his role in the action thriller Jawan, capping a five-hour show in Abu Dhabi.

“I just want to tell you it’s good to be back,” he told a packed crowd in the capital of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, which has a large Indian population.

“I love awards, I’m greedy about awards… I think I have a little happiness from the audience this year because I worked (again) after a long time,” he added.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal won best picture among six awards including best supporting actor for Anil Kapoor, another stalwart of the Hindi film industry.

Rani Mukerji was named best actress for the child-custody drama Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway and Vidhu Vinod Chopra won best director for 12th Fail.

In a rambling event that finished at 2:30am, Khan’s comedy skits with fellow actor Vicky Kaushal were interspersed with hip-thrusting dance numbers and frequent commercial endorsements.

Shahid Kapoor rode up to the stage on a motorbike and after King Khan appeared, to blasts of fireworks and with a huge crown superimposed above his head, there were constant ad-lib tributes to the star.

Before releasing Jawan and Pathaan last year, Khan had not played any starring roles for five years.

His return comes as Mumbai-based Bollywood, for decades India’s dominant film business and a major cultural export, faces challenges including competition from elsewhere in the vast, culturally diverse country.

As non-Hindi productions grow in popularity, Bollywood has also been outshone by independent films such as director Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light, which won the coveted Grand Prix award at Cannes in May.

Bollywood’s cinema-based business model is also grappling with the rise in streaming services such as Netflix, whose Indian content includes eight films and 14 series.

Elara Capital, an Indian investment and advisory firm, estimates that box office takings were down up to 35 per cent in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year.

However, 2023 was particularly strong as Bollywood bounced back after Covid with a strong slate of films, compared to a much weaker content pipeline this year.

Abu Dhabi was playing host for the third straight edition of the globe-trotting event, which started in 2000 and has only taken place once in India.