Shahrukh Khan Hits the Bay

He's a handsome movie star with more global influence than the Dalai Lama. His name is Shahrukh Khan, and for the past month he's been filming his next blockbuster -- right here in the Bay Area.

In the family drama "My Name Is Khan," the Bollywood actor plays a man living with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism that impacts social interaction. He and his wife, played by Kajol, one of Indian's most famous actresses, portray an average Indian family living in San Francisco.

At its core, "My Name Is Khan" is a love story about a husband and wife, but, producer Prashant Shah says, it also seeks to redefine what it means to be a Muslim in America today.

The Bay Area was chosen because of its people, landscape and weather, Shah explains. Furthermore, Karan Johar, arguably India's hottest young director, wanted to shoot here because the three other movies he made in the United States were all filmed on the East Coast.

The production, shot at various locations in Livermore, San Jose and San Francisco, has been tight-lipped and closed to media. There are several reasons for this secrecy, the producer says.

For starters, the highly anticipated film is the first project in eight years to unite Kajol, Khan and Johar. Their last picture, 2001's "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham," earned seven international film awards.

In addition, Khan and the film's other stars, including Tanay Chheda of "Slumdog Millionaire" (he played Jamal,

the lead character, as a teenager) have had hundreds of fans lingering outside their San Francisco hotel, hoping to catch a glimpse. No one wants that to get out of hand.

Lastly, Indian cinema typically sets fashion trends, and the styles in high-profile films such as "My Name Is Khan" wind up on runways across Asia and Europe, Shah says. So the filmmakers can't risk any images getting out before the picture's release, slated for February 2010, implicitly so its unique costumes remain credited to the people who designed them.

Their audience keeps growing. In recent years, Bollywood's popularity has spread far beyond India.

"Spanish is the second official language of the United States, and French is the same in Canada, yet every Friday there are two Bollywood films, not Spanish or French films, released in at least 100 theaters in major cities across North America," Shah says. "Our films don't have typical Hollywood massacre, violence and nudity. So they are appropriate for a 5-year-old and a 92-year-old. That is the appeal."

While "My Name Is Khan" won't have the lively dance numbers Bollywood fans have come to expect, it will have a Bollywood soundtrack.

And Khan, known for his theatricality, will tone it down for this tear-jerker. But that won't change his mass appeal. In January, Newsweek magazine listed him at No. 41 on its list of the "50 Most Powerful People" in the world. According to the magazine, his influence tops Oprah Winfrey's and the Dalai Lama's.

"He is more popular than Will Smith and Brad Pitt combined," Shah says. "If Tom Hanks walked through Piccadilly Circus in London, a few people would ask for his autograph and let him walk on by. If Shahrukh was there, you would need at least 20 bobbies (British police) to have him escorted across the street. In less than an hour, there are usually 15,000 people gathered."

Details are spare, but Shah confirms that Khan will perform and sign autographs for fans at 8 p.m. Friday at the Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason St., San Francisco. Shah anticipates a crowd of at least 5,000.