Shah Rukh Khan ‘100% should have got National Award for Swades’, says Anupam Kher: 'He went unrecognised for years'

Anupam Kher said that Shah Rukh Khan, who won the National Award this year for the first time, deserved to win it years ago.

Actor Anupam Kher said that he is "really glad" that Shah Rukh Khan has won his first National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Jawan. Speaking with news agency PTI, Anupam added that Shah Rukh "went unrecognised" for his work in many films, including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. He further said that Shah Rukh should have won the National Film Award for his 2004 film Swades.

Anupam Kher talked about Shah Rukh Khan and his 2004 film Swades.

Anupam Kher talks about Shah Rukh Khan winning National Award

Anupam Kher shared how Shah Rukh was honoured with the award after over three decades. "I am very happy for him, and personally happy that he finally got it after 40 years. You can imagine his disappointment — for Swades, he 100 per cent should have got the National Award. So many other performances, like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, went unrecognised. Each time, he must have felt upset. So I am really glad he has finally received it,” Anupam told PTI.

Anupam is happy for the National awardees

The actor said Shah Rukh’s win also represents a recognition of mainstream cinema at the National Awards. "It is a very good thing because it is different from that narrative that you should do a special kind of film (to get a national award). I was very happy to see Karan Johar, Rani Mukerji and Shah Rukh Khan sitting together. It was a star-studded blockbuster National Award this year,” he added.

About Anupam, Shah Rukh films

Anupam has worked with Shah Rukh on several films, such as Zamaana Deewana, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Veer-Zaara, and Paheli.

At the 71st National Film Awards ceremony held on Wednesday, President Droupadi Murmu honoured Shah Rukh for his performance in the 2023 film Jawan. He shared the Best Actor honour with Vikrant Massey, who was rewarded for his performance in filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail.

More about Swades, Shah Rukh's new film

Swades, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, also starred Gayatri Joshi, Kishori Ballal, Daya Shankar Pandey, Rajesh Vivek, and Lekh Tandon. It was critically acclaimed but a commercial failure at the box office. At the 50th Filmfare Awards, Shah Rukh won Best Actor. Now, Swades is regarded as one of Shah Rukh's best performances and a cult classic. The National Award for Best Actor was won by Saif Ali Khan that year, for his performance in Hum Tum.

Fans will see Shah Rukh next in Siddharth Anand's King. The film also stars Deepika Padukone, Suhana Khan, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Abhay Verma.