IANS

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who turns 41 Thursday, plans to spend a quiet birthday with close friends and family. He has even cancelled a trip to Australia to be with his loved ones.

Last year, he spent his birthday away from home in New York with NRI hotelier Vikram Chatwal and writer Deepak Chopra.

The actor says he plans to sign more films.

"Unlike last year, when I was tied down because of my back problem, this year I'm feeling much better. I am planning to sign more films than usual. If I had the power to change anything, I would add a few more extra hours in a day. I truly want more time," Shah Rukh was quoted as saying.

Just a few days before his birthday his biography "SRK - Still Reading Khan" by Mushtaq Sheikh was released. The author has chronicled the ups and downs in Shah Rukh's life in his quest for stardom.

Last year before his birthday British filmmaker Nasreen Munni released a two-part documentary on Shah Rukh titled, "The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan".

Filmmaker Karan Johar, who is Shah Rukh's close friend, will pay a special tribute to him on Zee Music in the special programme "Kabhi Karan Kabhi Khan". He will share anecdotes about Shah Rukh's life on the show.

Born and brought up in Delhi, Shah Rukh forayed into filmdom in 1992 with hit film "Deewana". Nobody had thought then that one day this short, young man would one day become the superstar of the Hindi film industry.

However, his guru Barry John, a well-known theatre personality under whom he learnt the nuances of acting, was convinced that Shah Rukh is star material.

After hitting the bull's eye with "Deewana", Shah Rukh signed two films - "Baazigar" and "Darr", which were the turning point in his career. He played negative roles in the films, yet he managed to carve a niche for himself.

During this period he featured in "Maya Memsaab". "Maya Memsaab" was an offbeat film in which he was paired opposite Deepa Sahi and their screen-scorching love sequences became the talk of the town.

The best thing about Shah Rukh is that it didn't take him long to attain stardom and sign big banners like Yash Raj Films.

His first film with Yash Chopra, "Darr", was released in 1993. After that he repeated Shah Rukh in their biggest blockbuster "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge" (DDLJ), released in 1995. The phenomenal success of the film made him Chopra's blue-eyed boy.

DDLJ's success was followed by "Pardes", "Pardes", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", "Devdas", "Kal Ho Naa Ho" and "Main Hoon Na".

But it seems he has hit a rough patch as he hasn't managed to give a hit in the last two years. Critics feel that he has become typecast and the public is bored of seeing him do the same thing, film after film.

Currently he is busy with "Om Shanti Om" and "Happy New Year" and says he doesn't worry about the future.

"I only see one hour ahead. I don't think about the future. For me, the magic lies in the moment," he said in an interview.