King's first song Tu Mil Jaaye is out: SRK and Deepika reunite, with Ed Sheeran on the track
Shah Rukh Khan marked his 61st birthday with Tu Mil Jaaye, the first song from Siddharth Anand's King, featuring Deepika Padukone and sung by Arijit Singh, Ed Sheeran and Madhubanti Bagchi. The film hits cinemas on 24 December 2026.
Shah Rukh Khan does not do quiet birthdays. On 2 November, the day he turned 61, the makers of King released Tu Mil Jaaye, the first song from Siddharth Anand's action thriller. It reunites Khan with Deepika Padukone, puts Arijit Singh, Ed Sheeran and Madhubanti Bagchi behind the mic, and comes with Sachin-Jigar's music. The film itself arrives in cinemas on 24 December 2026, which makes this the opening move of a very long Christmas campaign.
What the song actually gives you
If you were expecting a gentle ballad, think again. The video opens with a Khan monologue and then refuses to sit still, cutting between breezy beach romance with Padukone and properly grim action sequences. It signs off with Khan loading a gun, which tells you exactly how Anand wants this film to be sold: love story on the surface, bullets underneath. T-Series and Red Chillies Entertainment have put it out together, and the cut between tenderness and gunfire is so sharp it almost feels like two trailers stitched into one song.
Khan's own caption for the launch was short and pointed: "This December, #LoveLikeAKing." Subtle, it is not. Effective, it absolutely is.
The Ed Sheeran factor
The headline grabber is the credit list. Arijit Singh is the voice most Indian listeners will reach for first, Madhubanti Bagchi adds the female vocal, and Ed Sheeran lends the track an English section that is clearly built to travel well beyond India. T-Series lists Sachin-Jigar and Sheeran together under music direction. For a film that Red Chillies is pitching as "A New Shah Rukh Khan Experience", a global pop name on the first single is a statement of ambition rather than a novelty.
It also fits a pattern. Khan and Padukone go back all the way to Om Shanti Om, and their recent outings in Pathaan and Jawan were among the biggest Hindi hits of the decade. Releasing their chemistry first, before a full trailer, is a confident bet on what audiences already love.
King: the essentials
- Director: Siddharth Anand, who also directed Khan in Pathaan.
- Producers: Red Chillies Entertainment and Anand's Marflix Pictures.
- Lead cast: Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, with Suhana Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Abhay Verma and Arshad Warsi in key roles.
- Release: In cinemas on 24 December 2026.
- The song: Released by T-Series and Red Chillies Entertainment, with music by Sachin-Jigar.
That cast list deserves a second look. Suhana Khan sharing a big-screen action film with her father is a story in itself, and Jaideep Ahlawat and Arshad Warsi are the kind of names that make an ensemble feel heavier than the usual hero-plus-villain set-up.
Why this matters for your December
A Christmas Eve release puts King right into the holiday stretch, when families, college groups and office gangs all look for one big outing before the year ends. With the first song out more than seven weeks ahead, expect the full promotional machine to grind into gear through November and December. If you plan to catch it on opening weekend in a premium format, keep an eye on advance bookings once they open, because Khan's festive releases tend to fill the good seats early.
The FHM take
Tu Mil Jaaye is smart marketing dressed up as a love song. It sells the romance, teases the violence and borrows a global superstar's voice, all without giving away the plot. Whether King is truly a "new" Shah Rukh Khan will be decided in the cinema hall, but as birthday gifts go, this one lands. Our only request: Mr Anand, save the best shots for the trailer.
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