It was a big moment for South Asian and Indian fans on the first Monday of May as the blue carpet rolled out outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with one of the biggest stars in the world was expected to make his debut at what is perhaps one of the most coveted events of the social calendar.
Shah Rukh Khan, fondly known as “King Khan” to his fans, was announced to make his Met Gala debut this year with renowned Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. Khan donned an all-black outfit that featured a “floor length elongated coat in Tasmanian superfine wool with monogrammed, Japanese horn buttons,” paired with a crepe de chine silk shirt and tailored superfine wool trousers, according to the designer.
Dozens of fans lined up outside the Mandarin Oriental hotel on NYC’s Upper West Side, about 2 miles from the event venue, to catch a glimpse of him and perhaps even get a selfie.
However, the mood quickly turned sour for some when fans realized the media appeared to have little to no knowledge of him.
Shah Rukh Khan’s red carpet interview with Vogue
Just before stepping onto the red, or blue carpet, Khan spoke to Vogue’s livestream co-hosts Ego Nwodim and Teyana Taylor.
During the interview, when Nwodim asked Khan how it felt to make history as the first male Bollywood actor to be part of the Met Gala, Khan replied: “I don’t know about history, but I’m extremely nervous.”
“Sabyasachi, who convinced me to come here,” Khan continued. “I’ve not done too many red carpets. I’m very shy. For me it’s the first time, but looking at you both, it’s wonderful to be here.”
When asked what he is most excited about, Khan said he was thrilled to be doing this for his “little kids who are very excited about Met.”
After they discussed the outfit, Mukherjee piped in to give the interviewers “a little bit of context.”
“Shah Rukh Khan is probably one of the most famous men in the world, and his fan following is legendary,” Mukherjee said. “We nearly had a stampede outside the hotel when he came out.”
“When you get a man like this on the red carpet, especially when it’s Black dandy, I think representation is the most important thing,” he continued. “We wanted to represent Shah Rukh Khan as Shah Rukh Khan and nobody else.”
In response, Nwodim remarked: “Well Sabya, I think you did your thing.”
Social media reacts to interviewers not knowing Shah Rukh Khan
Shortly after the interview dropped, fans took to social media to express their disappointment over the interviewers’ unawareness.
Content creator, Jeremy Franco, in a video that now has over five million views on Instagram, said: “They didn’t know who Shah Rukh Khan is?!?!”
“The carpet was lucky he walked on it!” Franco said in the video.
A Vogue rep, in a statement to the New York Times, said Nwodim, during the live stream, had alluded to Khan being the first male Bollywood star to appear at the event and the significance of it. The rep added “it was certainly not intentional” for the livestream to cut away from Diljit so quickly. Vogue did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for a comment.
Who is Shah Rukh Khan?
Shah Rukh Khan, 59, is a Bollywood megastar who has acted in over 80 films in a career that has spanned almost three decades. While his early career was defined with a number of anti-hero roles, Khan evolved into a megastar with a string of romantic comedies and family dramas including “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayengay (DDLJ),” “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham,” “Devdas,” “Kal Ho Na Ho” and “Veer Zaara.” A statue honoring him and “DDLJ” co-star Kajol and the film’s 30th anniversary scheduled to be unveiled in London’s Leicester Square May 7 has been postponed due to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, The Standard reported.
Besides winning countless awards for his performances and acting chops, Khan has received a number of state honors, including the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2005, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2007, and the Legion of Honour in 2014, both by the Government of France. He also received the World Economic Forum’s prestigious Crystal Award in 2018 for his leadership in championing children’s and women’s rights in India.
In 2023, Time magazine named him among the world’s most influential people and in 2015, Forbes estimated that his earnings make him possibly the biggest movie star in the world. Esquire Australia, in a recent report, named him as the fourth richest actor in the world, following closely behind Arnold Schwarzenegger (#1), Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (#2) and Tom Cruise (#3).
Khan also owns a production company Red Chillies Entertainment and an Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, which were the winners of IPL 2024.
He is yet to make his Hollywood debut.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
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