Shah Rukh is Jolly LLB

Shah Rukh Khan to don the lawyer’s garb for his forthcoming film, Jolly LLB; Akshay Kumar’s best friend Rakesh Upadhyay will co-produce it.

For the first time, Shah Rukh Khan will play a lawyer in writer/director Subhash Kapoor’s film, Jolly LLB. This film will be produced by SRK’s Red Chillies Entertainment in association with Rakesh Upadhyay, who is a close aide of SRK’s closest competitor, Akshay Kumar. The film, which is based on a lawyer’s life, will be an expose on the judiciary system. Subhash had earlier directed a film on cricket Say Salaam India with Sanjay Suri, Vinay Pathak and Sandhya Mrudul.

Talking about SRK’s association with Rakesh, our source said, “Rakesh and SRK have been discussing various subjects for the past few months. SRK particularly liked this theme. If all goes well, the film will be on the floors by next year.”

Excited by the prospect of working with SRK, Subhash Kapoor said, “The film will take on the pros and cons of the judicial system. When we first had an appointment with SRK, he had given us about 45 minutes for the narration. However, we ended up discussing the film for over two hours. He took to the film in the first 20 minutes itself. He loved the film immensely. The film’s producer Rakesh Upadhyay is finalising the other details.”

When asked if SRK will co-produce the film, Rakesh Upadhyay said, “We have been talking about working together for a long time and this is the subject that we have zeroed in on. It is too early to say anything; we will make a formal announcement when everything is in place.”

SRK pays tribute to Michael Jackson on his 51st birthday

Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan's television company "Red Chillies Idiot Box" has created a video featuring India's best music talent from the film industry to pay homage to King of pop Michael Jackson on his 51st birth anniversary.

The video titled "Make it large" will be released on music channels across India on August 29, Jackson's birthday.

Written by Vishal, composed by Vishal-Shekhar, the video is directed by Samar Khan and choreographed by Remo Fernandes.

The video features Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, KK, Shreya Ghoshal and Prabhudeva.

Shah Rukh, Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Anoushka Sharma, Shahid Kapur and cricketer Yuvraj Singh will share their memories about Jackson.

"The idea was derived from just the thought of Michael.

It's just awesome to see all of us coming together out of love for one person and his music. It's magic," Singer-composer Vishal said.

"A tribute to MJ is something any musician would give his right hand to do," Shekhar said.

Director Samar Khan said, "MJ'S life and death have made an indelible impression on my life. I hope the video will leave a lasting impression on audiences across India.

Shahrukh Khan Vs Aamir Khan

The two Khans from the industry vie to win the National Award for the Best Actor. Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan both have been nominated in the best actor category for the year 2007.

If SRK’s portrayal of a staunch coach trying to redeem and absolve himself in Chak De India impressed the jury members, so has Aamir Khan’s performance as a determined teacher inspiring a dyslexic child to realize his true potential in a critically-acclaimed movie Taare Zameen Par. Both the movies were blockbusters, and if any of the Khans wins, it would be their first National Award.

Aamir has an added reason to smile as his ‘Taare Zameen Par’ is nominated in the Best Film category. Whereas, Shahrukh’s Om Shanti Om will give tough competition to the movies like Jab We Met, as it is nominated in the category of Best Feature Film for wholesome entertainment (category especially meant for Bollywood films).

The awards for the year 2007 got delayed because of the documentary film-maker Anant Patwardhan who challenged the awards for the year 2005 in court.

Information & Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni is likely to announce the awards by next week and President Pratibha Patil will give away the awards in Delhi in October.

My Name Is Khan unit to move to Film City

Karan Johar's My Name is Khan will soon shift to Film City to shoot the last schedule for the film. The schedule for almost 30 days will involve some crucial scenes of the film, which could not be shot in San Francisco.

Talking about the film, a production aide of the film disclosed, “A huge set has been put up at Sunil Maidan of Film City. An underground tank has been constructed to shoot a few scenes that project the hero of the film, Shah Rukh as a savior.”

Johar has shot My Name is Khan in several places. After a month long schedule in Los Angeles starting in December, 2008, the team took a break for SRK's shoulder operation. Johar then shot portions of the film across two studios in Mumbai, Filmistan and Mehboob in the spring of 2009. Thereafter the unit left for San Francisco in June for a month long schedule. Johar resumed shooting for the film then in Mumbai mid August. After completing a fortnight's shooting at Filmistan Studios, Johar will embark on his last schedule at Film City from 1 September. This phase of shoot will be for a month.

By the end of the shooting for My Name is Khan, Johar would have shot for at least 130 days. Given that the average shooting days required to complete a film is 60 days, 130 days is twice the amount. But Johar is known for the lavishness of his production which reflects in every frame of the film. So one can only expect the very best from My Name is Khan, given the banner Dharma Productions, the director Karan Johar and the cast, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.