Shah Rukh Khan looks his age at 45

The haggard look at pre-release campaigns of Ra.One raises the question.

At 45, Shah Rukh Khan is looking like he is, well, 45. Which is not a bad thing unless you consider he helms glamour-driven Bollywood where the hero must always look fighting fit and young, at a time when rival contemporaries of the same age group, Aamir and Salman Khan, are miraculously looking not a day older than 30.

Shah Rukh has of late been frenetically occupying every public space available to promote his ambitious production Ra.One - from television reality shows to product launch dos to awards function nights.

Everyone is talking of the Ra.Oneoverhype that SRK has unleashed, considering his number one position seems to be threatened by Salman Khan's back-to-back blockbuster track record lately with hits such asDabangg, Ready and Bodyguard. Everyone, however, is also talking of the fact that SRK has been looking rather aged and haggard in his promotional activities, that he is trying to act and behave like an energetic 25-year-old but his face is giving away his real age.

Probably, the aged look could have to do with the niggling back problem that has plagued the superstar over the past few years. SRK has undergone multiple major surgeries and shot Ra.Onethrough his painful stint.

"Huge blue screen... 100 cars... cranes wires... gawd i am making a film beyond my means. Now working with my doc on my back. Time to scream out ouch... ooh... aah... no pun intended (sic)," Shah Rukh tweeted some time ago, about braving his back woes to wrap up Ra.One. It could be a reason why he definitely looks old in certain scenes in the film's promos. The superstar incidentally has been under the effect of anaesthesia more than once over the past decade, having undergone minor surgeries for knee, ankle and stomach ailments.

Heavy medication and its side effects over the past years could be a reason why SRK may have been forced to avoid the popular showbiz option of Botox to keep looking young as many of his rivals are rumoured to do.

That, combined with a hectic lifestyle - the superstar reportedly sleeps for only about three to four hours daily despite all problems - perhaps has taken its toll.

For now, Shah Rukh needs to think and stay young, even if he doesn't look as much. For the sake of his dream film Ra.One , a superhero extravaganza rumoured to be made at a budget of Rs 140 crore.