Shakib Khan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shakib Khan

• Shakib Khan’s father’s job required the family to relocate frequently from one city to another during his school years which made him change many schools during his initial years.

• When he was studying in the ninth standard and when he was residing with his family in Narayanganj, he became interested in martial arts and ended up doing a martial arts course.

• He was a bright student who scored well in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) exams but he discontinued his studies after getting a chance to act in films.

• His parents were not supportive initially when Shakib Khan told his parents about his decision to join the Bangladeshi film industry.

• In his childhood, Shakib Khan dreamt about becoming a doctor or engineer. He was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  I wished to become a doctor or engineer. Because I was a science student. I would serve the people of the country as a doctor, I would always cherish it. The other option that worked out for me was to be an engineer. This profession was also my favorite. But after completing the HSC exam, the dreams of my childhood suddenly started to disappear.”

• He also had an interest in dancing. Shakib met film choreographer and actor Aziz Reza in 1995 and then he took classes and completed a dancing course under Aziz Reza.

  

• In 1998, he went on a random visit to the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) with Aziz Reza. The BFDC was the only major studio in Bangladesh at that time and that’s where Shakib met a photographer who asked him to take part in a photoshoot.

• During the photoshoot, film director Abul Khair Bulbul noticed Shakib Khan and offered him to play the lead role in his film and he accepted the offer. Eventually, the production of the film did not begin.

• Later, he got an offer for Rafiqul Islam’s 1998 romantic project ‘Sobai to Shukhi Hote Chay’ which was also delayed.

• At that time, director Sohanur Rahman Sohan was looking for a new hero due to a dispute with his already-selected actor. Shakib’s dance teacher Aziz Reza requested Sohanur Rahman to give a chance to Shakib Khan in his film. Sohan agreed to his request and asked to bring Shakib Khan to their office.

• Sohanur Rahman gave him a chance and that’s how he was cast for the Bangladeshi romantic action film titled ‘Ananta Bhalobasha’ (1999). Shakib was only paid 5000 Bangladeshi Taka for his initial films.

• In 2001, he was cast in the Bangladeshi action thriller film titled ‘Thekao Mastan.’

  

• In 2004, Shakib Khan was cast in the Bangladeshi Biographical crime thriller film titled ‘Khuni Shikder’ which was based on the biography of the Bangladeshi notorious murderer Ershad Sikder.

  

• In 2006, thirteen of his films were released and all of the films were commercially successful at the box office and as well as became best-selling films of the year and Shakib Khan’s salary was increased from three lakhs to six-seven lakhs per film.

• In 2006, he was cast in the Bangladeshi Bengali romantic comedy film titled ‘Mayer Morjada’ in which he played the character of Badhon.

  

• In the same year, he was cast in the Bangladeshi violence drama film titled ‘Dadima’ which was also his 100th film.

  

• In 2006, Shakib Khan met his first wife Apu Biswas during the shoot of the Bangladeshi film titled ‘Koti Takar Kabin’ (2006) in which he played the character of Fahim Talukdar. He allegedly proposed to her in 2008 after completing the shoot of the film.

  

• In 2007, Shakib Khan was invited as a guest to the ‘PHP Light of the Qur’an’ which was a Qur’an competition program organized by Bangladesh’s NTV in search of talent.

  

• In 2008, Shakib and Apu Biswas got married but the marriage was kept secret from the media and general public. In 2017, Apu Biswas informed in an interview on News24 that they were married. In 2018, the couple parted ways and got divorced.

• In 2009, Shakib Khan starred in 17 films which was the third-highest number of releases in a calendar year in his career.

• On 21 September 2009, his five films were released on the same day and the films were ‘Jaan Amar Jaan,’ ‘O Saathi Re,’ ‘Bolona Kobul,’ ‘Mayer Hater Behester Chabi,’ and ‘Shaheb Name Golam.’

  

• In 2010, he was cast in the Bangladeshi drama film titled ‘Bhalobaslei Ghor Bandha Jay Na’ in which he played the character of Surjo Khan. This film became the second highest-grossing film of 2010.

  

• In the same year, Shakib Khan was cast in the Bangladeshi drama film titled ‘Chachchu Amar Chachchu.’

  

• Shakib Khan was elected in the biennial election for the first time by the Bangladesh Film Artists Association in 2011 and served as its president.

• In 2011, on the occasion of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, Shakib performed on stage at the Tri-nation Big Show with the participation of artists from the three host countries which were India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

• In 2012, he was cast in the Bengali romantic comedy film titled ‘100% Love: Buk Fatey To Mukh Fote Na’ and the film was a  remake of the 2010 Telugu-language film titled ‘Brindavanam.’

  

• In the same year, Shakib Khan was elected as the president of the Bangladesh Film Artists Association.

• In 2013, Shakib was cast in the Bangladeshi romantic film titled ‘Purno Doirgho Prem Kahini’ in which he played the character of Joy Shikder. This was his 200th film. He also sang the song titled ‘O Priyo Ami Tumar Hote Chai’ in the film.

  

• In the same year, he became the brand ambassador of Bangladesh’s energy drink named ‘Pran Power Energy Drink.’ Followed by becoming the brand ambassador of Asian Duplex Town, a housing project of Asian Town Development Limited in the same year.

• On 10 February 2014, Shakib Khan launched his own production company named ‘SK Films.’

• In the same year, Shakib Khan was cast in the Bangladeshi action comedy film titled ‘Hero: The Superstar’ which was loosely inspired by two Telugu films titled ‘Rebel’ (2012) and ‘Naayak’ (2013).

• In 2015, Shakib Khan was re-elected in the 2015 biennial election in which she defeated the veteran actor Ahmed Sharif. It was the second time in a row that Shakib earned the position of president in the association. In one of his speeches after the election result, he was quoted saying that
  

  I am really happy to be reelected as the position has given me the opportunity to serve film artistes again.”

• In 2016, he met his second wife Shobnom Bubly during the shoot of the Bangladeshi film titled ‘Bossgiri.’ They both started dating soon after and got married. Their marriage was kept a secret for a long time and was officially announced in 2022.

• In 2017, he was cast in the Indo-Bangladeshi action thriller film titled ‘Nabab’ in which he played the character of Rajib Chowdhury a.k.a. Nabab. The film became one of the highest-grossing Bangladeshi and West Bengal films of all time.

  

• In 2018, Shakib Khan was cast in the Indian Bengali romantic comedy film titled ‘Chalbaaz’ which was the remake of the Telugu action comedy-drama film ‘Subramanyam for Sale’ (2015).  It was the first Indian solo production film starring him, which was produced by the Indian production company Eskay Movies.

  

• In the same year, Calcutta Times ranked him 18th out of the top 20 stars considering the business, audience demand, and co-stars of the films released in India.

• In 2018, Shakib Khan was supposed to participate in the Eleventh Parliamentary Election of Bangladesh and said that he would buy the nomination papers for Bangladesh Awami League on 11 November. However, he changed his mind that night and stated that he was not voting and was quoted saying that
  

  It is not right for mine to leave cinema and be busy with anything else right now. It is possible to serve the country through cinema. So I decided not to take part in the election after discussing with my close ones.”

• In 2018, during the filming of the film ‘Super Hero,’ Shakib Khan was admitted to the emergency department of a Sydney hospital in Australia due to a high fever and received treatment for two days. The shoot remained on hold till the time his health was back to normal.

• In 2019, he was paid up to 50 lakh Bangladeshi Taka for the film ‘Nolok’ and became the highest-paid entertainer in the history of Bangladesh.

• In the same year, he returned back to film production after five years and produced the Bangladeshi action thriller film titled ‘Password’ and he also played the character of Rudra in the film.

  

• In 2019, he performed on stage at the inaugural ceremony of the 2019 T10 Cricket League at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. After his performance, he gave a speech in English and Hindi for he had to face criticism for not speaking in his native language.

  

• In 2019, he was appointed as the brand ambassador of SMC Orsaline-N.

• In the same year, he was ranked for the first time as a Bangladeshi in the list of top 20 stars of the Calcutta Times Most Desirable Man in the 2019 edition by the Indian media The Times of India’s supplement Calcutta Times. 

• In 2019, Shakib Khan installed digital film projectors in 200 theatres across the country of Bangladesh. The work of installing these under the name of ‘SK Big Screen’ started from Eid al-Adha in 2019.

• In 2020, he produced the Bangladeshi political action-drama film titled ‘Bir’ and he also played the character of Antu aka Bir in the film.

  

• In 2021, he was appointed as the brand ambassador of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited.

  

• He was the highest-paid actor in Bangladesh and West Bengal; as of 2022.

• In 2022, he was appointed as the Bangladesh Outreach Brand Ambassador of the North American Bengali Conference (NABC), which is considered to be the biggest gathering of Bengali speakers abroad. He is the first and only brand ambassador in the 42-year history of this conference.

  

• After the director Sohanur Rahman Sohan’s death in 2023, Shakib Khan revealed that his stage name ‘Shakib Khan’ was given to him by his first film director Sohanur Rahman Sohan.

• In 2023, he was cast in the Bangladeshi political thriller film titled ‘Leader: Amie Bangladesh’ followed by the Bangladeshi romantic action film titled ‘Priyotoma’ in the same year.

  

• In the same year, it was reported that Shakib Khan and his second wife Shobnom Bubly got separated and are filing for divorce, however; there were no formal or official statements made by anyone of them about the same.

• In his two-decades-long career, Shakib Khan has done more than 250 Bangladeshi films (as of 2024).

• Shakib Khan is widely regarded as one of the most popular and influential figures in Bangladeshi cinema and is considered to be one of the most successful actors in the country’s history.

• He has been part of many advertisements and endorsements and some of them are Asian Duplex City, Banglalink, SMC Orsaline N, and Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited.

• Television channels hold film festivals every year on Eid with his films as Shakib Khan Films Festival.

• Shakib Khan owns a restaurant chain at Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka named ‘Red Chicken.’

• He was one of Bangladesh’s highest taxpayers for three consecutive years in 2016–17, 2018–19, and 2019–20.

• In 2024, Shakib Khan started working as the director of Remark HB Limited which is a multinational cosmetic product manufacturing company where he worked with authentic cosmetics retail chain shop Herlan.

• Shakib Khan has been part of many Bangladeshi films and some of them include ‘Sahoshi Manush Chai’ (2003), ‘Mayer Hater Beheshter Chabi’ (2009), ‘Judge Barrister Police Commissioner’ (2013), ‘Moner Moto Manush Pailam Naa’ (2019), ‘Nabab LLB’ (2020), and ‘Toofan’ (2024).

  

• In 2024, Shakib Khan was cast in the Indo-Bangladeshi joint psychological thriller action film titled ‘Dorod’ which made him the first actor from Bangladesh to work in the first Pan-Indian movie.

  

• In the same year, there were reports that Shakib Khan was about to get married to a doctor, however; the actor never denied or accepted the rumour.

• Shakib Khan has worked with his first wife Apu Biswas as a heroine the most as they have done more than 70 Bangladeshi Bengali films together.

• Shakib Khan’s first wife and actress Apu Biswas blamed Shakib’s career for their divorce as according to Apu Biswas, he always prioritised his career more than his wife and his son. Shakib was also said to have never wanted to take care of his son Abram.