From starving to stardom: SRK’s lookalike now charges ₹5 lakh per event
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Gujarat: Ibrahim Qadri, widely known as Shah Rukh Khan’s doppelganger, has gone from struggling to afford two meals a day to gracing the cover of Vogue India and travelling the world for appearances. Once a hoarding painter in Gujarat’s Junagadh, Ibrahim’s life changed dramatically after his uncanny resemblance to the Bollywood superstar turned him into a sought-after performer.
For years, family and friends remarked on his similarity to Shah Rukh Khan, but Ibrahim brushed it off. The resemblance became impossible to ignore during an IPL match in Rajkot, when a crowd mistook him for the actor, sparking a stampede-like situation. That moment, he recalls, changed everything.
At the time, he was facing severe financial hardship. With digital advertising replacing painted hoardings, Ibrahim’s work had dried up. “I could hardly manage two meals a day,” he told Lallantop in a recent interview. “It was a hand-to-mouth situation. There were days without work. Now, things have completely changed. I can afford three meals a day, but then even getting two meals was a problem.”
Ibrahim says his transformation from “just looking like SRK” to “really becoming him” took perseverance. Initially, he had no training in speaking, dancing or behaving like the star. “When I started doing events as SRK’s doppelganger, I knew nothing. Many times, I was not paid for my appearance. Once, someone in the audience taunted me: ‘Sirf SRK jaisa dikhna kaafi nahi hai.’ That hit me hard and then began my transformation journey. I learnt to behave like SRK,” he said.
Now, Ibrahim charges between ₹1.5 lakh and ₹5 lakh per appearance, depending on the event. “I believe I am the highest-paid doppelganger. And due to me, other lookalikes of SRK are also bagging jobs — everything I reject goes to them,” he added.
Despite his success, Ibrahim says he has no desire to meet Shah Rukh Khan himself. To protect the actor’s image, he also avoids invitations from comedy shows. “They joke about us and also him, and I can’t let that happen,” he explained.
But looking like the superstar is not always an advantage. “Whenever I go to malls for shopping, people charge me more money assuming I must be extremely rich. Mera kuch faayda nahi hai, ulta nuksaan hai,” he said.
What began as a struggle for survival has turned into a global career. Ibrahim Qadri’s journey from a small-town artist to one of the world’s highest-paid celebrity lookalikes highlights not only his striking resemblance to Shah Rukh Khan but also his determination to build a livelihood from it.
