Shah Rukh Khan to be bestowed with Honorary Doctorate at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne

New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan in his career spanning 27 years has received several awards for his incredible performances and raw acting prowess in many of his films. Now, during his visit to Australia for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), SRK is all set to be awarded La Trobe University's highest accolade - Honorary Doctor of Letters (honoris causa).

The honour will be given in recognition of his efforts to support underprivileged children, his dedication to fight for women`s empowerment through MEER Foundation and his achievements in the Indian entertainment industry. Meer Foundation is a philanthropic foundation named after the actor`s father Meer Taj Mohammed Khan which aims to effect change at ground level and works to build a world that empowers women.

Expressing his happiness, the 53-year-old actor stated, "I'm proud to be conferred with a great University like La Trobe which has a long-standing relationship with Indian culture and impressive track record in advocating women`s equality. I feel truly privileged to receive this Honorary Doctorate and I would like to sincerely thank La Trobe for choosing to recognise my achievements in such a humbling way."

SRK will be given the award on August 9 at La Trobe`s Melbourne campus in Bundoora. IFFM's tenth edition will be held from August 8 to August 17. King Khan, who is admired globally, will be officially opening the festival on August 8, 2019, along with `Premier of Victoria` Daniel Andrews and the director of the festival Mitu Bhowmick Lange. On the work front, SRK has lent his voice to the king of the Jungle, Lion Mufasa, in the Hindi version of `The Lion King`. 

Aryan Khan has lent his voice for Mufasa's son Simba. This is the first time that the father-son duo has come together for a project.