Burkhanov was born and grew up in Tashkent (then part of the Russian Empire) in a strict Muslim family.

In order to join the Uzbek drama theatre, which was founded in the 1920s, he had to leave home because his family's orthodox religious beliefs forbade acting.

In 1930 he received training at the Moscow Art Theatre, which he credited as enabling him to play classic roles such as Romeo, Hamlet, and Oedipus.

[1] In the early 1970s he was the subject of a documentary, People's Artist Shukur Burkhanov, narrated by fellow actor Boris Andreyev.

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "The hundred roles of Shukur Burkhanov" (PDF).