Kumail Nanjiani Says Shah Rukh Khan Is God

Photo: Instagram

India-West News Desk

LOS ANGELES, CA– Actor-comedian Kumail Nanjiani has spoken about the cultural scale of Indian cinema, calling Shah Rukh Khan “beyond a movie star” during a conversation with fellow comedian Hasan Minhaj on Minhaj’s YouTube channel.

The discussion, held as Nanjiani promoted his new stand-up special ‘Night Thoughts’, began with Minhaj posing a direct comparison: who is the bigger movie star, Shah Rukh Khan or Tom Cruise? Nanjiani responded, “Shah Rukh Khan is a God; he is not a movie star,” drawing a distinction between celebrity culture in India and Hollywood stardom.

Explaining his view, Nanjiani said the comparison overlooks a larger cultural context. He pointed to Khan’s command over language and public image, arguing that the Bollywood icon’s humility amplifies his stature. Referring to interviews, Nanjiani said Cruise projects a traditional movie-star persona, while Khan often downplays his fame. “He’ll come out and say, ‘Oh, I’m nothing.’ Obviously, he knows that’s not true, but he’s so confident in who he is that he actively downplays it,” Nanjiani said.

The conversation then turned to Khan’s career choices. Nanjiani noted that, as a leading man, Khan took on morally complex or negative roles early in his career, citing performances such as ‘Darr’ and ‘Anjaam’. “He was one of the first lead actors to play complicated bad guys,” he said, describing the move as unusual for a mainstream star at the time.

Nanjiani also contrasted Indian and American relationships with cinema. He said films in India occupy a central cultural space that the US has never experienced. “What movies are to India, they are not to people here,” he said, adding that in India, movie stars are often treated with reverence. He described the traditional Bollywood “masala” film as an all-in-one experience combining action, drama, romance, comedy, and music, often running several hours.