On August 1, 2025, the winners of the 71st National Awards were announced, and the biggest news was Shah Rukh Khan’s big win. In his 33-year career, Khan won his first Best Actor National Award for his performance in the blockbuster Jawan.
Shah Rukh is sharing the honour with Vikrant Massey, who won for his performance in 12th Fail. As soon as SRK’s name was announced by filmmaker and jury member Ashutosh Gowariker, several fans of the superstar got elated and called it a late-but-iconic win for their idol. A common reaction that many fans expressed, including , was that the honour was long overdue. Khan deserved this accolade for many years, but it took him almost two decades of superstardom to achieve this.
On Saturday, Shah Rukh also acknowledged his first National Award with a video, shared on his social media, thanking the I&B ministry for considering him worthy of the award, also to the team Jawan, and his fans. Hours after SRK’s message, an old video of him about his loss at the National Award went viral. In this video, Shah Rukh Khan said that he deserved the honour, but he lost it to his co-star and contemporary.
Shah Rukh Khan felt he deserved a National Award for…
Soon after the news of Khan’s National Award win got reported, several of his fans admitted the fact that he should have got the honour for his performance in Swades (directed by Ashutosh). In this old viral video of 2005, Shah Rukh Khan openly said that he deserved the national honour, but he lost it to Saif Ali Khan. At the 52nd National Awards, Saif Ali Khan won Best Actor for his role in Hum Tum. In the same year, Shah came up with his critically acclaimed but commercially flopped Swades.
Shah Rukh Khan’s honest take on losing the National Award
On 2005, Shah Rukh attended an event, and he was accompanied by Hum Tum director Kunal Kohli. At this stage, Shah Rukh expressed his discontent and told Kunal, “Hum Tum was very nice. I have a story of Hum Tum, his actor (Saif Ali Khan) won the National Award. I think I should have got it, but that’s another story.” Kunal and other attendees laughed, and Shah Rukh let it go. Khan’s National Award win is like a personal victory for many of his fans. On the work front, SRK will next be seen in Siddharth Anand’s King.