In the 2008 film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Bobby Khosla (Vinay Pathak) chastises Surinder Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) for letting his wife drive his Suzuki GSR600r motorcycle for a Dhoom moment.
Bobby: So your wife was riding the bike?
Suri: Yes.
Bobby: That too at the speed of 120?
Suri: Yes.
Bobby: And what were you doing?
Suri: I was sitting behind.
Bobby: What were you doing at the back?
Suri: I had to hold the handbag.
Bobby: Oh man! A lady is riding the bike and you are sitting behind holding a ladies handbag! You have spoilt the whole macho!
Suri: Sorry, Bobby .. which part of the bike is the macho? Is it very expensive?
Until last year, Shah Rukh Khan was "a motorcycle lover who was never allowed to have one." One would not have known this because he seemed quite at ease riding motorcycles in his films.
Here is a brief run down of the films where Shah Rukh Khan put the "macho" into the art of motorcycle riding.
Deewana (1992)
A man looking for love, Raja Sahay rides onto the Bollywood screen and into our hearts.
Dil Aashna Hai (1992)
In order to rescue Laila (Divya Bharti) and Barkha (Dimple Kapadia), Karan Singh drives a motorcycle onto the kidnappers' ship and turns the bike into a weapon.
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994)
Always the dreamer, Sunil hatches schemes which he hopes will play out to his advantage.
At the same time, he keeps a spare tire with him at all times just in case they don't.
Karan Arjun (1995)
Vijay/Arjun and Bindiya (Mamta Kulkarni) cause the jeep carrying
Ajay/Karan (Salman Khan) to jail to meet with an accident. Ajay jumps on the back of the motorcycle and they go to to meet Durga Singh (Raakhee).
Zamaana Deewana (1995)
After he sings"Rok Sake To Rok", Rahul Singh drives his motorcycle up a staircase and through the Malhotra house to carry Priya (Raveena Tandon) away - a la Mirza Sahiban.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1996)
Speeding down the road on one of the two motorcycles he owns, Raj Malhotra has an unbridled passion for life that will soon be transformed when he falls in love with Simran Singh (Kajol).
Koyla (1997)
While fighting off the guards, Shankar commandeers a bike so he
and his beloved Gauri (Madhuri Dixit) can escape from Raja Saab's compound.
Yes Boss (1997)
Rahul Joshi has big dreams that reach beyond his circumstances, and his unreliable scooter.
Duplicate (1998)
Bablu Chaudhry doesn't really ride the motorcycle as much as dance on it while imagining he is with Sonia Kapoor (Juhi Chawla) when in reality he is with Lily (Sonali Bendre). It's complicated.
Baadshah (1999)
While Raj Babulal Baadshah cons Seema (Twinkle Khanna) by pretending to be blind,
he takes advantage of her mode of transportation.
Josh (2000)
As the leader of the Eagles gang, Max Dias rides through the town of Vasco as if he owns it.
Spoiler alert: He does.
One 2 Ka 4 (2001)
Arun Verma's slow motorcycle ride to the home of his friend,
Javed Abbas (Jackie Shroff), is heartbreaking.
Chalte Chalte (2003)
During a flight delay on the way to Athens, Raj Mathur and the "cutely sweetly ugly" dog
borrow a motorscooter to catch up to Priya Chopra (Rani Mukherji).
Swades (2004)
Mohan Bhargava shares a ride with Mela Ram (Daya Shankar Pandey) and Nivaran Dayal Shrivastav (Rajesh Vivek) as they visit homes to ask parents to send their children to school.
Om Shanti Om (2007)
Om Kapoor, greeted by his adoring fans, arrives late to the studio for his film shoot.
His "Who Cares?" t-shirt says it all.
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008)
The friendship of "Raj Kapoor" and Taani Sahni (Anushka Sharma) slowly turns into a romance each time he takes her for a ride on the motorcycle borrowed from Bobby Khosla (Vinay Pathak).
Billu (2009)
Bollywood superstar Sahir Khan arrives with his entourage and slowly drives his motorcycle through the crowds onto the stage where he encourages everyone to "Come along..."
Don 2: The Chase Continues (2011)
Don, now a free man, rides out to meet his trusted companion Ayesha (Lara Dutta) and Sameer (Kunal Kapoor), who has something to give Don. Note: The license plate inscription is "Don 3".
Ra.One (2011)
Lucifer rides his Batpod across the desolate alien landscape
to take on Khalnayak (Sanjay Dutt) and rescue the Desi girl (Priyanka Chopra).
Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)
Indian Army Bomb Disposal Expert Major Samar Anand is "The Man Who Cannot Die."
His preferred mode of travel is by motorcycle, though it hasn't always been a smooth ride.
Chennai Express (2013)
Facing a fight with strongman Tangaballi (Nikitin Dheer) for the hand of Meenalochni Azhagu Sundaram (Deepika Padukone), Rahul Mithaiwala manages to escape on a motorbike. As Rahul is wearing a Steve McQueen t-shirt, one has to wonder if he imagines himself in the Great Escape, recreating the greatest motorcycle getaway scene ever.
Perhaps the most iconic image of Shah Rukh Khan on a motorcycle is the one from an August 2013 event where he showed off his KTM 200 Duke bike - his first motorcycle which was gifted to him for his birthday in November 2012. Apparently, he has expressed interest in performing stunts with KTM motorcycles in the upcoming film "Happy New Year", currently filming and due to be released in October 2014.
Postscript: With vehicle exhaust emissions a contributor to climate change and health issues (see Koyla image, above), manufacturers are starting to explore cleaner power alternatives such as electric motorcycles. Hopefully, Bollywood will leverage the influence of stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Aamir Khan and others to encourage the shift from petrol-powered combustion engines to cleaner engines by featuring these alternatives in future films.
Wishing you a Very Happy Birthday, Shah Rukh Khan! #BirthdayOfBaadshahKhan #HappyBirthdaySRK #SRKsBirthdayCelebrations #SRKDay