When Shah Rukh Khan Became Bollywood’s 1st Mainstream Actor To Feature In An Item Song

The song was sung by Kunal Ganjawala.

The music video kicked off the trend of male actors performing in such songs.

Special songs and dance numbers have been a vital part of Bollywood for decades. Veteran actresses like Helen and Silk Smith made their careers by appearing in many of these songs and making themselves indispensable to film successes.

As the 21st century began, the term item number began to be used for these songs. As a result, the women featured in these songs were known as ‘item girls.’

Then, in 2005, in a gender reversal for the ages, Bollywood got its first item boy. Do you know who he is? According to reports, Shah Rukh Khan was the first male mainstream actor to work in a film just for an item song. Other stars have made cameo appearances in songs, but this time Shah Rukh was there for his glam factor, despite the fact that the song had nothing to do with the film itself.

The film was the 2005 supernatural horror movie Kaal, a Karan Johar production, and the song was Kaal Dhamaal. The promotional song starred Shah Rukh and Malaika Arora. The song was sung by Kunal Ganjawala.

According to reports, Shah Rukh performed the song for free due to his connection with Karan Johar. The song was a great smash, and the music video kicked off the practice of male actors performing in such songs.

Kaal did not benefit much from the song, though. The movie was written and directed by Soham Shah and featured Ajay Devgn, John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi, Lara Dutta, and Esha Deol as the main leads. The film collected only Rs 28 crore at the box office.

The movie focuses on a wildlife expert, his wife, and a group of friends who battle against a mysterious entity in the fictional Orbit National Park. The film sends out a message about protecting the precious wildlife of India.

Shah Rukh Khan started the trend of male stars being in item numbers, and others followed suit. A few years later, he was seen in the title single of Krazzy 4, which also featured Hrithik Roshan.
Aamir Khan starred in a retro avatar in I Hate You for Delhi Belly, and Ranbir Kapoor performed a dance performance in Chillar Party.