Bengal ( or ''Bôngo'') is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh (previously East Bengal / East Pakistan) and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchical regimes and British rule) are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura and Orissa. The majority of Bengal is inhabited by Bengali people (বাঙালি ''Bangali'') who speak the Bengali language (বাংলা ''Bangla'').

The region of Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on earth, with a population density exceeding 900/km². Most of the Bengal region lies in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta, the world's largest delta. In the southern part of the delta lies the Sundarbans—the world's largest mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger. Though the population of the region is mostly rural and agrarian, two megacities, Kolkata (previously Calcutta) and Dhaka (previously Dacca), are located in Bengal. The Bengal region is renowned for its rich literary and cultural heritage as well as its immense contribution to the socio-cultural uplift of Indian society in the form of the Bengal Renaissance, and revolutionary activities during the Indian independence movement.

Etymology and ethnology

The exact origin of the word ''Bangla'' or Bengal is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe ''Bang'' that settled in the area around the year 1000 BC.

Other accounts speculate that the name is derived from ''Banga''(বঙ্গ ''bôngo''), which came from the Austric word "Bonga" meaning the Sun-god. The word ''Banga'' and other words speculated to refer to Bengal (such as Anga) can be found in ancient Indian texts including the Vedas, Jaina texts, the Mahabharata and Puranas. The earliest reference to "Bangala" (বঙ্গাল ''bôngal'') has been traced in the Nesari plates (805 AD) of Rashtrakuta Govinda III which speak of Dharmapala as the king of Vangala.

Some accounts claim that the word may derive from bhang, a preparation of cannabis which is used in some religious ceremonies in Bengal. Dravidians migrated to Bengal from the south, while Tibeto-Burman peoples migrated from the Himalayas, followed by the Indo-Aryans from north-western India. The modern Bengali people are a blend of these people. Smaller numbers of Pathans, Persians, Arabs and Turks also migrated to the region in the late Middle Ages while spreading Islam.

History

{| class="toccolours" style="float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em;" | style="background:#f8eaba; text-align:center;"| |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- |} Remnants of Copper Age settlements in the Bengal region date back 4,300 years. After the arrival of Indo-Aryans, the kingdoms of Anga, Vanga and Magadha were formed by the 10th century BC, located in the Bihar and Bengal regions. Magadha was one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha and consisted of several Janapadas. One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal is the mention of a land named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BC, located in an area in Bengal. From the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire.

The first recorded independent king of Bengal was Shashanka, reigning around early 7th century. After a period of anarchy, the native Buddhist Pala Empire ruled the region for four hundred years, and expanded across much of the Indian subcontinent into Afghanistan during the reigns of Dharmapala and Devapala. The Pala dynasty was followed by the reign of the Hindu Saiva Sena dynasty. Islam made its first appearance in Bengal during the 12th century when Sufi missionaries arrived. Later, occasional Muslim raiders reinforced the process of conversion by building mosques, madrassas and Sufi Khanqah. Beginning in 1202 a military commander from the Delhi Sultanate, Bakhtiar Khilji, overran Bihar and Bengal as far east as Rangpur, Bogra and the Brahmaputra River. Although he failed to bring Bengal under his control, the expedition managed to defeat Lakshman Sen and his two sons moved to a place then called Vikramapur (present-day Munshiganj District), where their diminished dominion lasted until the late 13th century.

During the 14th century, the former kingdom became known as the Sultanate of Bengal, ruled intermittently with the Sultanate of Delhi as well as powerful Hindu states and land-lords-Baro-Bhuyans. The Hindu Deva Kingdom ruled over eastern Bengal after the collapse Sena Empire. The Sultanate of Bengal was interrupted by an uprising by the Hindus under Raja Ganesha. The Ganesha dynasty began in 1414, but his successors converted to Islam. Bengal came once more under the control of Delhi as the Mughals conquered it in 1576. There were several independent Hindu states established in Bengal during the Mughal period like those of Maharaja Pratap Aditya of Jessore and Raja Sitaram Ray of Burdwan. These kingdoms contributed a lot to the economic and cultural landscape of Bengal. Extensive land reclamations in forested and marshy areas were carried out and trade as well as commerce were highly encouraged. These kingdoms also helped introduce new music, painting, dancing and sculpture into Bengali art-forms as well as many temples were constructed during this period. Militarily, they served as bulwarks against Portuguese and Burmese attacks. Koch Bihar Kingdom in the northern Bengal, flourished during the period of 16th and the 17th centuries as well as weathered the Mughals and survived till the advent of the British.

In 1534, the Pashtun Sher Shah Suri, or Farid Khan — a man of incredible military and political skill — succeeded in defeating the superior forces of the Mughals under Humayun at Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540). Sher Shah fought back and captured both Delhi and Agra and established a kingdom stretching far into Punjab. Sher Shah's administrative skill showed in his public works, including the Grand Trunk Road connecting Sonargaon in Bengal with Peshawar in the Hindu Kush. Sher Shah's rule ended with his death in 1545, although even in those five years his reign would have a powerful influence on Indian society, politics, and economics.

Shah Suri's successors lacked his administrative skill, and quarreled over the domains of his empire. Humayun, who then ruled a rump Mughal state, saw an opportunity and in 1554 seized Lahore and Delhi. When Humayun died in Jan.1556, Hemu, also called Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, the then Hindu Prime Minister-cum- Chief of Army, of the Sur dynasty had already won Bengal in the battle at Chapperghatta, killing Muhammad Shah the then ruler of Bengal. This was Hemu's 20th continuous win in North India. Knowing of Humanyun's death, Hemu rushed to Delhi to win Agra and later on Delhi and established 'Hindu Raj' in North India on 6th Oct. 1556, after 300 years of Muslim rule, leaving Bengal to his Governor Shahbaz Khan. Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal emperors, who defeated the Karani rulers of Bengal in 1576. Bengal became a Mughal subah and ruled through subahdars (governors). Akbar exercised progressive rule and oversaw a period of prosperity (through trade and development) in Bengal and northern India.

Bengal's trade and wealth impressed the Mughals that they called the region the "''Paradise of the Nations''". Administration by governors appointed by the court of the Mughal Empire court (1575–1717) gave way to four decades of semi-independence under the Nawabs of Murshidabad, who respected the nominal sovereignty of the Mughals in Delhi. The Nawabs granted permission to the French East India Company to establish a trading post at Chandernagore in 1673, and the British East India Company at Calcutta in 1690. The most notable among them is Murshid Quli Khan, who was succeeded by Alivardi Khan. Around the early 1700s, the Maratha Empire led expeditions in Bengal. The leader of the expedition was Maratha Maharaja Raghuji of Nagpur. Raghoji was able to annex Orissa and parts of Bengal permanently as he successfully exploited the chaotic conditions prevailing in the region after the death of their Governor Murshid Quli Khan in 1727. The expeditions resulted in Bengal becoming a tributary region of the Marathas for a period of time.

Portuguese traders arrived late in the fifteenth century, once Vasco da Gama reached India by sea in 1498. European influence grew until the British East India Company gained taxation rights in Bengal ''subah'', or province, following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, when Siraj ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab, was defeated by the British. The Bengal Presidency was established by 1766, eventually including all British territories north of the Central Provinces (now Madhya Pradesh), from the mouths of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra to the Himalayas and the Punjab. The Bengal famine of 1770 claimed millions of lives. Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772. The Bengal Renaissance and Brahmo Samaj socio-cultural reform movements had great impact on the cultural and economic life of Bengal. The failed Indian rebellion of 1857 started near Calcutta and resulted in transfer of authority to the British Crown, administered by the Viceroy of India. Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive attempt was made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones.

Bengal has played a major role in the Indian independence movement, in which revolutionary groups were dominant. Armed attempts to overthrow the British Raj reached a climax when Subhash Chandra Bose led the Indian National Army against the British. Bengal was also central in the rising political awareness of the Muslim population—the Muslim League was established in Dhaka in 1906. In spite of a last ditch effort to form a United Bengal, when India gained independence in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines. The western part went to India (and was named West Bengal) while the eastern part joined Pakistan as a province called East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan, giving rise to Bangladesh in 1971). The circumstances of partition was bloody, with widespread religious riots in Bengal.

Modern History

The post-partition political history of East and West Bengal diverged for the most part. Starting from the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. political dissent against West Pakistani domination grew steadily. Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, emerged as the political voice of the Bengali-speaking population of East Pakistan by 1960s. In 1971, the crisis deepened when Rahman was arrested and a sustained military assault was launched on East Pakistan. Most of the Awami League leaders fled and set up a government-in-exile in West Bengal. The guerrilla Mukti Bahini and Bengali regulars eventually received support from the Indian Armed Forces in December 1971, resulting in a decisive victory over Pakistan on 16 December in the Bangladesh Liberation War or Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The post independence history of Bangladesh was strife with conflict, with a long history of political assassinations and coups before parliamentary democracy was established in 1991. Since then, the political environment has been relatively stable.

West Bengal, the western part of Bengal, became a state in India. In the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent Marxist-Naxalite movement damaged much of the state's infrastructure, leading to a period of economic stagnation. The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 resulted in the influx of millions of refugees to West Bengal, causing significant strains on its infrastructure. West Bengal politics underwent a major change when the Left Front won the 1977 assembly election, defeating the incumbent Indian National Congress. The Left Front, led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) has governed for the last three decades.In the West_Bengal_state_assembly_election,_2011,in West Bengal, CPI(M) alliance with 62 seats suffered a setback after 34 years of continuous rule, losing to Trinamool Congress led alliance's 226 seats. Its Chief Minister candidate who was also an incumbent Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also lost from his Jadavpur assembly constituency. The state's economic recovery gathered momentum after economic reforms in India were introduced in the mid-1990s by the central government, aided by election of a new reformist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya in 2000.

Geography

Most of the Bengal region is in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta. The Ganges Delta arises from the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers and their respective tributaries. The total area of Bengal is 232752  km²—West Bengal is 88,752 km² and Bangladesh 144,000 km².

Most parts of Bangladesh are within 10 meters (33 ft) above the sea level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by 1 metre (3 ft). Because of this low elevation, much of this region is exceptionally vulnerable to seasonal flooding due to monsoons. The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at 1,052 metres (3,451 ft) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country. A major part of the coastline comprises a marshy jungle, the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.

West Bengal is on the eastern bottleneck of India, stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The state has a total area of . The Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in the northern extreme of the state belongs to the eastern Himalaya. This region contains Sandakfu ()—the highest peak of the state. The narrow Terai region separates this region from the plains, which in turn transitions into the Ganges delta towards the south. The Rarh region intervenes between the Ganges delta in the east and the western plateau and high lands. A small coastal region is on the extreme south, while the Sundarbans mangrove forests form a remarkable geographical landmark at the Ganges delta. At least nine districts in West Bengal and 42 districts in Bangladesh have arsenic levels in groundwater above the World Health Organization maximum permissible limit of 50 µg/L.

Major cities

The following are the largest cities in Bengal (in terms of population): #Kolkata (Calcutta) #Dhaka (Dacca) #Chittagong #Howrah #Khulna #Rajshahi #Siliguri #Durgapur #Asansol #Sylhet #Barisal #Chandannagar #Nabadwip #Haldia

Demographics

:''Main articles: Demographics of Bangladesh and Demographics of West Bengal About 250 million people live in Bengal, around 68% of them in Bangladesh and the remainder in West Bengal. The population density in the area is more than 900/km²; making it among the most densely populated areas in the world.

Bengali is the main language spoken in Bengal. English is often used for official work. There are small minorities who speak Hindi, Urdu, Chakma. There are several tribal languages including Santhali. Nepali is spoken primarily by the Gorkhas of Darjeeling district of West Bengal.

50% of the total Bengali population is Muslim, and 48% is Hindu. In Bangladesh 89.7% of the population is Muslim and 9.2% are Hindus (Bangladesh Census 2001). In West Bengal, Hindus are the majority with 75% of the population while Muslims comprise 20%, and other religions make up the remainder. Other religious groups include Buddhists, Christians, and Animists. About 2% of the population is tribal.

Life expectancy is around 63 years, and are almost same for the men and women. In terms of literacy, West Bengal leads with 69.22% literacy rate, in Bangladesh the rate is approximately 53.5%. The level of poverty is high, the proportion of people living below the poverty line is more than 30%.

About 20,000 people live on chars. Chars are temporary islands formed by the deposition of sediments eroded off the banks of the Ganges in West Bengal which often disappear in the monsoon season. They are made of very fertile soil. The inhabitants of chars are not recognised by the Government of West Bengal on the grounds that it is not known whether they are Bengalis or Bangladeshi refugees. Consequently, no identification documents are issued to char-dwellers who cannot benefit from health care, barely survive due to very poor sanitation and are prevented from emigrating to the mainland to find jobs when they have turned 14. On a particular char it was reported that 13% of women died at childbirth.

Economy

Agriculture is the leading occupation in the region. Rice is the staple food crop. Other food crops are pulses, potato, maize, and oil seeds. Jute is the principal cash crop. Tea is also produced commercially; the region is well known for Darjeeling and other high-quality teas.

Historically, Europe once regarded Bengal as "the richest country to trade with".

West Bengal

The service sector is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of West Bengal, contributing 51% of the state domestic product compared to 27% from agriculture and 22% from industry. State industries are localized in the Kolkata region and the mineral-rich western highlands. Durgapur–Asansol colliery belt is home to a number of major steel plants. West Bengal had the third-largest economy in India, with a net state domestic product of US$ 21.5 billion. During 2001–2002, the state's average SDP was more than 7.8%—outperforming the National GDP Growth. The state has promoted foreign direct investment, which has mostly occurred in the software and electronics fields; Kolkata is becoming a major hub for the information technology (IT) industry. Owing to the boom in Kolkata's and the overall state's economy, West Bengal had the third-fastest-growing economy in India.

Bangladesh

Since 1990, Bangladesh has achieved an average annual growth rate of 5% according to the World Bank, despite the hurdles. The middle class and the consumer industry have seen some growth. Bangladesh has seen a sharp increase in foreign direct investment. A number of multinational corporations, including Unocal Corporation and Tata, have made major investments, the natural gas sector being a priority. In December 2005, the Central Bank of Bangladesh projected GDP growth around 6.5%. Although two-thirds of Bangladeshis are farmers, more than three quarters of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry, which began attracting foreign investors in the 1980s due to cheap labour and low conversion cost. In 2002, the industry exported US$5 billion worth of products. The industry now employs more than 3 million workers, 90% of whom are women. A large part of foreign currency earnings also comes from the remittances sent by expatriates living in other countries.

The provision of microcredit by Grameen Bank (founded by Muhammad Yunus) and by other similar organizations has contributed to the development of the economy of Bangladesh. Together, such organizations had about 5 million members by late 1990s.

Culture

{| class="toccolours" style="float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em;" | style="background:#f8eaba; text-align:center;"| |- | |- | |- |}

The common Bengali language and culture anchors the shared tradition of two parts of politically divided Bengal. Bengal has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by the ''Charyapada'', ''Mangalkavya'', ''Shreekrishna Kirtana'', ''Maimansingha Gitika'' or ''Thakurmar Jhuli''. Bengali literature in the medieval age was often either religious (e.g. Chandidas), or adaptations from other languages (e.g. Alaol). During the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Bengali literature was modernized through the works of authors such as Michael Madhusudan Dutta, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Kazi Nazrul Islam.

The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bangla folk music. The scholar saint Sri Anirvan loved Baul music, and in fact described himself as a simple Baul. Other folk music forms include Gombhira, Bhatiali and Bhawaiya. Folk music in Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, a one-stringed instrument. Other instruments include the dotara, dhol, flute, and tabla. The region also has an active heritage in North Indian classical music.

Bengal had also been the harbinger of modernism in Indian arts. Abanindranath Tagore, one of the important 18th century artist from Bengal is often referred to as the father of Indian modern art. He had established the first non-British art academy in India known as the Kalabhavan within the premises of Santiniketan. Santiniketan in course of time had produced many important Indian artists like Gaganendranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Benode Bihari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij. In the post-independence era, Bengal had produced important artists like Somenath Hore, Meera Mukherjee and Ganesh Pyne.

Rice and fish are traditional favorite foods, leading to a saying that in Bengali, ''mach ar bhaath bangali baanaay'', that translates as "fish and rice make a Bengali". Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes Hilsa preparations, a favorite among Bengalis. Bengalis make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products, including ''Rôshogolla'', ''Chômchôm'', and several kinds of ''Pithe''.

Bengali women commonly wear the ''shaŗi'' and the salwar kameez, often distinctly designed according to local cultural customs. In urban areas, many women and men wear Western-style attire. Among men, European dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear traditional costumes such as the ''panjabi'' with ''dhuti'' or ''pyjama'', often on religious occasions. The lungi, a kind of long skirt, is widely worn by Bangladeshi men.

The greatest religious festivals are the two Eids (Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha) for the Muslims, and the autumnal Durga Puja for Hindus. Christmas (called ''Bôŗodin'' (Great day) in Bangla), Buddha Purnima are other major religious festivals. Other festivities include Pohela Baishakh (the Bengali New Year), Basanta-Utsab, Nobanno, and ''Poush parbon'' (festival of Poush).

Bengali cinema are made both in Kolkata and Dhaka. The Kolkata film industry is older and particularly well known for its art films. Its long tradition of film making has produced world famous directors like Satyajit Ray, while contemporary directors include Buddhadev Dasgupta and Aparna Sen. Dhaka also has a vibrant commercial industry and more recently has been home to critically acclaimed directors like Tareque Masud. Mainstream Hindi films of Bollywood are also quite popular in both West Bengal and Bangladesh. Around 200 dailies are published in Bangladesh, along with more than 1800 periodicals. West Bengal had 559 published newspapers in 2005, of which 430 were in Bangla. Cricket and football are popular sports in the Bengal region. Local games include sports such as Kho Kho and Kabaddi, the later being the national sport of Bangladesh. An Indo-Bangladesh ''Bangla Games'' has been organized among the athletes of the Bengali speaking areas of the two countries.

Intra-Bengal relations today

Geographic, cultural, historic, and commercial ties are growing, and both countries recognize the importance of good relations. During and immediately after Bangladesh's struggle for independence from Pakistan in 1971, India assisted refugees from East Pakistan, and intervened militarily to help bring about the independence of Bangladesh. The Indo-Bangladesh border length of , West Bengal has a border length of . Despite overlapping historic, geographic and cultural ties, the relation between West Bengal and Bangladesh is still well below the potential. The pan-Bengali sentiment among the people of the two parts of Bengal was at its height during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. While the government radio and national press in India might have backed the struggle out of strategic considerations, the Bengali broadcast and print media went out of its way to lend overwhelming support.

Frequent air services link Kolkata with Dhaka and Chittagong. A bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka is operational. The primary road link is the Jessore Road which crosses the border at Petrapole-Benapole about 175 km north-west of Kolkata. The Train service between Kolkata and Dhaka, which was stopped after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, was resumed in 2008.

Visa services are provided by Bangladesh's consulate at Kolkata's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Road and India's high commissions in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi. India has a liberal visa policy and nearly 500,000 visas are issued every year to Bangladeshi students, tourists, health-tourists and others who visit West Bengal and often transit to other parts of India. People of West Bengal visit Bangladesh for limited numbers of tourism, pilgrimage, trade, expatriate assignments; there is significant potential for growth as Bangladesh's stability, economy, moderation in religion and tourist infrastructure improves. In addition West Bengal hosts the celebrated and controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen.

Undocumented immigration of Bangladeshi workers is a controversial issue championed by right-wing nationalist parties in India but finds little sympathy in West Bengal. India has fenced the border to control this flow but immigration is still continuing. A rallying cry for the right-wing Hindu parties in India is that the demographics changed such as in West Bengal's border district of Malda from Hindu-majority to Muslim-majority.

The official land border crossing at Petrapole-Benapole is the primary conduit for the over $1 billion trade between the two halves of Bengal. The volume of unofficial exports to Bangladesh from India is reportedly in the range of $350–500 million each year. Bangladesh argues that India needs to open up its border more to Bangladeshi exports. Other landports between the two Bengals are Changrabandha-Burimari and Balurghat-Hili.

Cultural exchanges between the two parts of Bengal have been somewhat (but not fully) impacted by ups and downs in India-Bangladesh relations and in the influence of extremist Islamist groups in Bangladesh. West Bengal singers and actors complained about being rejected visas in previous years. Bangladesh television channels are widely watched in West Bengal. West Bengal media have an audience in Bangladesh. In foreign countries such as the U.S., Canada, Britain, and UAE, it is common for Bengalis from both sides to form joint cultural associations and friendships, although inter-marriage is not significant, especially across religious barriers.

Gallery

See also

History of Bengal

Governor of Bengal

History of India

Bangladesh

Bengali people

Bangals and Ghotis

List of Bengalis

Bengali language

Bengali cuisine

Music of Bangladesh

Music of Bengal

Bengali cinema

East Bengal

West Bengal

Bengal architecture

Notes

References

External links

Geo Links for Bengal

Banglapedia-specialised site

www.hostkingdom.net- List of rulers of Bengal

WorldStatesmen- here India

Information portal of West Bengal

;Maps Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at University of Texas at Austin Libraries :*India from The Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1923 :*India 1760 from The Public Schools Historical Atlas edited by C. Colbeck. Longmans, Green, and Co. 1905 :*India 1882 from A Dictionary Practical, Theoretical, and Historical of Commerce and Commercial Navigation by J.R. M'Culloch. Longmans, Green and Co. London, 1882

Art and artists of Bengal

Category:Geography of Bangladesh Category:Geography of India Category:History of Bangladesh Category:Regions of India Category:Divided regions Category:Historical Indian regions

ang:Bengal roa-rup:Bengal bn:বঙ্গ bo:བེང་ག་ལི། br:Bengal ca:Bengala ceb:Bengal cs:Bengálsko cy:Bengal da:Bengalen de:Bengalen et:Bengal el:Βεγγάλη es:Bengala eo:Bengalio eu:Bengala fa:بنگال fr:Bengale gl:Bengala ko:벵골 hy:Բենգալիա hi:बंगाल id:Benggala os:Бенгали is:Bengal it:Bengala he:בנגל lt:Bengalija mk:Бенгал ml:ബംഗാൾ mr:बंगाल ms:Benggala mn:Бенгал nl:Bengalen (gebied) ne:बङ्गाल ja:ベンガル地方 no:Bengal nn:Bengal pnb:بنگال pl:Bengal pt:Bengala ro:Bengal ru:Бенгалия sq:Bengali simple:Bengal sh:Bengal fi:Bengali (alue) sv:Bengalen ta:வங்காளம் te:బెంగాల్ tr:Bengal uk:Бенгалія ur:بنگال zh-yue:孟加拉 zh:孟加拉

name	The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)
type	Christmas song
artist	The King Cole Trio
b-side	"In the Cool of Evening" (Capitol 311)"Laguna Mood" (Capitol 15201)"(All I Want for Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth" (Capitol F90036; Capitol F2955)"The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot" (Capitol 3561)
published	1944
released
recorded
format	10-inch, 7-inch
genre	Christmas, Jazz, Pop
length	(1946 recording) (1953 recording)
label	Capitol 311 (1946)Capitol 15201 (1948)Capitol F90036 (1953)Capitol F2955 (1954)Capitol 3561 (1956)
writer	Mel Tormé,Bob Wells
misc	}}

"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé (aka The Velvet Fog), and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born.

"I saw a spiral pad on his piano with four lines written in pencil", Tormé recalled. "They started, "Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob (Wells, co-writer) didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."

The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song early in 1946. At Cole's behest and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records a second recording was made the same year utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B; charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Nat King Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49, while Cole's original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974. Mel Tormé recorded the song himself in 1954, and again in 1961, 1966 and 1992.

The Nat King Cole recordings

First recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, June 14, 1946. Label credit: The King Cole Trio (Nat King Cole, vocal-pianist; Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist). Not issued until 1989, when it was (accidentally) included on the various-artists compilation ''Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1935–1954)'' Rhino R1 70637(LP) / R2 70637(CD).

Second recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, August 19, 1946. First record issue. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Nat King Cole, vocal-pianist, Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist; Charlie Grean, conductor of 4 string players, a harpist and a drummer) Lacquer disc master #981. Issued November 1946 as Capitol 311 (78rpm). This is featured on a CD called ''The Holiday Album'', which has 1940s Christmas songs recorded by Cole and Bing Crosby. In 2005 Capitol restored and re-released it for the 25 bit re-mastered Cole album "The Christmas Song", which also contains tracks from his 1960 and 1963 holiday albums.

Third recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, August 24, 1953. This was the song,s first magnetic tape recording. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Actual artists: Nat King Cole, vocal; Nelson Riddle, orchestra conductor) Master #11726, take 11. Issued November 1953 as the "new" Capitol 90036(78rpm) / F90036(45rpm) (Capitol first issued 90036 in 1950 with the second recording). Correct label credit issued on October 18, 1954 as Capitol 2955(78rpm) / F2955(45rpm). Label credit: Nat "King" Cole with Orchestra Conducted by Nelson Riddle. This recording is available on the 1990 CD ''Cole, Christmas and Kids,'' as well as the various-artists compilation ''Casey Kasem Presents All Time Christmas Favorites''. It was also included, along with both 1946 recordings, on the 1991 Mosaic Records box set ''The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio''.

Fourth recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York City, March 30, 1961. This rendition, the first recorded in stereo, is widely played on radio stations during the Christmas season, and is probably the most famous version of this song. Label credit: Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole, vocal; Charles Grean and Pete Rugolo, orchestration; Ralph Carmichael, orchestra conductor). The instrumental arrangement is nearly identical with the 1953 version, but the vocals are much deeper and more focused. Originally done for ''The Nat King Cole Story'' (a 1961 LP devoted to stereo re-recordings of Cole's earlier hits), this recording was later appended to a reissue of Cole's 1960 holiday album ''The Magic of Christmas''. Retitled ''The Christmas Song'', the album was issued in 1963 as Capitol W-1967(mono) / SW-1967(stereo) and today is in print on compact disc. This recording of "The Christmas Song" is also available on numerous compilation albums. Some are Capitol pop standards Christmas compilations while others are broader-based. It's available on WCBS-FM's ''Ultimate Christmas Album Volume 3'', for example.

There were several covers of Nat Cole's original record in the 1940s. The first of these was said to be by Dick Haymes on the Decca label, but his was released first not recorded first. The first cover of "The Christmas Song" was performed by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic. Howard was a big Cole fan, and also covered Nat's versions of "I Want to Thank Your Folks" and "I Love You for Sentimental Reasons", among others.

Selective list of notable recordings

"The Christmas Song" has been covered by numerous artists from a wide variety of genres, including:

Trace Adkins

Christina Aguilera

Clay Aiken

Herb Alpert

Thomas Anders

India.Arie and Stevie Wonder (winner of the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2003)

Aska

Babyface

Tony Bennett

Polly Bergen (who sang the song on the December 14, 1957 airing of her NBC variety show, ''The Polly Bergen Show'')

Justin Bieber and Usher (#58 in US, #59 in Canada)

Michael Bolton

Toni Braxton

Garth Brooks

James Brown

Les Brown and his Orchestra (with Doris Day on lead vocal)

Michael Bublé (his version, bearing close similarities to Celine Dion's recording of the song, reached #6 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart in December 2003.)

Kenny Burrell

The Canadian Brass (from their 1985 Christmas album ''A Canadian Brass Christmas'')

The Carpenters (from their 1978 Christmas album ''Christmas Portrait'')

Celtic Woman

Charice

Chicago

Christmas Who? (a SpongeBob Christmas special. SpongeBob and Patrick in a Christmas song sing as a lyric "...chestnuts roasting and burns in the third degree" before the ending of their song.)

Charlotte Church

Rosemary Clooney

Natalie Cole

Bing Crosby

Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass (1970)

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Doris Day (from her 1964 Christmas album ''The Doris Day Christmas Album'')

Gavin DeGraw

Celine Dion

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz (voiced by Olivia Olson on the album ''Phineas and Ferb Holiday Favorites'')

Bob Dylan

Gloria Estefan

Connie Francis

Aretha Franklin

Judy Garland, who sang the song in a duet with its composer, Mel Torme, on a Christmas-themed episode of her television show in December 1963.

Amy Grant (from her 1983 Christmas album ''A Christmas Album'')

Josh Groban (from his 2007 holiday album, ''Noël'')

Robert Goulet

Hampton String Quartet

Eddie Higgins

Hootie and the Blowfish

Whitney Houston

Ramon "RJ" Jacinto (from his 1988 Christmas album ''Pasko Na Naman'')

The Jackson 5

Alan Jackson (from his 2007 Christmas album ''Let It Be Christmas'')

Joni James (from her 1956 ''Merry Christmas from Joni''). Joni's version alters the lyric: "I'm offering this simple phrase, for kids from one to ninety-two" to "... kids from one to ninety-one".

Al Jarreau

Joe

Wynonna Judd

Peggy Lee

Damien Leith (from a special limited Christmas edition of his 2007 album ''Where We Land'')

The Lettermen

Lovedrug

Aimee Mann (from her 2006 album ''One More Drifter in the Snow'')

Johnny Mathis

Martina McBride

Reba McEntire

Brian McKnight

*NSYNC

Ricky Nelson (on the episode of TV's ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' titled "A Busy Christmas")

Aaron Neville

New Kids on the Block

Des O'Connor (from a Tesco Christmas advert)

Alexander O'Neal

Olivia Olson (from a 2010 Christmas album ''Phineas and Ferb: Holiday Favourites'')

The Partridge Family (from their 1971 Christmas album ''A Partridge Family Christmas Card'')

Les Paul

CeCe Peniston (from the 1996 Christmas album ''Merry Arizona II: Desert Stars Shine at Christmas'')

LeAnn Rimes (on her first holiday album ''What a Wonderful World'')

Raven-Symoné

Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (from their 1963 Christmas album ''Christmas with The Miracles)

Linda Ronstadt (from her 2000 Christmas album ''A Merry Little Christmas'')

SWV

Diane Schuur (nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female in 1990)

Neil Sedaka (from his 2008 first-ever holiday album, ''The Miracle of Christmas'')

Jessica Simpson

Frank Sinatra (including two recordings: a virtual duet with Nat King Cole, and an actual duet with Bing Crosby)

Tom Smith (of the Editors) and Agnes Obel (on the 2011 Smith and Burrows album, ''Funny Looking Angels'')

George Strait

Donna Summer

Demi Lovato

The Supremes (remained unreleased until their 1965 Christmas album, ''Merry Christmas'', was re-released in 1999 with additional tracks)

Kim Taeyeon (of the South Korean pop group Girls' Generation)

Take 6

James Taylor

Team Rocket (voiced by Rachael Lillis, Eric Stewart and Maddie Blaustein on the album ''Pokémon Christmas Bash'')

The Temptations

Mel Tormé recorded by the writer four times (1954, 1961, 1966 and finally in 1992 as part of his album "Christmas Songs")

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

Luther Vandross

Andy Williams

Stevie Wonder (from his 1967 Christmas album ''Someday at Christmas'')

Dwight Yoakam

Ascap entry for song showing numerous other covers

Parodies

The title of ''The Simpsons'' episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" is a parody of the song.

Bob Rivers parodied the song with his 2000 album, and the title track from said album, "Chipmunks Roasting On an Open Fire".

Stan Freberg's "Green Chri$tma$" includes several snippets of holiday songs. One segment begins with a sincere-sounding "Chestnuts roasting..." and quickly segués into a mock 1950s radio or TV ad, for a brand of chestnuts, being described as if they were toothpaste or cigarettes.

Twisted Sister parodied the song in his 2006 album ''A Twisted Christmas''.

Footnotes

External links

Mark Evanier on Tormé and "The Christmas Song"

Category:Christmas songs Category:1946 songs Category:1961 singles Category:1999 singles Category:2009 singles Category:Nat King Cole songs Category:Amy Grant songs Category:Christina Aguilera songs Category:Toby Keith songs Category:Martina McBride songs Category:Joe Nichols songs Category:George Strait songs Category:Kenny Loggins songs Category:Trisha Yearwood songs Category:Vocal duets Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Category:Barbra Streisand songs Category:Bob Dylan songs Category:Sheryl Crow songs Category:CeCe Peniston songs Category:The Partridge Family songs

es:The Christmas Song fr:The Christmas Song id:The Christmas Song it:The Christmas Song no:The Christmas Song pl:The Christmas Song pt:The Christmas Song simple:The Christmas Song sv:The Christmas Song tr:The Christmas Song vi:The Christmas Song

name	Shahrukh Khan
other names	Shah Rukh Khan, King Khan, SRK
birth date	November 02, 1965
birth place	New Delhi, India
years active	1988–present
spouse	Gauri Khan (1991–present)
occupation	Actor, producer, television presenter }}

Shahrukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "The King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films.

Khan began his career appearing in several television serials in the late 1980s. He made his film debut in ''Deewana'' (1992). Since then, he has been part of numerous commercially successful films and has earned critical acclaim for many of his performances. Khan has won fourteen Filmfare Awards for his work in Indian films, eight of which are in the Best Actor category (a record). In 2005, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian Cinema.

Khan's films such as ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'' (1995), ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' (1998), ''Chak De! India'' (2007), ''Om Shanti Om'' (2007) and ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (2008) remain some of Bollywood's biggest hits, while films like ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001), ''Kal Ho Naa Ho'' (2003), ''Veer-Zaara'' (2004), ''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (2006) and ''My Name Is Khan'' (2010) have been top-grossing Indian productions in the overseas markets, thus making him one of the most successful actors of India.

Since 2000, Khan branched out into film production and television presenting as well. He is the founder/owner of two production companies, Dreamz Unlimited and Red Chillies Entertainment. Globally, Khan is considered to be one of the biggest movie stars, with a fan following numbering in the billions and a net worth estimated at over . In 2008, ''Newsweek'' named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.

Biography

Khan was born in 1965 to Muslim parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India. His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, was an Indian independence activist from Peshawar, British India. According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan. His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose. Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the partition of India, while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, British India. Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.

Growing up in Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood, Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama, and academics. He won the ''Sword of Honour'', an annual award given to the student who best represents the spirit of the school. Khan later attended the Hansraj College (1985–1988) and earned his Bachelors degree in Economics (honors). Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to make his career in Bollywood.

After the death of his parents, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991. In that same year, before any of his films were released, he married Gauri Chibber, a Hindu, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991. They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Allah, he also values his wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with the Qur'an being situated next to the Hindu deities.

In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced a two-part documentary on Khan, titled ''The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan''. Featuring his 2004 Temptations concert tour, the film contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. The book ''Still Reading Khan'', which details his family life, was released in 2006. Another book by Anupama Chopra, ''King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema'', was released in 2007. It describes the world of Bollywood through Khan's life.

Film career

Background

Khan studied acting under celebrated Theatre Director Barry John at Delhi's Theatre Action Group (TAG). In 2007, John commented thus on his former pupil, "The credit for the phenomenally successful development and management of Shahrukh's career goes to the superstar himself." Khan made his acting debut in 1988 with the television series, ''Fauji'', playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. He went on to appear in other television serials, such as the 1989 serial, Aziz Mirza's ''Circus'', which depicted the life of circus performers. The same year, Khan also had a minor role in the made-for-television English-language film, ''In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones'', which was based on life at Delhi University and was written by Arundhati Roy. When Khan appeared in those teleserials, people found in him some resemblance with legendary actor Dilip Kumar and also compared his acting style with the thespian.

1990s

Upon moving from New Delhi to Mumbai in 1991, Khan made his Bollywood movie debut in ''Deewana'' (1992). The movie became a box office hit, and launched his career in Bollywood. His performance won him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. He went on to star in ''Maya Memsaab'', which generated some controversy because of his appearance in an "explicit" sex scene in the movie.

In 1993, Khan won acclaim for his performances in villainous roles as an obsessive lover and a murderer, respectively, in the box office hits, ''Darr'' and ''Baazigar''. In Khan's entry in Encyclopedia Britannica's "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" it was stated that "he defied the image of the conventional hero in both these films and created his own version of the revisionist hero." ''Darr'' marked his first collaboration with renowned film-maker Yash Chopra and his banner Yash Raj Films, the largest production company in Bollywood. ''Baazigar'', which saw Khan portraying an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, shocked its Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula. His performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award. In that same year, Khan played the role of a young musician in Kundan Shah's ''Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa'', a performance that earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Khan maintains that this is his all-time favourite among the movies he has acted in. In 1994, Khan once again played an obsessive lover/psycho's role in ''Anjaam'', co-starring alongside Madhuri Dixit. Though the movie was not a box office success, Khan's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.

In 1995, Khan starred in the two biggest hits of the year in India. His first release was Rakesh Roshan's ''Karan Arjun''. The film, which dealt with reincarnation, became the second-highest grossing film of the year. He followed it with Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romance ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge''. A major critical and commercial success, the movie became the year's top-grossing production in India. In 2007, it entered its twelfth year in Mumbai cinemas. By then the movie had grossed over 12 billion rupees, making it one of India's biggest movie blockbusters. ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' won ten Filmfare Awards, and Khan's performance as a young NRI who falls for Kajol's character while on a college vacation, won him his second Best Actor Award. In 2005, ''Indiatimes Movies'' ranked the movie amongst the ''25 Must See Bollywood Films'', citing it as a "trendsetter of sorts". In that same year's retrospective review by Rediff, Raja Sen stated, "Khan gives a fabulous performance, redefining the Lover for the 1990s with great panache. He's cool and flippant, but sincere enough to appeal to the junta. The performance itself is, like the best in the business, played well enough to come across as effortless, as non-acting."

1996 was a disappointing year for Khan as all his movies released that year failed to do well at the box office. This was, however, followed by a comeback in 1997. He saw success with Subhash Ghai's social drama ''Pardes'' – one of the biggest hits of the year – and Aziz Mirza's comedy ''Yes Boss'', a moderately successful feature. His second project with Yash Chopra as a director, ''Dil to Pagal Hai'' became that year's second highest-grossing movie, and he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role as a stage director who falls in love with one of his new actresses.

In 1998, Khan starred in Karan Johar's directorial debut, ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'', which was the biggest hit of the year. His performance won him his fourth Best Actor award at the Filmfare. He won critical praise for his performance in Mani Ratnam's ''Dil Se''. The movie did not do well at the Indian box office, though it was a commercial success overseas. Khan's only release in 1999, ''Baadshah'', was an average grosser.

2000s

Khan's success continued with Aditya Chopra's 2000 film, ''Mohabbatein'', co-starring Amitabh Bachchan. It did well at the box office, and Khan's performance as a college teacher won him his second Critics Award for Best Performance. He also starred in Mansoor Khan's action film ''Josh''. The film starred Khan as the leader of a Christian gang in Goa and Aishwarya Rai as his twin sister, and was also a box office success. In that same year, Khan set up his own production house, ''Dreamz Unlimited'' with Juhi Chawla (see below). Both Khan and Chawla starred in the first movie of their production house, ''Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani''. His collaboration with Karan Johar continued in 2001 with the family drama ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'' which was the second biggest hit of the year. He also received favourable reviews for his performance as Emperor Asoka in the historical epic, ''Asoka'', a partly fictionalised account of the life of Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC).

In 2002, Khan received acclaim for playing the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance, ''Devdas''. This was the third Hindi movie adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's well-known novel of the same name, and surfaced as one of the biggest hits of that year. Khan also starred opposite Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the family-drama ''Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam'', which did well at the box office. In 2003, Khan starred in the moderately successful romantic drama, ''Chalte Chalte''. That same year, he starred in the tearjerker, ''Kal Ho Naa Ho'', written by Karan Johar and directed by Nikhil Advani. Khan's performance in this movie as a man with a fatal heart disease was appreciated. The movie proved to be one of the year's biggest hits in India and Bollywood's biggest hit in the overseas markets.

2004 was a particularly good year for Khan, both commercially and critically. He starred in Farah Khan's directorial debut, the action comedy ''Main Hoon Na''. The movie did well at the box office. He then played the role of an Indian officer, Veer Pratap Singh in Yash Chopra's love saga ''Veer-Zaara'', which was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas. The film relates the love story of Veer and a Pakistani woman Zaara Haayat Khan, played by Preity Zinta. Khan's performance in the film won him awards at several award ceremonies. In that same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance in Ashutosh Gowariker's drama ''Swades''. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for all three of his releases in 2004, winning it for ''Swades''.

In 2006, Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the fourth time with the melodrama ''Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna''. It did well in India and much more so in the overseas market, becoming the biggest Bollywood hit in the overseas market of all-time. His second release that year saw him playing the title role in the action film ''Don: The Chase Begins Again'', a remake of the 1978 hit ''Don''. The movie was a success.

Khan's success continued with a few more highly popular films. One of his most successful works was the multiple award-winning 2007 film, ''Chak De! India'', about the Indian women's national hockey team. Earning over Rs 639 million, ''Chak De! India'' became the third highest grossing movie of 2007 in India and won yet another Filmfare Best Actor Award for Khan. The film was a major critical success. In the same year Khan also starred in Farah Khan's 2007 film, ''Om Shanti Om''. The film emerged as the year's highest grossing film in India and the overseas market, and became India's highest grossing production ever up to that point. It earned him another nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare ceremony. His 2008 release, the romantic drama ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' was a box office success. His only 2009 release was ''Billu'' where he played film superstar Saahil Khan who is reunited with his childhood friend Billu played by Irrfan Khan.

2010s

Khan's next film was ''My Name Is Khan'', his fourth collaboration with director Karan Johar and the sixth movie in which he is paired with Kajol. Filming commenced in December 2008 in Los Angeles and ended in October 2009. While on one shoot in Los Angeles, along with his wife Gauri and director Karan Johar, he took a break from filming to attend the 66th Golden Globe Awards, held in Los Angeles, on 11 January 2009, where he was introduced as the ''King of Bollywood''. Khan introduced ''Slumdog Millionaire'', a movie he had previously turned down, along with a star from the film, Freida Pinto. ''My Name Is Khan'' was released on 12 February 2010. Based on a true story, and set against the backdrop of perceptions on Islam post 11 September attacks, ''My Name Is Khan'' stars Khan as Rizwan Khan, a Muslim man suffering from Asperger syndrome who sets out on a journey across America on a mission to meet the country's President and clear his name. During a promotional visit to the United States, Khan was detained at Newark Airport, New Jersey because of the similarity of his last name to known terrorists. Upon release, the film received positive reviews from critics and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in the overseas market. Khan won his eighth Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his portrayal, thereby joining Dilip Kumar as the record holder in this category. He has completed filming for Anubhav Sinha's science fiction ''Ra.One'' opposite Kareena Kapoor, which is due for release on 26 October 2011. While shooting for the film, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Yash Raj Studios, to watch Khan at work.

Producer

Khan turned producer when he set up a production company called ''Dreamz Unlimited'' with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza in 1999. The first two of the films he produced and starred in: ''Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'' (2000) and ''Asoka'' (2001) were box office failures. However, his third film as a producer and star, ''Chalte Chalte'' (2003), proved a box office hit.

In 2004, Khan set up another production company, ''Red Chillies Entertainment'', and produced and starred in ''Main Hoon Na'', another hit. The following year, he produced and starred in the fantasy film ''Paheli'', which did poorly. It was, however, India's official entry to the Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not pass the final selection. Also in 2005, Khan co-produced the supernatural horror film ''Kaal'' with Karan Johar, and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora Khan. ''Kaal'' was moderately successful at the box office. His company has further gone on to produce ''Om Shanti Om'' (2007), ''Billu'' (2009), ''Always Kabhi Kabhi'' (2011), as well as his forthcoming releases ''Ra.One'' and ''Don 2: The Chase Continues''.

Apart from film production, the company also has a visual effects studio known as ''Red Chillies VFX''. It has also ventured into television content production, with shows like, ''The First Ladies'', ''Ghar Ki Baat Hai', and ''Knights and Angels''. Television advertisements are also produced by the company.

In 2008, Red Chillies Entertainment became the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the BCCI-backed IPL cricket competition.

Television

In 2007, Khan replaced Amitabh Bachchan as the host of the third series of the popular game show ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'', the Indian version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. The previous had hosted the show for five years from 2000–05. On 22 January 2007, ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' aired with Khan as the new host and later ended on 19 April 2007.

On 25 April 2008, Khan began hosting the game show ''Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?'', the Indian version of ''Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?'', whose last episode was telecasted on 27 July 2008, with Lalu Prasad Yadav as the special guest.

In February 2011, he began hosting Zor Ka Jhatka, the Indian version of the American game show Wipeout, on Imagine TV.

Awards and nominations

Apart from acting awards, Khan has been awarded several honours which include the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India in 2005. In April 2007, a life-size wax statue of Khan was installed at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London. Another statue was installed at the Musée Grévin in Paris, the same year. During the same year, he was accorded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of the Arts and Literature) award by the French government for his “exceptional career”. There are also statues in Hong Kong and New York

In October 2008, Khan was conferred the ''Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka'' which carries the honorific Datuk (in similar fashion to "Sir" in British knighthood), by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia. Khan was honoured for "promoting tourism in Malacca" by filming ''One Two Ka Four'' there in 2001. Some were critical of this decision. He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009.

Filmography

Film actor

''Maya Memsaab'' ''Anjaam'' ''Karan Arjun'' ''English Babu Desi Mem'' ''Gudgudee'' ''Duplicate (1998 film) ''Baadshah'' ''Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'' ''One 2 Ka 4'' ''Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam'' ''Chalte Chalte (2003 film) ''Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke '' ''Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye'' ''Alag'' ''Chak De ''Krazzy 4'' ''Luck by Chance'' ''Dulha Mil Gaya'' ''Always Kabhi Kabhi'' ''Koochie Koochie Hota Hain''

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Film	Role	Notes
rowspan="5"	1992	Deewana (1992 film)>Deewana''	Raja Sahai
''Idiot (1992 film)	Idiot''	Pawan Raghujan
''Chamatkar''	Sunder Srivastava
''Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman''	Raju (Raj Mathur)
''Dil Aashna Hai''	Karan
rowspan="5"	1993	|	Lalit Kumar
''King Uncle''	Anil Bhansal
''Baazigar''	Ajay Sharma/Vicky Malhotra
''Darr''	Rahul Mehra
''Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa''	Sunil
1994	|	Vijay Agnihotri	Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role
rowspan="7"	1995	|	Arjun Singh/Vijay
''Zamana Deewana''	Rahul Malhotra
''Guddu''	Guddu Bahadur
''Oh Darling	Yeh Hai India!''	Hero
''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge''	Raj Malhotra
''Ram Jaane''	Ram Jaane
''Trimurti (film)	Trimurti''	Romi Singh
rowspan="4"	1996	|	Vikram/Hari/Gopal Mayur
''Chaahat''	Roop Rathore
''Army (film)	Army''	Arjun
''Dushman Duniya Ka''	Badru
rowspan="5"	1997	|		Special appearance
''Koyla''	Shankar
''Yes Boss''	Rahul Joshi
''Pardes (film)	Pardes''	Arjun Saagar
''Dil To Pagal Hai''	Rahul
rowspan="4"	1998	Duplicate'' ||	Bablu Chaudhry/Manu Dada	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role
''Achanak (1998 film)	Achanak''	Himself
''Dil Se''	Amarkant Varma
''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai''	Rahul Khanna
1999	|	Raj Heera/Baadshah	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role
rowspan="6"	2000	|	Ajay Bakshi
''Hey Ram''	Amjad Ali Khan
''Josh (2000 film)	Josh''	Max
''Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega''	Rahul
''Mohabbatein''	Raj Aryan Malhotra
''Gaja Gamini''	Himself
rowspan="3"	2001	|	Arun Verma
''Asoka (2001 film)	Asoka''	Asoka
''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...''	Rahul Raichand
rowspan="4"	2002	|	Gopal
''Devdas (2002 film)	Devdas''	Devdas Mukherjee
''Shakti (2002 film)	Shakti: The Power''	Jaisingh
''Saathiya''	Yeshwant Rao
rowspan="2"	2003	Chalte Chalte'' ||	Raj Mathur
''Kal Ho Naa Ho''	Aman Mathur
rowspan="4"	2004	|	Dushant
''Main Hoon Na''	Maj. Ram Prasad Sharma
''Veer-Zaara''	Veer Pratap Singh
''Swades''	Mohan Bhargava
rowspan="5"	2005	|	Himself	Special appearance
''Kaal (2005 film)	Kaal''
''Silsilay''	Sutradhar
''Paheli''	Kishenlal/The Ghost
''The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan	The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan''	Himself (Biopic)
rowspan="4"	2006	|		Special appearance in song "Sabse Alag"
''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna''	Dev Saran
''Don: The Chase Begins Again''
''I See You (film)	I See You''
rowspan="3"	2007	India''	Kabir Khan
''Heyy Babyy''	Raj Malhotra
''Om Shanti Om''	Om Prakash Makhija/ Om Kapoor
rowspan="4"	2008	|		Special appearance in song "Break Free"
''Bhoothnath''	Aditya Sharma
''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi''	Surinder Sahni/Raj
''Kismat Konnection''	Narrator
rowspan="2"	2009	|	Himself	Guest appearance
''Billu''	Sahir Khan
rowspan="3"	2010	|	Pawan Raj Gandhi (PRG)	Extended appearance
''My Name Is Khan''	Rizwan Khan
''Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu''	Himself
rowspan="3"	2011	|		Special appearance in song "Antenna"
''Ra.One''	G.One
''Don 2: The Chase Continues''	Don
2012	|	Rocky	Post-production

Producer

''Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'' (2000)

''Asoka'' (2001)

''Chalte Chalte'' (2003)

''Main Hoon Na'' (2004)

''Kaal'' (2005)

''Paheli'' (2005)

''Om Shanti Om'' (2007)

''Billu'' (2009)

''Always Kabhi Kabhi'' (2011)

''Ra.One'' (2011)

''Don 2: The Chase Continues'' (2011)

Television appearances

''Dil Dariya'' (1988)

''Fauji'' (1988) ... Abhimanyu Rai

''Doosra Keval'' (1989) ... Keval

''Circus'' (1989)

''In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones'' (1989)

''Kareena Kareena'' (2004) ... Special appearance

''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' (2007) ... Host

''Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?'' (2008)  .... Host

''Zor Ka Jhatka: Total Wipeout'' (2011) ... Host

See also

List of Indian Actors

Newark Airport Incident

Notes

Bibliography

Nasreen Munni Kabir. ''The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan'' (Documentary, 2005).

''Shahrukh Khan – Still Reading Khan''. A1Books Distributor 2007. ISBN 9788187107798.

Gahlot, Deepa; Agarwal, Amit. ''King Khan SRK''. Augsburg Weltbild 2007. ISBN 9783828988699.

Ghosh, Biswadeep. ''Hall of fame: Shahrukh Khan'' (in English). Mumbai: Magna Books, 2004. ISBN 8178092379.

Chopra, Anupama. ''King of Bollywood : Shah Rukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema'' (English). New York: Warner Books, 2007. ISBN 9780446578585.

External links

Category:1965 births Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Hindi film actors Category:Indian actors Category:Indian film actors Category:Indian film producers Category:Indian Muslims Category:Indian Premier League franchise owners Category:Indian singers Category:Indian television actors Category:Indian voice actors Category:Indian television presenters Category:Indian people of Afghan descent Category:Jamia Millia Islamia alumni Category:Living people Category:Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:Pashtun people Category:People from Delhi Category:People from Peshawar Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:University of Delhi alumni Category:Indian game show hosts

ar:شاه روخان az:Şahrux Xan bn:শাহরুখ খান br:Shahrukh Khan bg:Шах Рук Хан ca:Shahrukh Khan cs:Shahrukh Khan da:Shah Rukh Khan de:Shah Rukh Khan dv:ޝާހުރުކް ޚާން es:Shahrukh Khan eo:Shahrukh Khan fa:شاهرخ خان fr:Shahrukh Khan gu:શાહરૂખ ખાન hi:शाहरुख़ ख़ान id:Shahrukh Khan it:Shah Rukh Khan he:שאהרוח' ח'אן jv:Shahrukh Khan kn:ಶಾರುಖ್ ಖಾನ್ (ಹಿಂದಿ ನಟ) ku:Shahrukh Khan lb:Shahrukh Khan hu:Sáhruh Khán ml:ഷാരൂഖ് ഖാൻ mr:शाहरुख खान ms:Shahrukh Khan nl:Shahrukh Khan ja:シャー・ルク・カーン no:Shah Rukh Khan oc:Shah Rukh Khan or:ଶାହାରୁଖ ଖାନ pnb:شاہ رخ خان ps:شاهرخ خان pl:Shah Rukh Khan pt:Shahrukh Khan ru:Хан, Шах Рух sq:Shah Rukh Khan simple:Shahrukh Khan sd:Shahrukh Khan sh:Shahrukh Khan fi:Shahrukh Khan sv:Shahrukh Khan ta:சாருக் கான் te:షారుఖ్ ఖాన్ th:ศาห์รุข ข่าน tg:Шоҳрух Хон tr:Shahrukh Khan ur:شاہ رخ خان wuu:沙·卢克·康 zh-yue:沙魯克汗 zh:沙魯克·汗