The world came calling for the King of Hearts

On November 1, Bandra’s lanes began to hum — not with festival lights but with something else: a city-wide celebration for Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan’s 60th birthday. By the evening of November 2, a sea of people outside Mannat shimmered under phone lights and moonlight, waiting for a wave, a smile, a glimpse.

Fans arrived from Bengaluru, Pune and even Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Peru, Nepal, Indonesia and France. Shrudi Shyam, 29, social media admin of SRK Universe (fan club) said, “We celebrated across the globe with charity drives and film screenings. We took children from an orphanage to watch Main Hoon Na,” she shared.Bengaluru’s SRK Association made the journey en masse. Guru, the club’s president, who led the Mannat yatra with 95 members, said, “We don’t celebrate Diwali or Eid the way we celebrate King Khan’s birthday.”

International fans like Claudia Calle flew in from Peru with six members of her fan group after a 35-hour journey. “It’s his 60th —we couldn’t miss it,” she said excitedly. There were others with striking stories too — a barista from Nepal who saved up leave to be here and an author from the Netherlands who arrived with a book for SRK. Hansani Hidelaarachchi, representing Europe CFC, shared, “Visiting Mannat has always been my dream and today it finally came true.

I plan to hand him the first copy of my book, which has a collection of 100 letters I have written over the last 30 years.

”Off-site, fan clubs kept the spirit alive with screenings, charity initiatives and community parties. SRK Universe even hosted a Sunday morning party for 200 fans. What happens at these parties? “Quizzes, song-and-dance shows, trivia and thematic cake-cuttings,” said Harshal Sonavane, 27, admin of SRK FC Pune. “We burst crackers to celebrate him in front of Mannat. We dance, we sing. It’s a festival.” As night fell over Bandra, fireworks lit up the sky and chants of “SRK! SRK!” echoed through the streets — a dazzling reminder that even at 60, Shah Rukh Khan’s magic knows no borders or generations.