Shah Rukh Khan, often hailed as one of Bollywood‘s most talented and influential actors,
crowned 2023 with a string of box office successes, reaffirming his title as the “King Khan” of the industry. But his journey to the top hasn’t been without its challenges. Recently, at the Global Freight Summit in Dubai, Shah Rukh opened up about the role of failure in his life and offered some insightful words on how to navigate setbacks.
Reflecting on the nature of failure, SRK shared a powerful message: “When you face failure, don’t immediately assume it’s your product, service, or work that’s at fault. Perhaps you simply misunderstood the environment you were working in. You need to understand how people are responding. If you can’t connect with your audience, no matter how good your work is, it won’t resonate.”
When asked about his own self-criticism, Khan was candid: “Yes, I am critical of my own work, and it’s something I don’t like to admit. Sometimes, I get frustrated and even cry about it in private. But here’s the thing—you have to accept that the world isn’t conspiring against you. If a project doesn’t succeed, it’s not because the universe is out to get you. It’s because something went wrong in your approach. Accept it, learn from it, and then move on. Despair is inevitable, but you can’t let it define you. At some point, you just have to tell yourself, ‘Enough. Get up and keep going.’”
He continued with a light-hearted analogy: “The world is not against you. Life simply moves forward. Sometimes, you have to think of yourself as an ant—albeit a very good-looking one!” (He laughs.) “The wind might blow you off course, but it’s not working against you. It’s just doing what it does. Life is constantly moving, and we must learn to flow with it. You can’t blame life for the failures you face. You just need to keep moving forward.”
