Farah Khan credits Shah Rukh's shirtless act behind film's success

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bollywood filmmaker Farah Khan, who is riding high on the success of "Om Shanti Om", credits superstar Shah Rukh Khan's shirtless song-and-dance sequence as one of the main reasons for the film's good opening.

"Om Shanti Om", a film on reincarnation, had a tough battle to overcome for box-office supremacy as it was sharing its opening date with "Saawariya" -- on unrequited love -- by top Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

But three-days since its release, analysts say, "Om Shanti Om" has edged past "Saawariya”.

"The entire credit for the film's success goes to Shah Rukh," director Farah Khan told Reuters over phone on Sunday. "He is the film's main attraction and the shirtless song is definitely one of the main reasons for the film's hit. It is the scene to watch out for."

The bare-chested act by the 42-year-old actor who underwent rigorous training sessions to develop a six-pack, has helped the song "Dard-E-Disco" reach the top of the charts across television channels and FM radio stations.

"I have made many girls and women happy by showing Shah Rukh in a very different way," she said. "He has a huge audience base and everyone I'm sure is loving the way he has pulled it off. He had to train a lot for the scene and he is looking very good."

Prithwish Ganguly For Reuters India

Om Shanti Om is Better than Saawariya at US Box Office

Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan’s reincarnation-based film Om Shanti Om handily beat Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya featuring debutantes Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor at the U.S. box office for the November 9-11 opening weekend.

According to preliminary U.S. box office numbers, Om Shanti Om came in at a respectable No-14 with a weekend gross collection of $1.5 million. Eros Entertainment distributed Om Shanti Om.

Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella White Nights, Saawariya was way behind at No-23 and a weekend gross of $600,000. Saawariya was produced and distributed by Sony Pictures.

Om Shanti Om was released in 114 theaters in the U.S. compared to 85 for Saawariya.

For Shahrukh Khan, the performance of Om Shanti Om at the U.S. box office during its opening weekend must come as welcome relief since his previous film Chak De India fared badly in its opening weekend (August 10-12, 2007) coming in at No-20 and grossing only $351,887.

Om Shanti Om also did a bit better than Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which came in at No-17 and grossed $1.35 million in its opening weekend (Aug 11-13, 2006).

Saawariya was the better picture but the people have spoken with their wallets at the box office. And their verdict was clear - more desis in the U.S. preferred to watch Om Shanti Om than Saawariya during the Diwali weekend.

Eros’ well-oiled publicity machine must have also helped Om Shanti Om to do well. Other Bollywood producers urgently need to pay attention to strong public relations if they want to see their movies do well at the box office.

Shakira's Loss is SRK's Gain

Shah Rukh couldn't eat properly, stopped drinking water and also got cramps in his rear. And yes, he also worked out every time he shot for the song.

The song took six days to shoot and was shot in four sets constructed by Saboo Cyril at Yash Raj Studios. The sets represented the four elements in life – air, water, fire and earth.

Farah Khan had originally wanted to shoot the song with Shakira. Shakira was touring till end of September, so the song went to Shah Rukh.

Farah told Shah Rukh that she didn't want any other item girl as there were already 15 girls in the song and he would have to be the item boy.

Farah wanted SRK to do a six-pack ab-flaunting song in Main Hoon Naa too. He couldn't as he had a back operation then.
Shah Rukh's son Aryan was most keen that SRK do the song and egged him on.

Dard-E-Disco has SRK doing a fireman act which was Farah's idea of having him portrayed as a male Playboy centerfold with grease et al on him which have his female fans swooning and slathering over him.

It was a tough song for SRK to shoot. He couldn't eat properly and after the third day, he had stopped drinking water as the abs wouldn't be defined. He got cramps in his backside as he had to hold his butt in. Farah would coax him to eat some carbohydrates as she feared he would fall ill.

SRK would also work out every time he shot for the song.

At the end of the song, Shah Rukh told Farah that acting was much easier and showing off his six-pack abs was tough. After the song, Shah Rukh was shown poster-size cutouts of himself in the song, which he kept staring at, disbelievingly.

Mid-Day.com

Om Shanti Om' Outroars 'Lions for Lambs' Overseas

Bollywood stole the spotlight from Tom Cruise's "Lions for Lambs" at the international box office over the weekend, with a pair of socko launches for Shah Rukh Khan's "Om Shanti Om" and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Saawariya."

"Lions for Lambs" launched with a $10.3 million take from 2,681 playdates in 45 foreign markets -- but that number was easily topped by "Om Shanti Om" and "Saawariya," both of which bowed in India taking advantage of the Diwali holiday.

Eros Intl.'s "Om Shanti Om," a tribute to the 1970s era in Bollywood, took in roughly $17 million in India while Sony's musical-romance "Saawariya" finished with $14.4 million at 754.

"Om Shanti Om" also took in $1.5 million at 114 the United States while "Saawariya" generated $600,000 in the U.S., $340,000 in the U.K. and $100,000 in Australia.

The stunning numbers for both pics comes two months after Sony pacted with Eros -- the leading Indian movie group -- for a multipicture production and distribution deal that encompasses six to eight movies in the first year of the agreement (Daily Variety, Sept. 19).

Dave McNary, Variety.com