No Shah Rukh, but European fans still love him

BERLIN: Over 200 fans from all over Europe assembled at the Velodrom, the German capital's indoor stadium, to say they still love Shah Rukh Khan
- though their hopes were dashed when a show featuring the Bollywood heartthrob was cancelled.

Dressed in silk saris and satin salwars, the colourful crowd of mostly women fans lit candles outside the entrance in the shape of SRK and said they were disappointed that "Temptation Reloaded", the live dance and music extravaganza starring King Khan, was cancelled Friday.

"I can't believe that I will not see Shah Rukh tonight," Pamela, 33, said. Pamela had come from Zurich with stars in her kajal-painted eyes and returned from Berlin with tears.

Angela Gotze, 26, said: "I want Shah Rukh to know that we are not angry with him. We love him and miss him and want him to come to Berlin soon."

Gotze had travelled from the ceremony at the stadium to join hundreds of other fans collected in another part of town outside Goya, the most fashionable and largest disco here and the location of "Cabaret", the Hollywood classic starring Lisa Minelli.

More than 10,000 tickets were sold for the German tour of "Temptation Reloaded". However two days before the first show in Berlin Friday, it was cancelled to the deep disappointment of Shah Rukh fans.

A 16-year-old from a small town in Germany was devastated. In a message posted at Planet Sharukh, the online forum of Shah Rukh Khan fans worldwide, she wrote, "'Temptation Reloaded' is cancelled it is all over now. What shall I do now?

"Shahrukh do you know how much I love you??? No, this is such a pity. I am so sad that I cannot find words, my most beautiful dream did not come true, just like that sorry but I have to express my grief and my anger."

A 42-year-old housewife and mother of three children told IANS that she came to Berlin from Stuttgart though her husband and her two older children mock her for loving Shah Rukh. Besides, she runs a restaurant and in her absence the business is bound to suffer.

Fans were allowed to use their tickets to attend the midnight party at the Goya where the star attraction was Kaya Yanar, the famous German stand up comedian of Turkish origin.

Yanar was scheduled to perform on stage with Shah Rukh. "I was preparing my scene for months. I am a great fan of Bollywood films. Hollywood films are about violence and winning, German films are too intellectual but Bollywood films are about emotions and love.

I love Shah Rukh. I was excited about performing with him," Yanar told IANS before he went on stage to try and make those fans happy who tried to drown their disappointment by rocking to Bollywood film music.

Yanar told the cheering crowd that Shah Rukh has promised to come to Berlin very soon. On popular demand, Yanar, 37, danced to "Shava Shava" from "Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham", the 2001 blockbuster directed by Karan Johar and which was the first film to be dubbed in the German language and shown on an entertainment channel here.

For many German fans, "Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham" is the start of their romance with Bollywood films. However, other fans of Indian cinema are concerned that the random cancellation of events like "Temptation Reloaded's" tour in Germany will damage Bollywood related activities and institutions in Germany.

"There is fear of a loss of image for us all and this can become a problem in the future," an official from Bollywood and Beyond, Germany's only and annual festival of Indian cinema, said in an e-mail message.

"German fans hate being ignored. The organisers and the artistes don't look good in this shady affair," said a journalist from a publication about Bollywood news in the German language.

"We have to find out more about who is responsible. Maybe I should turn this into a film script, I am thinking a Madhur Bhandarkar movie!" said the German journalist trying to smile in the midst of a blame game started by both the Indian and German organisers and promoters of "Temptation Reloaded" who seemed least concerned about the inconvenience caused to thousands of fans.

Shah Rukh Khan’s Media Statement

Please read this official Press Release from Red Chillies International Limited carefully to understand what exactly transpired for the Temptation Reloaded Tours to be cancelled. Watch the video of SRK apologising for this cancellation.

Temptation Reloaded Press Release

Red Chillies International Limited, today announces with great regret that they will be unable to facilitate the three city tour of the show “Temptation Reloaded 2008” with the proposed starring of Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan and other superstars in Germany . This is due to the breach of contract by the promoter of the shows SensAsian Media Limited (SensAsian Media).

SensAsian Media did not fulfil its obligations in due time which makes it impossible for the shows to happen in Germany. We regret the inconvenience that these unforseen circumstances have caused to our fans and the audience. The Shows were planned to be presented in Berlin (Velodrom) on October 17th , in Munich (Zenith Die Kulturhalle) on October 18 th and in Frankfurt (Festhalle) on October 19 th.

Press Release - Temptation Reloaded Tour of Germany

With tremendous love & affection to all our fans in Germany, we, Red Chillies International Limited (RCIL) would like to clarify our situation with reference to the German leg of the “Temptation Reloaded Tour 2008″. With a very heavy heart and great regret, we announce that we are unable to participate in the said shows which was to be held at Berlin (Velodrom) on 17th October 2008, Munich (Zenith Die Kulturhalle ) on 18th October 2008, & Frankfurt (Festhalle) on 19th October 2008 due to irreparable breach of contract on the part of promoter Sensasian Media Ltd.
Sensasian Media Ltd is represented through its promoter Syed Qasim Ali who had approached RCIL to organize shows at Germany. RCIL as an Organizer agreed to enter into a contract with Sensasian Media Ltd and under the Agreement Dated 1st August 2008, the promoter at his free will agreed to perform all its duties and obligations with dedication and commitment.

Unfortunately RCIL is now faced with a situation where even the basic requirements of staging the show have not been met by the promoter, leaving us with no choice and alternative. Infact till date the venues of Berlin & Munich remain partly unpaid by Sensasian Media. The rent for Velodrom, the venue for the very first show, had not been paid for by the promoter as per an email dated 13th October 2008 from the venue manager making very clear the malafide & frivolous intentions of the promoter. Prior to the first show, the production companies have not been paid by the promoter (as per an email dated 7th October 2008 ).

The hotels for the artists and crew have not been paid the air-tickets for a 70 member plus strong crew have not been issued .The artist remuneration remains unpaid too despite several reminders.. The promoter failed to arrange for the basic infrastructure that would be required to conduct the said event. We ask, where would the Artist perform without a stage and venue? Where would the Artist and Crew stay without a confirmation for the Hotel? How Would the Artist crew, technicians and dancers come without the air-tickets? The promoter’s intention was only to play with the sentiments of the German fans and bag their monies from ticket sales without making payments to secure basic infrastructure to have the said shows.

The Promoter, at every stage of his default promised to remedy his default and make payments constantly assuring the organisers of his intention to promote the said event. On 29th September 2008 by his email the promoter stated that if he does not make payments by 6th October 2008 we are not bound to participate in the shows. The promoter backed out of the shows at the last minute on 13th October 2008 leaving the organizers helpless and disappointed. If the promoter had let his intentions of not promoting the said event be known to the organizers with sufficient notice the organizers would have attempted to make their own alternate arrangements to be there with their fans.

Promoter had no intentions to promote the said event and has falsely claimed that the organizers have backed out of the said event when the fact and the truth is that he, with an intention to cause disrepute and with ulterior motive, Mr. Ali has defaulted in his commitments and obligations. In case the promoter’s intentions were fair and he wanted the German fans to not be let down he would have ensured that the most basic arrangements were made for the Artists to come down to Germany for the tour and the venues and production for the shows would have been booked and paid for.
The Artists and Crew who were all set to come and perform for their loved ones in Germany are most disappointed.

Each and every Artist and Crew member had invested so much time, energy and dedication in preparing each act and performance and because of one man`s false commitment they were unable to display the same. The organisers also spent considerable amount of non-refundable monies making the above arrangements and preparing a show for their dear German Fans.

We understand that each and every fan of the performing Artists is disheartened with the cancellation of the show. RCIL today can only assure them that they shall be there with their fans as soon as possible. RCIL promises to all the fans that it shall not let go of the man who played so viciously with the emotions of thousands of people and has already started a legal recourse against the promoter.
RCIL has setup a website - ‘www.temptationreloaded.com’ where the fans and public at large can view all the correspondence they have exchanged with the Promoter including the above mentioned emails.

This is to ensure that the fans that have paid to watch the show are fully aware that RCIL, the artists and the rest of the crew of Temptation Reloaded have constantly made their most sincere efforts to ensure the successful staging of this truly world class spectacle but Sensasian Media by their breach made it impossible for the shows to materialise .

Video: SHAHRUKH KHAN’S MEDIA STATEMENT

Kajol’s request for 'My Name is Khan'

Kajol has requested buddy Karan Johar to use her dates for the overseas shoot of My Name Is Khan for not more than 20 days at a stretch. The actress does not want to be away from home for long periods of time.

KJo’s film starring Shah Rukh Khan will be shot extensively in the US. It is slated to start filming in mid-December in Los Angeles followed by another schedule in New York.

Says a source, “Kajol has told the director-producer that she would shoot for 20 days non-stop on location to enable all the outdoor scenes being canned. She desires that the indoor portions be shot as far as possible in Mumbai. As her hubby Ajay Devgan is also busy with his shoots, she wants to be around for Nysa. The child cannot travel with them all the time. Also, Kajol does not want to stay away from Mumbai for months.” When asked, Kajol preferred not to comment about her request.

After a great deal of speculation, Kads had agreed to do My Name Is Khan. The actress had maintained during her media interactions for U Me Aur Hum that as she had not read the script, she was unable to give her confirmation earlier as reported.

The film has Bollywood’s hottest on-screen couple working together after seven years. They were last seen in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001). Kajol had made a brief appearance with SRK in the Om Shanti Om (2007) title track.

In his blog, KJo has mentioned, “The message that runs right through My Name Is Khan is in strong support of humanity, which at the end of the day is the only way to rise above any of the cultural or religious differences that continue to engulf us.”