From Chattogram to the Met: Amir Hamja Captures Shah Rukh Khan for The New York Times

In a headline-grabbing crossover of South Asian talent and global glamour, Bangladeshi photojournalist Amir Hamja captured Bollywood royalty Shah Rukh Khan for The New York Times, just in time for the superstar’s grand Met Gala debut at the 2025 Met Gala.

Image Sourced from Amir Hamja

The series, which has already gone viral across South Asian media, offers a rare portrait of the megastar in quiet reflection - calm, confident, and characteristically enigmatic. And behind the lens? A storyteller from Chattogram who’s rewriting the narrative of where talent comes from and who gets to shape the global visual archive.

From Chattogram to The New York Times: Through the Lens of Amir Hamja

Born in Chattogram, Bangladesh, Amir Hamja became the first Bangladeshi photographer to join The New York Times as a fellow in its prestigious 2023–24 Fellowship Program. In a world saturated with content, Hamja’s work stands out—not for shock value or speed, but for its emotional precision. He doesn’t just take photos. He tells stories.

“I was taking photos for myself during the Black Lives Matter protests,” he shared in an interview. “They eventually got shared on social media. That’s how I landed at The New York Times. It was one of the most pivotal moments of my career.”

Now based in New York City and contributing to major publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post, Hamja brings a South Asian sensibility to global storytelling. His portrait session with Shah Rukh Khan wasn’t just another celebrity assignment—it was a cultural moment that linked two South Asian powerhouses on a global stage.

SRK at the Met: A Quiet Dandyism

Khan, styled by Indian fashion icon Sabyasachi Mukherjee, kept it classic: stark, simple, and stately. While he confessed he’s “not a fashion devotee,” he spent an entire day of his 72-hour NYC trip roaming Saks and Bergdorf Goodman in search of the perfect jeans. “I’m a jeans-and-T-shirt person,” he laughed, recalling his very first clothing splurge - five-pocket denims from a shop called Junction Jeans, back in his school days at St. Columba’s in New Delhi.

The Met Gala look, however, was far from off-the-rack. Khan wore a minimalist ensemble punctuated by a roaring, bejeweled tiger-head necklace, a nod to royalty, rebellion and the evening’s theme of Black male dandyism. “The only thing he said was, ‘I don’t want to wear shoulder pads that make me look like an airplane,’” quipped Sabyasachi, known for opulent Indian tailoring.

And yet, despite the glamour and the fanfare, Khan kept his appearance brief. After walking the red carpet, he flew back to India that same night to resume filming. But in that fleeting moment, a South Asian story was told with style, substance, and a shutter click.

Bangladesh in the Frame

For Amir Hamja, this assignment is more than a personal milestone, it’s a turning point for Bangladeshi creatives worldwide. At a time when South Asian designers, artists, and storytellers are rising in global recognition, Hamja’s images place Bangladesh at the heart of this cultural shift.

As South Asia increasingly shows up at fashion’s biggest nights, film’s biggest screens, and journalism’s boldest platforms, one thing is certain: our stories are no longer waiting to be discovered. They’re being told, frame by frame, moment by moment.

And this time, Bangladesh isn’t just in the room. It’s behind the camera.