Background

Shahrukh studied acting under Theatre Director Barry John at Delhi's Theatre Action Group.

He made his debut in 1988 in the television series Fauji. It was produced and directed by Colonel R.K. Kapur (Retired). Fauji was a serial about the daily life of an Indian Army.

The concept focuses on a batch of trainees into a commando school, their training and eventual induction as soldiers.

In Fauji Shahrukh played the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai, a bright young, but naughty trainee.

His elder brother Vikram is a senior training officer, who cannot behave with any leniency towards Shahrukh. In one incident, Vikram sentences Shahrukh to a rigorous punishment, but then forgets about him. When he remembers, Shahrukh is still struggling with that punishment even as he is near collapse.

The character played by Shahrukh Khan gained instant popularity due to its charm, energy, enthusiasm and joyfulness with which Khan essayed the role.

He continued with other television serials. In the 1989, he played the character of a circus performers in Aziz Mirza's most famous TV serial Circus. In the same year, he 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.