Growing up in the small town of Junagadh, Gujarat, hoarding painter Ibrahim Qadri was told by virtually everyone who met him: ‘You look like Shah Rukh Khan!” To add to things, he would sport Khan’s hairstyle from Deewana (1992). And the SRK fan, who has gone viral for his resemblance to the star, has since graduated to posting pictures on social media and attending events.

“I didn’t pay much heed initially. But, in 2017 when I visited Mumbai for the first time, being a huge fan of Shah Rukh bhai I went to Mannat to catch a glimpse, and got mobbed outside. His security was trying to protect me from SRK’s fans! It was only then that I realised how true it had been all along,” says Qadri, adding he began dressing like SRK in real life, and later participating in shows all around the country.

Qadri likes to dress up like SRK in real life, and says he has been offered to act in advertisements and web series, in the past.

“When I came out of the cinema hall after watching Raees (2017), I was sporting the same beard as Shah Rukh bhai, and everyone started staring at me... After that I began working on my looks. I started posting videos and photos, even recited SRK’s dialogues, and through social media I received this amount of love,” says Qadri, 32, adding, “I’m from a small town where there are no acting opportunities. But I put in a lot of effort to be as true to his characters as I can.”

Qadri has sure found a loyal fan following and even receives acting offers plus marriage proposals! But he confesses, “I never wanted to be an actor. I just plan to continue doing events.” And there’s one thing he surely dreams about: “I’m a huge SRK fan. I want to meet him once and shake hands with him! Outside Mannat, I got a slight taste of how larger than life his existence is, and I experienced that simply because I resemble him.”