Shahrukh, Preity to add glamour to Congress campaign

In an election bereft of substantive issues rousing the voters or polarising the parties, Bollywood stars are expected to draw crowds and generate some excitement.

Every star has a following and can bring in the crowds. That is possibly the reason that the Congress party has decided to rope in the services of popular Hindi and South film stars to deliver political dialogues by reading campaign “script” for it in the forthcoming elections.

Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta will canvass for the Congress party in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if Khan and Preity will be able to campaign following the busy IPL schedule, Union Minister of State for Home and Congress’ third-time candidate Prakash Jaiswal said they will spare time for the purpose.

Bhojpuri actress Nagma, who had plans to test the political waters and sought a ticket from Congress, will now campaign for the party as she did in the last general elections. From being linked with Saurav Ganguly, Ravi Kishan to Dawood Ibrahim, Nagma’s personal life has brought her more fame than her professional life. Obviously, she is expected to draw more crowds than the Congress candidates she is going to campaign for.

According to the magazine Chitramala, another south hottie Trisha is also going to campaign for Congress. The Congress party is serious on adding more glamour for the party and its campaign and has hired Trisha by paying around Rs 2 crore for a 20 day call sheet. She has signed on the agreement and will be readying to campaign.

South actor Nagarjuna too has said he’ll appeal to all his fans to support Congress.

Faced with a tough election ahead, the Congress is also banking on the popularity of the oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire song “Jai Ho..” The Congress has bought the rights of the award-winning song from T-series and is set to use it appropriately once its election campaign gets underway.

Earlier, in last year’s Gujarat Assembly elections, the runaway success of the Shahrukh Khan starrer “Chak De” had inspired the Congress to borrow the film title for its campaign in the state. ”Chak De Congress” posters were splashed liberally across the state during the election.

It’s a different matter that the popularity of the film failed to fetch any dividends for the Congress, which was routed by the BJP.

SRK is an elder brother: Karan

It’s a reaffirmation of their dostana, this film that Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar are co-producing called My Name Is Khan.

The ‘Khan’ in the title is incidental; SRK’s character in the film is Rizwan Khan, who is autistic with limited social interaction abilities. Apparently, the film has generated interest among Indian and overseas distributors already. Karan is aware that he’s on thin ice, directing a film that has characters and situations he’s unfamiliar with. “I am the wrong man to direct this film,” he admits. But at the heart of My Name Is Khan is a tender love story and at directing that, Karan is king. “How can I not have romance in my films?” he asks. “Every filmmaker has to evolve some time. I wanted to make a film in the realm outside my comfort zone. And Shibani Bhatija came up with this mind-blowing script that challenged my abilities,” he says.

His lead actor has a witty reply when asked about being the film’s co-producer too. “Karan doesn’t want to pay me what others do, which is very little, so he said, ‘I can’t underpay you like this, so you be my partner.’ That’s how we’re producing this film,” laughs SRK. Karan admits, “It’s true, I can never put down his price on paper. But considering we were both passionate about the subject, we said why not co-produce the film? We’ve known each other so long (their dostana is 16-years-old) that this new initiative is just an extension of our emotions. Besides, I can never make a film without Shah Rukh. He is a big part of me and my family. He’s like the older brother I never had. I love SRK as a unit — that includes his wife, children, sister and his in-laws.” So, a huge set has been put up at Mehboob Studios and shooting is on with Kajol. Shah Rukh, who is still recuperating from his shoulder surgery, will join the unit by the end of this month.

Whether it is infidelity or homosexuality, Karan hasn’t hesitated to push the envelope and break barriers in the kind of films he is making. His last film, Dostana, directed by Tarun Mansukhani, was among the biggest hits of 2008 and crossed Rs 100 crore. Both SRK and he are determined to push their production houses to the top slot in Bollywood. While SRK is producing Ra-1 and Happy New Year this year, Karan has Wake Up Sid directed by Ayaan Mukherjee, another untitled film by Renzil D’Souza and an animation film Koochie Koochie Hota Hai. “I’m giving new directors a chance and am open to good scripts,” says Karan, “Being in mainstream cinema gives production houses like ours the edge to reach a wider audience. It’s time to move forward.” How was the emotional reconnect with Kajol after eight years? “Shah Rukh and Kajol are indispensable. She’s one of the most talented actresses of Hindi cinema. Every time we wrap up a film, both of us cry, while Shah Rukh looks at us in amusement and asks, ‘What’s wrong?’” says Karan in exasperation.

SRK, Mushtaq fall out

Close friends for years, Shah Rukh Khan and Mushtaq Sheikh have drifted apart

Best friends, Shah Rukh Khan and Mushtaq Sheikh have fallen out. The news comes as a shock since Mushtaq always maintained that ‘it is a blessing to have someone like Shah Rukh around you’. It may be recalled that Shah Rukh allowed Mushtaq to write two books on his life — Still Reading Khan (for which SRK shared some of his personal family photographs) and Shah Rukh Can. Mushtaq was even given the credit of being a co-writer with Farah Khan on Om Shanti Om — but reliable sources insist that the work was entirely Farah’s.

Mushtaq was also seen in Luck By Chance for a split second just before Shah Rukh Khan begins a chat with Farhan Akhtar.
Our source from Bollywood revealed, “There have been differences between Mushtaq and SRK for quite some time. The friction intensified when SRK’s Billu, which Mushtaq wrote, did very average business at the box-office."

What was the flashpoint? Our source explained, “Mushtaq was assigned to be one of the script writers on Ra.1, but after Billu proved to be a disappointment, SRK didn’t want Mushtaq to work on the film.”

Despite repeated attempts to get their side of the story, Shah Rukh and Mushtaq remained unavailable for comment. Though Bobby Chawla (CEO, Red Chillies) maintained, “There is no problem between SRK and Mushtaq,”; a source close to Red Chillies Entertainment confirmed and said, “Things are not the same between them.”

Shahrukh resumes My Name Is Khan

Shahrukh Khan who underwent a surgery for a tear on his left shoulder muscle at the Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai last month (February 16) resumed shooting for Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan at Filmistan Studios from March 22 onwards. Though SRK has been seen at a few private parties, events and IPL related meetings, he was on a break from work.

SRK says, "We started shooting from Sunday onwards. It's supposedly simple work. I haven't recovered fully yet. It will take another four months but this shoot is unavoidable so I have to do it." When asked how he is coping with the shooting the actor says, "It's painful and I keep taking painkillers and exercise in the breaks. The work is being kept easy."

Shahrukh rules out the possibility of doing action scenes for the next few months. "As far as action scenes are concerned, I don't know... maybe six to seven months later. I still can't move my arm."

Shahrukh had injured himself on the sets of Dulha Mil Gaya in November last year and then headed to LA for the shooting of My Name Is Khan for 45 days at a stretch. He decided to undergo the operation after the release of his home production, Billu. He had surgery done at the Breach Candy Hospital on February 16.

Shahrukh gearing up for IPL

There is a calm before a storm. After keeping a low profile for sometime, Shahrukh Khan is all set to storm your television screens. Nothing can stop him from cheering for his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders and not even the recent surgery on his shoulder.

The second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played outside India because of the upcoming general elections. Shahrukh knows the buzz will be missing in India but he is certainly not going to miss the fun. He said that he and his Bollywood friends would try to watch maximum number of matches. He added that he would request Lalit Modi, Chairman of the IPL, to reschedule the matches on weekends so that his children could watch it.

Well, Shahrukh Khan roped in Indian celebrities like Karan Johar, Arjun Rampal, Farah Khan, Aziz Mirza, juhi chawla, Vivek Oberoi, Sajid Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Chunky Pandey and Arbaaz Khan to cheer for his team Kolkata Knight Riders last year. The story will be different this time around, as the venue for the IPL matches will be away from home. England and South Africa are the favourites to host this year's IPL.

Well, let's wait and watch if Shahrukh can pull the crowd outside India.