In 2004, on December 17, Ashutosh Gowariker’s Swades was released. As Mohan Bhargava, Shah Rukh Khan arguably gave his best performance ever. Mohan gives up his cushy job at NASA for the khushi of returning to his roots in India. His journey may seem a little touristic. But the film’s heart is in the right place. It moves you in ways that films about desh-bhakti seldom do. Ashutosh Gowariker’s direction eschews jingoism and rabble-rousing rhetoric. And Srk has never been more stripped of his mannerisms.

Swades was exceptional because it was very far removed from Srk’s other films. When we spoke about it Srk refused to mourn the failure. “I always say it’s not the manzil but the journey that matters. I often don’t watch my completed film. I enjoy the process of acting in them. I push it promote it, participate in the projection… and then I move on.