When Shah Rukh Khan said he deserved National Award for Swades, not Saif Ali Khan for Hum Tum: 'I should have got it'

Shah Rukh Khan's critically acclaimed performance in Swades lost in the National Awards race to Saif Ali Khan in 2004. The latter won Best Actor for Hum Tum.

The National Film Award win for Best Actor for Jawan ended a 33-year drought for Shah Rukh Khan. Arguably the biggest star of Hindi cinema in the last three decades, Shah Rukh has had some critically acclaimed performances that came close to a win, but never quite landed. Both fans and critics believe that his best shot at a National Award win was in 2004 when he aced his role in Swades. However, the award went to Saif Ali Khan for Hum Tum that year. A recently resurfaced video shows that even Shah Rukh felt he deserved the award more.

Shah Rukh Khan's critically acclaimed performance in Swades lost in the National Awards race to Saif Ali Khan in 2004.

When Shah Rukh addressed his National Award snub

The video is from an event organised by Tag Heuer in the late 2000s. It shows Shah Rukh on stage with director Kunal Kohli and anchor Mandira Bedi. Shah Rukh addresses a query from Kunal about his favourite films and says, "See, main dil ka bahut acha hoon. Saari filmein achi lagti hain, saare hero ache lagte hain, saari heroine achi lagti hain, har cheez achi lagti hai (I am good by heart. I like all films, all heroes, and all heroines). I am a simple-minded person; I like everything, including your films. I have loved them all."

He then addresses Kunal's films and adds, "Fanaa was very good. I think Hum Tum was very nice. His actor won the National Award for Hum Tum when I think I should have got it, but that's another story." Shah Rukh breaks into laughter towards the end, and even Kunal Kohli manages a sheepish smile at the comment.

Throwback to the time SRK publicly said that he should have won the National Award in 2005 for Swades than Saif for Hum Tum.
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Fans agree with Shah Rukh

The video resurfaced after Shah Rukh's National Award win on Friday night. It was shared on Reddit with the title: "Throwback to the time SRK publicly said that he should have won the National Award in 2005 for Swades than Saif for Hum Tum."

Most fans agreed with Shah Rukh's assertion in the comments section. One comment read, "Agreed here. I can't fathom how even Hum Tum was considered for Saif to get the award.I've watched Hum Tum, and I like it, but did I believe it was what makes Saif National Award worthy? No, absolutely not!" Another added, "He truly deserved it for Swades, tbh."

One fan tried to explain why Shah Rukh missed out on the award that year. "Unfortunately for him, TS Nagabharana was on the jury that year and openly questioned the integrity of Swades, even claiming it plagiarised his own film," read the comment.

Shah Rukh has often said that the box office failure of films like Swades, where he experimented with something different, forced him to reconsider his choices, leading him to do more commercial films later in his career. Many fans wondered if a National Award win for the film would have changed that. "What a pity. Although Swades without an award is no less. But it would have been such a great moment for him and would've somehow healed some of the scars of Swades' BO failure. Might have made him choose similar films at least one more time, which he never did because of Swades' BO failure," wondered one Redditor.

About the 71st National Film Awards

At the 71st National Film Awards, Shah Rukh shared the Best Actor prize with Vikrant Massey, who was adjudged joint winner for his performance in 12th Fail. Rani Mukerji won Best Actress for her role in Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway. 12th Fail also won Best Film.

Later on Friday, Shah Rukh took to Instagram and posted a video message of gratitude, thanking his Jawan director Atlee, fans, his team, and also his family.

Talking about what the National Award win means for him, Shah Rukh said, "The National Award is not just about achievement. It's a reminder that what I do matters. It tells me to keep going, keep working hard, keep creating, and keep serving cinema. In a world full of noise, to be truly heard is a blessing. And I promise to use this recognition not as a finish line, but as fuel to continue striving, learning, and giving back. This award is a reminder that acting is not just work, but a responsibility to show truth on the screen."