This Shah Rukh Khan lookalike from Gujarat is so good, even die-hard fans are confused

In the last couple of years, celebrity impersonators have inspired mixed feelings amongst internet users. On one hand, lookalike competitions have grown in popularity since the virality of the October 2024 Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest in New York City, where the actor himself showed up. On the other hand, impersonators like Paige Neimann and Ashley Leechin, who imitate Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift respectively, receive continuous backlash for not only building an audience from their likeness to a popular celebrity but also drastically changing their appearance, personality and mannerisms to further resemble the celebrity in question. Take Neimann, who dramatically lost weight and dyed her hair blonde to match Grande’s look in Wicked (2025) and even more sinisterly, created an OnlyFans account where she cosplays as the singer. Despite Grande speaking up several times about the discomfort of watching people mimicking and almost parodying her behaviour, Neimann has gained nearly a million followers on Instagram.

While Qadri also first blew up on social media like Niemann and Leechin, he makes it exceedingly clear that he is not Shah Rukh Khan: that just like the Bollywood star, he is entertaining, stepping into a role that he keeps separate from his personal life. He finds this is nothing to be guilty about. “I personally believe that we choose a career for two reasons. The first is money: everyone needs money and we’d be lying if we said we don’t,” he notes. “The other reason is happiness. If you’re happy doing what you do, it doesn’t matter what anyone says about it. I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong.” When I enquire if Khan’s mannerisms ever slip into his personal life, Qadri laughs bashfully. “Never. I’m absolutely normal and a good boy. Otherwise, my family and friends would all laugh and make fun of me.”