CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2023: Here's why Shah Rukh Khan is the strongest contender to win the biggest award

The biggest extravaganza is all set to unfold tonight as the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2023 awards are happening that honour the biggest names across various fields that made history the previous year. In the field of entertainment, Shah Rukh Khan Khan is arguably the strongest contender and there’s a strong reason.

The King of Bollywood is coming to take your breath away. Catch Shah Rukh Khan at Indian of the Year 2023 tonight at 6pm. Only on CNN-News18#IndianOfTheYear #SRKonCNNNews18 pic.twitter.com/9lf0n2ESg8

— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 10, 2024

The star had a historic 2023 with two All Time Blockbusters ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawan’ and delivered his third success with ‘Dunki’. He created history by amassing over 8 crore footfalls in a single year. Well, the success spree is not just limited to the box office, the superstar has also created a phenomenon by drawing whooping 8 crore footfalls throughout the year, with Jawan contributing 3.93 Cr.,  _Pathaan_ 3.20 Cr. , and  _Dunki_ over 1 Cr. so far — becoming the first ever Hindi film actor to do so. Starting the year with a bang, Pathaan raked in 524 Cr. nett (Hindi) and 545 Cr. nett (all languages) in India, and a stellar 1055 Cr. worldwide including a record-breaking 49.25 million USD overseas. Pathaan continues to reign supreme as the highest-grossing Indian film internationally. Whereas Jawan was released in June, the highest-grossing Hindi film ever with a whopping 643 Cr. nett collection in India across all languages. 580 Cr. of this came from the Hindi version alone, another record for Hindi cinema. Then, the superstar hit the hat trick with Dunki, in December and collected 410 Cr. worldwide in just 13 days, the film is projected to reach 460 crore. or more by the end of its run.

It made history as Dunki was featured at Le Grand Rex, the largest cinema in Europe, on Christmas evening, making it the first Bollywood Hindi film to be showcased there. Additionally, the peppy and lovable song Lutt Putt Gaya from the movie was showcased in front of iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Arc De Triomphe in Paris.  _Dunki_  has truly captured the hearts of fans across the globe!