When Shah Rukh became Abhinav

Shah Rukh Khan became Abhi... just for wife Gauri.

We recently learnt that when Gauri was to introduce Shah Rukh to her parents, she wasn’t so sure how they would react if they found out that he belonged to another community. So she conveniently changed Shah Rukh’s name and introduced him as Abhinav to her parents! Looking back, Gauri describes this as “silly and childish.” And as for SRK, he was ironically shooting for My Name is Khan while Gauri narrated this sweet little anecdote.

Shah Rukh beats Aamir in Poland

Shah Rukh Khan once again stole the hearts of the Polish fans with his performance in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi at the Second Bollywood Film Festival in Poland where Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par and Deepa Mehta's Water were also screened.

Shah Rukh, who is almost a household name in Poland, didn't leave much scope for others to replace him in the hearts of his fans at the weeklong festival entitled Experience the Taste of India.

"Shah Rukh is well-established in our psyche and we feel close to him with his performances. For us, it doesn't matter who are the other great stars in India these days - whether it is Amitabh (Bachchan) or his son Abhishek, Aamir Khan or Hrithik Roshan," said Anusia Sancewicz, a well-known media personality.

"Shah Rukh is really superb in most of his movies that have been shown in Poland in the past four years starting from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham which took Poland by surprise. In a sense, this film opened the floodgates for Bollywood films," added Anusia.

All the tickets of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi were sold much in advance though the film was screened on the last day. In Warsaw, two multiplexes screened the film to meet the heavy rush - despite that many had to face disappointment as they couldn't get a seat in any of the two halls.

"Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par is an excellent movie and it has been appreciated by educated people, but the craze for Shah Rukh remains unabated," observed Riki Rana, a successful businessman and son-in-law of legendary Bollwyood singer Talat Mahmood.

"The role of a commoner portrayed by Shah Rukh in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi created more ripples in the minds of the Polish audience as Raj Kapoor had done with his roles in Aawara and Shri 420 in 1950s and 1960s in the erstwhile Soviet Union," added Riki Rana.

JJ Singh, president of the Polish Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that to promote Aamir a separate festival of his films needs to be organised.

"To promote Aamir Khan we should organise an exclusive festival of his big films such as Ghajini, Rang De Basanti and Fanaa. The climax of Fanaa was filmed on the Tatra mountains of Poland, yet the film has not generated much curiosity in this country, which is surprising," said Singh who was also the main patron of the festival along with the Epelpol Entertainment.

Deepa Mehta's Water, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham starrer Dostana and Yash Raj Films' Tashan were also screened along with Outsourced and Hello.

"Since Poland produces very artistic movies with great directors like Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi and Roman Polanski, that is why Mehta's Water was highly appreciated by the artistic Polish fans," said Gabellia Krzyzowska, an eminent Indophile.

"There is scope for films of Shabana Azmi, Nasiruddin Shah and Om Puri," she added.

Shah Rukh’s pal hits out at tabloid journalism

Shah Rukh Khan’s biographer and close friend Mushtaq Sheikh, who has co-written films like “Om Shanti Om” and “Billu”, says he hates being used by those who have personal grievances against the superstar.

Furious at a media report that he and Shah Rukh had fallen apart, Mushtaq said the superstar was “very much family”.

“I hate it when my friends are attacked. I mean how can you demean names like Farah Khan, Priyadarshan and Shah Rukh Khan all in one article without an iota of truth and get away,” Mushtaq told IANS.

“This is tabloid journalism at its worst. I hate being used by somebody who has misused his pen to vent personal grievances against Shah Rukh.”

Mushtaq, whose friendship with the superstar dates back more than a decade, recently released a book on Shah Rukh titled “Still Reading Khan”.

“Malice? Desperation? You tell me what inspires muck-rakers and I will till you where this came from,” said Mushtaq when questioned if Shah Rukh and he had indeed fallen out.

Doesn’t he feel that in today’s desperate times when movies are not releasing and news is hard to find, this is just one way for a section of media to grab attention and increase viewership?

“See, movies are releasing, and there is enough news out there, but it does depend on what kind of media you are and what you think are ‘good stories’. Matter of fact, Shah Rukh is family and will continue to be one. People can imagine, say and write anything they want.”

Shahrukh Khan turns superstitious

Like many numerology conscious stars, Shahrukh Khan perhaps too is turning superstitious.

Reports have it that he is thinking of dropping Kolkata from his IPL Team name, ‘Kolkata Knight Riders’, as the team is using only ‘Knight Riders’ in its new logo.

The superstar is believed to be acting on the suggestion of the numerology expert Sanjay B Jumaani, who is a regular advisor to many Bollywood stars regarding astrology and numerology matters. He had suggested this last year also, when Shahrukh, along with Juhi Chawla and her husband Jai Mehta, bought Kolkata team and named it ‘Kolkata Knight Riders’.

Speculations can’t be ruled out as Knight Riders’ coach John Buchanan has just revealed the possibility of replacing Sourav Ganguly as captain by New Zealand player McCullum, who is very much in form nowadays. And Jumaani is also of the view that Sourav is not so lucky for SRK. Being born on 8/7/1972, Sourav’s numerology number is 8, which symbolizes Saturn, and the number 8 doesn’t go well with Shahrukh.

For Shahrukh who has turned 44 and is under the influence of number 8, as 4+4 sums up to ‘8’, this year isn’t so good. His shoulder surgery, poor run of Billu Barber and now IPL getting shifted to South Africa –may be all these reasons have caught up with Shahrukh.

Jumaani has even suggested that Knight Riders should change their black jersey colour, as the black hue is the colour of Saturn. Now what further changes SRK will do in his team will be known with time.