So, here’s the thing about being the biggest movie star on the planet: everyone wants to write your story for you. And they have. If you walk into a bookstore in Mumbai or London, you'll find heaps of biographies. You’ve got Anupama Chopra’s King of Bollywood, which is basically the gold standard for film nerds. Then there's Samar Khan’s 25 Years of a Life, which is more of a visual tribute. Even as recently as early 2026, we’re seeing new memoirs like Charlie’s Boys by Ajay Jain popping up to talk about his school days at St. Columba’s.
But there is one specific shah rukh khan book that is different.
It’s the one he’s writing himself. Or trying to. For like, twenty-five years.
Honestly, it’s become something of a myth in the industry. It has a title: Twenty Years of a Decade. It sounds like a typical SRK paradox, doesn't it? He chose that name because he felt that between 1991 and 2001, he lived through twenty years' worth of life in just ten.
Why the Shah Rukh Khan Book is Taking Forever
The actor first mentioned this project over two decades ago. Since then, it’s been "almost finished" about a dozen times. In 2011, he told reporters it was basically done and just needed some editing from his "writer friends." Then 2014 rolled around, and a page allegedly leaked online—a handwritten note about his father. SRK tweeted back then that the "damn book doesn't seem to end" because new pages keep needing to be filled.
Life keeps happening to him. That's the problem.
Originally, the book was supposed to end with the birth of his son, Aryan. Then he realized he couldn’t leave out Suhana. By the time he got back to it, AbRam was born. You can't really write a definitive life story when you're still busy breaking the Indian box office every other year with movies like Pathaan or Jawan.
It’s not a standard autobiography. He’s been very clear about that. He finds talking only about himself "really boring," which is kind of hilarious coming from a man who once said, "I'm like a Rolls Royce, I can run without an engine, just on reputation."
Instead of a dry chronological list of movies, the shah rukh khan book is reportedly a collection of "selective memories." He describes it as funny, positive, and a bit random. Apparently, there are even chapters where he tells the reader, "You don't have to read this." It’s supposed to have flashbacks, flash-forwards, and maybe even a few jokes in the middle.
The Chapters We Actually Know About
Even though the full manuscript is locked away somewhere in Mannat, Khan has dropped breadcrumbs over the years about what’s inside.
- The Parents Chapter: This is the one he calls his favorite. It’s about eight pages long. It covers his father, Taj Mohammed Khan, and his mother, Lateef Fatima. He’s mentioned that writing this was "auto-therapeutic."
- The Journalism Bit: There is an entire section dedicated to his thoughts on the media. Given his famously sharp (and sometimes prickly) relationship with the press in the 90s, this is probably where the tea is.
- The Dark Times: SRK has admitted that he writes the funniest chapters when he’s feeling the loneliest. It’s his way of coping.
What Most People Get Wrong About SRK’s Writing
People keep waiting for a "tell-all." If you’re looking for gossip about Bollywood rivalries or scandalous set secrets, you’re probably going to be disappointed. He’s too smart for that. He’s also too protective of his "inner world."
There’s a nuance here that most fans miss. This book isn't a product for him; it's a process. He’s a voracious reader—he’s often seen with a Kindle or a thick hardback—and he respects the craft. He even joked once that if he had the chance, he’d take a two-month course in screenplay writing because he doesn't think he's an "expert" yet.
The delay isn't just about being busy. It’s about the fact that the "King Khan" persona is a mask he wears for us, but the writer is the guy underneath.
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Making Sense of the Other "SRK Books"
Since the man himself is taking his time, other authors have filled the gap. If you want to understand the shah rukh khan book landscape in 2026, you have to look at these three:
- King of Bollywood (Anupama Chopra): This is the best for understanding the socio-political context of his rise. It explains how he became the face of a new, globalized India.
- Legend, Icon, Star (Mohar Basu): A more recent deep-dive that culls together years of interviews and adds new nuggets, like the fact that his grandmother originally named him Abdul Rahman.
- Charlie’s Boys (Ajay Jain): This is the "prequel" everyone is talking about lately. It’s a memoir of school days that paints him as the "undisputed boy" of St. Columba’s—the guy who won the Sword of Honour and was basically a superstar before he ever saw a camera.
Honestly, the wait for the official autobiography has become part of the legend. It’s like the Chinese Democracy of celebrity memoirs.
Will we ever actually get to buy a copy of Twenty Years of a Decade? Maybe. He’s reached a stage in his career where he’s more reflective. The 2023-2024 "renaissance" of his career gave him a perfect final act, or at least a very dramatic new chapter.
If you're looking to dive into his story right now, don't wait for the autobiography. Start with Anupama Chopra’s work for the history, then find a copy of SRK - 25 Years of a Life for the vibes. And if you’re feeling nostalgic, track down the old interviews where he talks about his writing process—it’s the closest we’ll get to his internal monologue for now.
Keep an eye on official announcements from Red Chillies or his social media; he usually drops news about personal projects when we least expect it. For now, the best shah rukh khan book remains the one he's still living out loud.
Check out his old "Inner World" documentary if you can find it on streaming—it covers much of the same emotional ground he’s supposedly putting into print.