'OSO' on the chopping block

Court asks 'OSO' maker to delete scene on Manoj Kumar.

A sessions court today directed 'Om Shanti Om' producer Shah Rukh Khan and director Farah Khan to delete the scene ridiculing veteran actor Manoj Kumar before telecasting the film on Sony Entertainment Television on August 10.

Court upheld Kumar's application seeking either a stay to the telecast or deletion of the scene in which Shah Rukh had played a spoof on him.

Sahara Samay

Khiladi Challenges The King

At the press meet for Singh Is Kinng on Wednesday, Akshay Kumar when asked about the title 'king' made a crack at Shah Rukh Khan, who is better known as King Khan.

The Khiladi said, "I don't know why people call themselves King, because there has only been one King in the industry in the last 30 years, and that is Amitabh Bachchan. There is no other." This is one of the many potshots that Akki has taken at SRK in recent times.

It appears that Akshay, who has always been politically correct, is deliberately taking panga with SRK. Not just in his interviews but in SIK, which releases today, there are nasty comments aimed at Shah Rukh.

Says an insider, "There is a sequence in the movie where Kiron Kher asks Singh, 'Is King the one who has 10 countries' cops behind him?' (the famous dialogue from SRK's Don). To which Akki's character replies, "These dons are nobodies, the King is the one who is made out of 10-12 fake dons put together.'

There are other digs too aimed at Khan. In another scene, a guy is wearing a cardboard mask of SRK's face and gets thrashed by a crowd!

It's interesting to note how in the last few months Akshay has been bonding more with SRK's rival camps Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan. Kumar has become close to Big B in the last few months, and was part of their The Unforgettable tour in Canada. On Wednesday night, Akshay Kumar also shot for Salman Khan's show, 10 Ka Dum.

An industrywalla adds, "Salman and Akki share share cold vibes to say the least. They have tried to outdo each other when it comes to picking up movies and quoting their market price and not to mention their issues over Katrina. Which is why their coming together especially after the SRK-Sallu fight has added significance."

It is believed that Vipul Shah is responsible in getting the two actors together. The producer-director who is close to Akki, is also directing Salman in London Dreams. He was the one who convinced Kat and Akki to be on Salman's show.

The Akki-SRK war will get more interesting in the coming months when Akshay's Chandni Chowk To China releases in the same month as Shah Rukh's home production Billoo Barber.

Watch this space for more.

Amul Sharma, Mid-Day

Shah Rukh's Knights' Training in Queensland

In his effort to fine-tune the squad ahead of the second edition of the Indian Premier League, coach John Buchanan has planned a two-week training camp for the Kolkata Knight Riders at his home state Queensland next month.

Beginning September 20, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team will take 16 promising players to Queensland in Australia, though the final list is yet to be finalised.

The Kolkata IPL team will play the Queensland first XI and a Queensland Academy of Sport team in a five-match series.

The Kolkata franchise, however, will be without its international stars like Australia captain Ricky Ponting and West Indian Chris Gayle, Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar and New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, team director Joy Bhattacharya told PTI.

"This is an initiative of Kolkata Knight Riders to give useful practice to its players ahead of the season. With Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence located there, we thought it's the best place to fine tune our players. The boys will undergo fitness regime under the supervision of coach John Buchanan," Bhattacharya added.

Asked whether team captain Sourav Ganguly would be a part of the touring squad, Bhattacharya said, "He's a busy player, we've to see all the international players availability. A detailed list of players will be released soon."

The Kolkata Knight Riders finished sixth in the eight-team inaugural IPL tournament earlier this year.

MSN - Sports

Now SRK's Mannat courts trouble

Another court battle is on the cards for actor Shah Rukh Khan. A PIL alleging 32 violations of law in the construction of his bungalow in Bandra was filed in Bombay High Court on Thursday.

The PIL, filed by social activist Simpreet Singh, sought the disconnection of water and electric supply to Mannat — Khan’s home, which is a landmark in Bandra Bandstand. It stated that the construction behind Mannat had been carried out by merging 12 flats, originally meant to house the poor. The PIL also alleged that the construction on the open space inside the premises was not permissible under law.

It was alleged that Khan was bringing up the structure in a space originally reserved for an art gallery. Also, as per the PIL, the land Khan’s property stands on had been wrongly notified as a liberal Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)-II, even though it fell within the highly restrictive CRZ-I.

The petition stated that it “stems from the grievance of the petitioners, whereby people holding substantial power and sway in the society are able to mould and then flout the laws meant for the society’s benefit for their own pecuniary gain.”

YP Singh, advocate for the petitioner said, “We will mention the PIL before a division bench next week and it will be heard subsequently.”

The PIL also contended that Khan, who purchased the property from Nariman Dubash in 2000, wrote a letter to the Chief Minister in 2003, seeking dereservation of the land earmarked for an art gallery within the premises of Mannat. Khan, the PIL stated, wrote in his letter, “Art galleries are not required in suburbs, and the same should be in the city.” He had also mentioned in the letter that a ‘Public Art Gallery’ on his bungalow compound would “disturb his privacy and affect his security.” In September 2003, the government accepted Khan’s letter and directed BMC to start the process of deletion of the reservation, the PIL added.

In 2004, Khan sought permission from the heritage committee to construct a ground plus six-storey structure on the land behind his existing bungalow, which was marked heritage property. The PIL alleged that the actor never told the panel that he had illegally demolished two heritage structures, which stood there.

The PIL further alleged that party respondents, including the ministry of environment and forests, state government, BMC, have all failed to exercise their powers and allowed the violation of Development Control Regulation, CRZ notifications, Environment Protection Act, 1986, and other laws.

Mayura Janwalkar, DNA India

Scriptwriter moves Bombay HC against Shah Rukh, Farah

A scriptwriter has moved the Bombay High Court against actor Shah Rukh Khan, director Farah Khan and others alleging that the script of film 'Om Shanti Om' is a copy of the one he wrote.
Ajay Monga, scriptwriter of films like 'Corporate' and 'Fashion,' has alleged that his copyright has been infringed.

Monga claimed he had given a copy of the script to Shah Rukh Khan-owned Red Chillies Entertainment in December 2005 and wanted Khan to play the lead role in his film, but did not get any response.

After the film was released in November last year, Monga filed a complaint with the Cine Writers' Association (CWA) in December, he said. But his application was rejected by the Association.

However, when he learnt that the film will be telecast on television on August 10, he decided to move the High Court.

On Wednesday, Monga's lawyer sought an injunction from the court to stop the telecast of the film on Sony Entertainment Television on August 10.

He pointed out that the satellite release of the film amounts to a fresh act of piracy and infringement of Monga's copyright.

Justice V M Kanade, however, has not stayed the telecast of the film but asked the parties to file their reply within four weeks.

Monga's story was that of a junior film artist falling in love with a superstar, who was engaged with another actor. At a point he saves her life. Later there is a rift between her and her fiance and the junior actor wins her over in the end, the suit says.

Press Trust of India