CAREER.....as an actor

He started his acting career in 1988 by appearing in the television series Fauji playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. He then played a role in the serial Circus in 1989, which depicted the life of circus performers. That same year he also had a minor role in the television film In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones, written by Arundhati Roy and based on the life in Delhi University. After the death of his parents Khan moved from New Delhi to Mumbai for a fresh start in 1991. He made his Bollywood film debut in Deewana (1992) which was a box office hit and launched his career in Bollywood. His debut performance won him a Filmfare Best Debut Award.

In 1993 he won acclaim for his performances as a murderer and obsessive lover respectively in the box office hits Baazigar and Darr. He won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Baazigar. He was also appreciated for his role as a young loser in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa which earned him the Filmfare Best Actor Award (critics) that same year. In 1994 Khan once again played an obsessive lover/psycho role in Anjaam. However, even though the movie wasn't a box office success Khan's performance in a negative role earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.

In 1995 he starred in the romantic film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge which was a critical and commercial success and has entered its twelfth year in Mumbai theaters, grossing over 12 billion rupees in all, making it as one of the biggest film blockbusters.

Khan went on to collaborate with directors Yash Chopra and Karan Johar and starred in many of their films in the romantic and drama genre, several of which were box office hits, including: Dil to Pagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) and Veer-Zaara (2004). He also had some success working with directors like Aziz Mirza with whom he had success with Yes Boss (1997) and Mansoor Khan with whom he had a hit with Josh (2000).

Khan also won critical praise for his performances in films such as Anjaam (1994), Dil Se(1998), Swades (2004) and Paheli (2005) which were not as successful at the box office. He is also well-known for playing the title role as the tragic lover Devdas in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance Devdas (2002) which was an adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's famous novel of the same name.In 2006 he once again collaborated with Karan Johar in the multi-starrer film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006) which did well in India and became the biggest hit in the overseas market. That same year he played the title role in Don (2006), a remake of the 1978 hit film Don which was also successful.