Shah Rukh Khan is steel. Literally. A disc, the size of a 25 paise coin, has been inserted in his spine. It's made of titanium and is virtually indestructible. So is Shah Rukh's spirit. Which is perhaps why just seven days after neuro-surgeon Professor Alan Crockardt cut his throat, held it open with special clamps, reached the spine, opened vertebrae six and seven, removed a herniated disc and inserted the new one, Shah Rukh is shopping.

PATIENT WAIT: A recuperating Shah Rukh may not start work till June

On a late London afternoon, he is sauntering down Oxford Street, skimming through books, clothes and music. Heads describe whiplash degrees in recognition. Only the brace around Shah Rukh's neck suggests the picture isn't perfect. His face gives away nothing. "I want to run down the street but my doctors have asked me to go slow," he says. "It hurts only when I laugh."

Shah Rukh's hyper-kinetic energy levels have dropped a few notches. He cannot travel till April or start shooting till June. Post-operative rest is critical so the body can heal and accept the disc. The risk of infection is high. But Shah Rukh's mind, as always, is working overtime. His plans for the next few months are to read a lot, write a story for a film, finish writing his autobiography, do the dubbing for home production Chalte Chalte and set up another production company. "Shah Rukh's threshold of pain is superhuman," says director Karan Johar, who along with friends Aditya Chopra, Jai Mehta, Juhi Chawla and Kajal Anand, was with the actor when he was operated at 11 p.m. (IST) on February 24.

Shah Rukh has been, as Johar puts it, "even a better patient than he is an actor". While most people recovering from a major spinal surgery require at least four or five days to recuperate, Shah Rukh was discharged from London's Wellington Hospital after two days. An hour-and-a-half after the operation, he was making groggy conversation. By day two, he was playing video games, cracking jokes and showing bits of extracted bone to visitors. "He has superb will power," says Devdas director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who was also in London for the BAFTA awards. "He's just too much of a fighter."

Actually he doesn't have a choice. Shah Rukh is the Hindi film industry's undisputed No. 1 star. His last film, Devdas, grossed approximately $35 million (Rs 168 crore) globally. The Hindi heartland might belong to Sunny Deol but urban Indians, both locally and overseas, prefer Shah Rukh's yuppie appeal. So much so that his name on the marquee adds at least Rs 7 crore to a film's sale price. Currently, Shah Rukh has over Rs 90 crore riding, literally, on his back. Three films are under production and three have been given the green light (see box). All six projects have been impacted to varying degrees.

So Ashutosh Gowarikar's Swades, a contemporary film that is set in a village and tackles social issues, has been pushed ahead by three months. Farah Khan's action musical Main Hoon Na, originally meant to be wrapped up by July, will release early next year. The film, which has Shah Rukh playing an army commando, has four major action sequences and it is unlikely the star can do any strenuous sequence till August. Nikhil Advani's Kal Ho Na Ho, a love story set in Manhattan, will also see its release date pushed by two to three months. The unit was scheduled to do a major shoot in Toronto through March-April, and Advani is trying to make up for lost time by shooting with his other stars Priety Zinta and Saif Khan.

FUTURE TENSE: Shah Rukh on the sets of Kal Ho Na Ho shortly before his surgery

Shah Rukh has done his best to minimise the losses. He shot for Advani till the day he left for London. "He was rocking," says Zinta. "In fact, he was so normal I wondered if he was fooling us and taking off for a month-long holiday." Sanjay Bhattarcharjii, coo of UTV Motion Pictures, which is co-producing Chalte Chalte, recalls how Shah Rukh was shooting while his doctors waited in the make-up van. "I have never seen this level of commitment," he says. Despite the inherent complications and consequent financial implications, none of Shah Rukh's producers are complaining. "His health is more important," says Venus' Ratan Jain, who is co-producing Main Hoon Na.

The operation did not take anyone by surprise. Shah Rukh's back problems started in December 2001. An action sequence for Shakti-The Power, in which he made a special appearance, left him with a stiff neck. A few weeks later, stage shows in Lucknow worsened his condition. By the time he flew back to Mumbai, the pain had become unbearable and the doctors diagnosed a prolapsed disc. Hoping to avoid surgery, Shah Rukh went through a gamut of alternative therapies from homoeopathy to Reiki to gurus but nothing offered a permanent fix. The problem kept recurring-he did much of Devdas in acute pain.

Post-operation, Shah Rukh says he feels like an overhauled car. "I'm fresh and looking forward to my third innings." The industry is waiting for him to return. "He'll be back with a bang," says Jaipur distributor Sunil Bhansal. Last year, Bollywood's annus horribilis, he came through and delivered a hit. Films are still floundering at an alarming rate and Bollywood is hopeful that Shah Rukh will rework his magic in Chalte Chalte, which releases around June. Because Shah Rukh has, for the past 11 years, broken the rules and still won the game. Chances are he'll do it again.

— with Ishara Bhasi

Interview : Shah Rukh Khan