My Name Is Khan is still awaiting a buyer

After severing ties with Yash Raj as sole distributors, Karan Johar's films are being distributed as per his whims. The director-producer has still not decided on the distributor for My Name is Khan (MNIK), a joint production between his Dharma Productions and Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chilles Entertainment.

Sources say KJo has narrowed his choices to Eros International and Fox Star Studios.

Reveals a trade source, "My Name Is Khan has been linked to various corporates after Karan moved out of Yash Raj earlier this year and inked a record deal with UTV Motion Pictures for his upcoming two films, (Wake Up Sid and Qurbaan) which are both being directed by first-time directors under his banner.

But speculation has never ended about which banner will distribute My Name Is Khan. Karan has already made it very clear to UTV that he is not willing to sell My Name is Khan to them."

The source further adds, "However Karan had a hush-hush meeting with the heads of Eros last weekend and discussed the prospect of selling the world-rights of the film to them.

Terms and money were talked about but it is still not clear if Eros has clinched the deal. Another strong possibility for the film is said to be the Fox Star Studios the Asian arm of Hollywood major 20th Century Fox with Star are among the top contenders to bag the film."

Karan has left for the US and starts shooting the last schedule of the film soon.

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Akki wants to renew friendship with SRK

Bollywood is in the mood to dump the old hatchet and build up a new relationship. After Shahrukh Khan befriended with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at Karan Johar’s birthday bash, stunt hero Akshay Kumar is in the process of extending olive branch to his friend-turned-foe Shahrukh Khan.

By sending best wishes to Shahrukh’s team, Akshay Kumar has tried to bridge the gap between the two, he wrote, "I'd like to send my best regards to Shah Rukh and his team. You've put up a good fight, so don't worry boys you will always be loved!"

Knight Riders poor performance at the IPL2 has broken down Shahrukh and Akki used the very issue to patch up with Shahrukh. Professional rivalry sour Shahrukh and Akshay’s relationship.

Let’s see whether Akshay’s message will melt Shahrukh’s heart and he accepts his friendship invitation by dumping the past.

Shah Rukh to continue scripting Linc’s success

Kolkata-based Rs 190-crore Linc Pen and Plastics is set to renew its contract with Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador. Linc Pen, one of the branded players in the Rs 2,100 crore writing instrument industry, had signed up SRK for one year in December 2008. Linc is said to have already commissioned Mumbai-based creative agency, The Republic, to make a new set of television commercials with SRK, which is likely to be aired from November.

“The association with Shah Rukh Khan helped us increase brand awareness and tap new markets. ‘Trade confidence’ has also increased significantly. We, therefore, thought of leveraging the association and are renewing our contract with SRK,” Deepak Jalan, managing director, Linc Pens and Plastics, told Financial Chronicle.

Linc Pen is known for low-priced ball and gel pens. However, following the brand’s association with SRK, the company forayed into the Rs 40-50 price segment. Without divulging the contract value with SRK, Jalan said that to reach out to their core target group—youth and students — the company had decided to be an associate sponsor of this year’s IIFA (film) awards ceremony to be held in Macau.

The company, which hopes to notch up a turnover of Rs 300 crore in the next three years, is also betting high on exports. “The total value of exports from the Indian pen industry is estimated at 400-500 crore and is growing rapidly, with the Indian pens eating into Chinese ones in a big way,” Jalan said.

Last year, the company earned Rs 40 crore from exports and Jalan is confident that this figure will move up considerably. Interestingly, Linc has got its brand registered (in some cases applied for registration) in as many as 50 countries, while at present Linc Pens are present in only 20 countries. “We plan to make our brand available in all the 50 countries in next three-five years,” Jalan said.

Leading players who export pens from India include Linc, Cello, Lexi, Flair, Luxor and Montex.