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EXCLUSIVE: My Name is Khan press conference in New York
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Karan Johar's latest film My Name is Khan seems set to be the next big Bollywood blockbuster. Reuniting the classic filmi jodi of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, the film was shot on a grand scale all across the United States, as well as in Mumbai and Shahrukh will be tackling one of the most challenging roles of his career—a Muslim man with Asperger's Syndrome who faces extreme challenges after the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Kajol plays his wife Mandira, a Hindu. Although My Name Is Khan does not premiere until February 12th, Shahrukh and Kajol stopped in New York City to give a press conference on February 1st to promote the film and Bollyspice was there!
Shahrukh and Kajol on their roles in the film:
SRK: The film actually works on three levels. We'd like to describe it as a romantic love story so obviously inherent in the story is a love story between two characters—one played by Kajol, she's called Mandira in the film, and I play a character called Rizwan, Rizwan Khan. This [love story] is a little bit different because of the two protagonists. I have what is known as Asperger's Syndrome, a less severe form of autism.
Apart from this love story there is a real life incident which has been planted in this film—September 11th—and the butterfly effect this incident has on the personal lives of the two characters in the film, who are completely unrelated to the incident. It changes their lives and it also comes between their family and love life. Both of them, in a certain sense, go on a journey to pick up the pieces of their love affair and bring it back together.
The final third layer of the film is love conquers all… In a certain sense, I've not said this before, but in a certain sense the film is Buddhist in its approach when you talk about goodness, kindness, all the nice things films from India normally talk about. Faith and hope and kindness but done dramatically, unlike any love story that the both of us have done. It's a bit intense compared to the other fluffy stuff or happy go lucky stuff that we've done and that's it.
I am Rizwan khan and she is Mandira, my wife.
Kajol: Mandira is quite a normal person and I think that's also different about her. She's a little broken; she's a little bruised; she's a little mad; she's a little normal; she's a little bit of everything. And the good thing about her is that she doesn't want to be perfect either.
Kajol on how she chose the film:
Kajol: I don't read scripts—I really don't. I prefer to hear it from the director's mouth itself because I think that gives you a better perspective of what the film is eventually going to be like. I remember when I heard the script of "Khan" that I was quite amazed, actually. I was really amazed. I was a little awestruck at the canvas it had. It was just a huge, huge film and it was seriously amazing how tight it was for a huge film, so, yes, I think I loved the screenplay at the first go.
Apart from this love story there is a real life incident which has been planted in this film—September 11th—and the butterfly effect this incident has on the personal lives of the two characters in the film, who are completely unrelated to the incident. It changes their lives and it also comes between their family and love life. Both of them, in a certain sense, go on a journey to pick up the pieces of their love affair and bring it back together.
The final third layer of the film is love conquers all… In a certain sense, I've not said this before, but in a certain sense the film is Buddhist in its approach when you talk about goodness, kindness, all the nice things films from India normally talk about. Faith and hope and kindness but done dramatically, unlike any love story that the both of us have done. It's a bit intense compared to the other fluffy stuff or happy go lucky stuff that we've done and that's it.
I am Rizwan khan and she is Mandira, my wife.
Kajol: Mandira is quite a normal person and I think that's also different about her. She's a little broken; she's a little bruised; she's a little mad; she's a little normal; she's a little bit of everything. And the good thing about her is that she doesn't want to be perfect either.
Kajol on how she chose the film:
Kajol: I don't read scripts—I really don't. I prefer to hear it from the director's mouth itself because I think that gives you a better perspective of what the film is eventually going to be like. I remember when I heard the script of "Khan" that I was quite amazed, actually. I was really amazed. I was a little awestruck at the canvas it had. It was just a huge, huge film and it was seriously amazing how tight it was for a huge film, so, yes, I think I loved the screenplay at the first go.
On the dynamics between the two after all these years:
Kajol: I think we're friends and have been from the first film onwards. As we've done films together, as we've worked together, as we talked together, I think there's an immense comfort level and I think that's where growth comes in. We've been friends for so long that you can't define it and limit it.
SRK: Very simple dynamics. I think Kajol will agree with me that when we ever work together—and we've been working 15-16 years together—there's always been this desire in my heart and hers: I'm always wanting Kajol to be the best thing in the film and Kajol is wanting me to be the best thing in the film. That kind of space and respect I wish I could have with everyone but it's not the same. It only exists with Kajol.
We don't have major discussions of acting or life or how we're going to play the role we just go. She is doing the film with this purpose 'I hope Shahrukh and Karan are the best in the film' and I am doing the film with the hope that Kajol and Karan are the best in the film and Karan feels very responsible, 'I hope this is the best Shahrukh-Kajol starrer ever!'
Kajol: In other words "Khan" will be a very good film and everybody had better go watch it!
On Karan Johar:
SRK: I think Karan now at this stage of his life as a filmmaker and a storyteller has started feeling like, 'You know what? I like the simple things of life!'
When he made his first film, it was about college because he'd just come out of college. His second film was about loving your parents. He had a strange relationship with his dad because he was so much older than him and suddenly when he started joining films his father they started bonding so he made a film about parents. A lot of his friends were going through bad marriages and relationships and he made KANK. So, he's always been making films which have affected him and somewhere now he's started believing all this glamour and life and good things and he works really hard and he does a lot of things
Kajol: And he loves the glamour.
SRK: He loves everything! But he realizes that, bottom line, 'I need to tell people that everything works for me as a successful filmmaker, anchor, director, and XYZ, because actually I'm a simple good guy.'
And he really is! You know he'll be the only guy who'll wish you for every birthday and in times of trouble he can be at your house and not only my house but he goes to every person's house and his father was like that. This film is about simplicity and niceness and that is why even the character has Asperger's. He is not superhuman. The original tagline for this film was actually, 'The only superpower that we need to conquer the world is humanity.'
SRK: Very simple dynamics. I think Kajol will agree with me that when we ever work together—and we've been working 15-16 years together—there's always been this desire in my heart and hers: I'm always wanting Kajol to be the best thing in the film and Kajol is wanting me to be the best thing in the film. That kind of space and respect I wish I could have with everyone but it's not the same. It only exists with Kajol.
We don't have major discussions of acting or life or how we're going to play the role we just go. She is doing the film with this purpose 'I hope Shahrukh and Karan are the best in the film' and I am doing the film with the hope that Kajol and Karan are the best in the film and Karan feels very responsible, 'I hope this is the best Shahrukh-Kajol starrer ever!'
Kajol: In other words "Khan" will be a very good film and everybody had better go watch it!
On Karan Johar:
SRK: I think Karan now at this stage of his life as a filmmaker and a storyteller has started feeling like, 'You know what? I like the simple things of life!'
When he made his first film, it was about college because he'd just come out of college. His second film was about loving your parents. He had a strange relationship with his dad because he was so much older than him and suddenly when he started joining films his father they started bonding so he made a film about parents. A lot of his friends were going through bad marriages and relationships and he made KANK. So, he's always been making films which have affected him and somewhere now he's started believing all this glamour and life and good things and he works really hard and he does a lot of things
Kajol: And he loves the glamour.
SRK: He loves everything! But he realizes that, bottom line, 'I need to tell people that everything works for me as a successful filmmaker, anchor, director, and XYZ, because actually I'm a simple good guy.'
And he really is! You know he'll be the only guy who'll wish you for every birthday and in times of trouble he can be at your house and not only my house but he goes to every person's house and his father was like that. This film is about simplicity and niceness and that is why even the character has Asperger's. He is not superhuman. The original tagline for this film was actually, 'The only superpower that we need to conquer the world is humanity.'
Their favorite scenes:
Kajol: As for me, I enjoyed each and every day in the film, each and every shot, each and every scene because I was with friends. I was comfortable and I could say what I wanted to say and not mind my words at all, so I had a blast through the entire making of the film. To tell you the truth, to pick a moment would be completely impossible for me.
If you told me to choose my most uncomfortable moment, that I can tell you was on a football field in LA in the middle of the night where they told us, 'Oh it's not really that cold, it's LA after all, it'll be hot' and we've gone completely unprepared and we have just frozen our butts off!
But as I said, it's among friends and we've just had a complete blast making the whole film.
SRK: For me there is a very special scene which even Kajol would not know maybe. People with Asperger's normally don't make eye contact and there's this scene which is kind of romantic and we're talking and I start looking away and not looking at her and I feel her stare at me. And with this look I just turn around and say "Why are you staring—you're staring." And she's kind of caught but she never assumes that she'll be caught and she does this little thingy where she's just 'okay' and I think that's one of the nicest moments in the film and if I hadn't been in the shot, I would have just hugged her and told her how beautiful she was in that shot. That's my favorite scene.
Their favorite songs:
Kajol: As far as songs are concerned, I think "Sajda," "Tere Naina," and "Noor-e-Khuda." All three of them are absolutely beautiful. I think they've been beautifully shot. It was a pleasure to do songs without lipsync for once. My favorite would be "Noo-e-Khuda" from the film.
SRK: There's a lovely song, "Allah Hi Rahem," which comes at the end of the film. It's one of the finest songs of the film but my favorite is "Tere Naina."
If you told me to choose my most uncomfortable moment, that I can tell you was on a football field in LA in the middle of the night where they told us, 'Oh it's not really that cold, it's LA after all, it'll be hot' and we've gone completely unprepared and we have just frozen our butts off!
But as I said, it's among friends and we've just had a complete blast making the whole film.
SRK: For me there is a very special scene which even Kajol would not know maybe. People with Asperger's normally don't make eye contact and there's this scene which is kind of romantic and we're talking and I start looking away and not looking at her and I feel her stare at me. And with this look I just turn around and say "Why are you staring—you're staring." And she's kind of caught but she never assumes that she'll be caught and she does this little thingy where she's just 'okay' and I think that's one of the nicest moments in the film and if I hadn't been in the shot, I would have just hugged her and told her how beautiful she was in that shot. That's my favorite scene.
Their favorite songs:
Kajol: As far as songs are concerned, I think "Sajda," "Tere Naina," and "Noor-e-Khuda." All three of them are absolutely beautiful. I think they've been beautifully shot. It was a pleasure to do songs without lipsync for once. My favorite would be "Noo-e-Khuda" from the film.
SRK: There's a lovely song, "Allah Hi Rahem," which comes at the end of the film. It's one of the finest songs of the film but my favorite is "Tere Naina."
On what the younger generation should take away from the film:
Kajol: I think mostly what we're aiming for is making a good film and an entertaining film. So, hopefully, they go and think, 'Hey we're going to watch a good film' but coming out of it—I hope that after they watch "Khan" they at least believe in goodness all around them.
SRK: Karan has this universal appeal for both the youth and everyone. He cuts across all age groups and he's shown that with his previous films. I obviously feel that this film is very important for me though its not a youthful film so to speak. We've tried to portray that this film is about hope, happiness, and humanity. Those are the three things we always try to pay attention to and I think it's very important to teach this to younger kids without preaching. Try to keep it garbed in entertainment, happiness, niceness, coolness, or whatever factor you call it—
Kajol: Entertainment, basically.
SRK: —and still be able to say, "There's hope in humanity, so please be happy."
On rumored similarities to New York and Kurbaan:
SRK: I'd just like to clarify a few things before I go on. The first thing [Fox Searchlight] said was that [America] has never really had, and I don't know how true that is, you've never really had the Asian point of view about September 11th. So, they felt that it's a new approach, with September 11th as just a background an incident. Our couple is very far removed from this incident and their simple small life gets affected. This idea is the heart of the film; it does not deal with terrorism. So, it's not at all like New York, which is a wonderful film.
Of course, the film will deal with Islamic issues—it will deal with one of the characters being Muslim but we've taken a personal story and we haven't gone on a trip trying to explain to the world that terrorism is good, bad, ugly, the western point of view on it is bad, ugly— No, it is just how two people are getting affected by an incident that is not related to them and how they need to survive.
So, that's how we treat it – there is nothing about terrorism because we didn't want to go there.
On the title of the film:
SRK: You know there was a time when we actually thought the film's title would be "Khan" and also because Karan normally names his films with K but we decided to not have it. First because I don't think he should have beliefs like this supersition. He makes fine films without having to name them and the second is that just "Khan" on its own sounds a little action oriented. But [the name Khan] was in the film and he says this again and again because of his wife. Mandira lovingly calls me Khan – so it's a thing that she uses the name so that's why we use it in the title. Sweet, na?
On the tagline of the film:
SRK: "My name is Khan and I'm not a terrorist" in a very strange way is used as an emotional tagline. It has got nothing to do with terrorism -- it's just a surname. It's something [Rizwan] is told by his wife. She is having difficulty understanding his religion and, for her, it becomes important that he explain the religion and its tenets to her. So, if you see it closely in the promos, you might have seen that it's not an anti-terrorist line or it's not someone who is being picked on personally—it's an emotional strain in the film.
SRK: Karan has this universal appeal for both the youth and everyone. He cuts across all age groups and he's shown that with his previous films. I obviously feel that this film is very important for me though its not a youthful film so to speak. We've tried to portray that this film is about hope, happiness, and humanity. Those are the three things we always try to pay attention to and I think it's very important to teach this to younger kids without preaching. Try to keep it garbed in entertainment, happiness, niceness, coolness, or whatever factor you call it—
Kajol: Entertainment, basically.
SRK: —and still be able to say, "There's hope in humanity, so please be happy."
On rumored similarities to New York and Kurbaan:
SRK: I'd just like to clarify a few things before I go on. The first thing [Fox Searchlight] said was that [America] has never really had, and I don't know how true that is, you've never really had the Asian point of view about September 11th. So, they felt that it's a new approach, with September 11th as just a background an incident. Our couple is very far removed from this incident and their simple small life gets affected. This idea is the heart of the film; it does not deal with terrorism. So, it's not at all like New York, which is a wonderful film.
Of course, the film will deal with Islamic issues—it will deal with one of the characters being Muslim but we've taken a personal story and we haven't gone on a trip trying to explain to the world that terrorism is good, bad, ugly, the western point of view on it is bad, ugly— No, it is just how two people are getting affected by an incident that is not related to them and how they need to survive.
So, that's how we treat it – there is nothing about terrorism because we didn't want to go there.
On the title of the film:
SRK: You know there was a time when we actually thought the film's title would be "Khan" and also because Karan normally names his films with K but we decided to not have it. First because I don't think he should have beliefs like this supersition. He makes fine films without having to name them and the second is that just "Khan" on its own sounds a little action oriented. But [the name Khan] was in the film and he says this again and again because of his wife. Mandira lovingly calls me Khan – so it's a thing that she uses the name so that's why we use it in the title. Sweet, na?
On the tagline of the film:
SRK: "My name is Khan and I'm not a terrorist" in a very strange way is used as an emotional tagline. It has got nothing to do with terrorism -- it's just a surname. It's something [Rizwan] is told by his wife. She is having difficulty understanding his religion and, for her, it becomes important that he explain the religion and its tenets to her. So, if you see it closely in the promos, you might have seen that it's not an anti-terrorist line or it's not someone who is being picked on personally—it's an emotional strain in the film.
On Shahrukh's detention at Newark Airport in August 2009:
SRK: I accept [questioning at the airport] like you accept coming to a different country with different rules and different culture and different customs. If I decide to come to that country, I must follow those rules so I embrace it. Only this time I think it went out of proportion because I called the Indian consulate. I was getting too delayed – longer than regular.
Personally if you ask me it's a bit of a drag. Earlier when I used to come to America you could leave like 30 minutes before a domestic flight and now you have to leave 2 to 2 ½ hours before. And you've got to wear clean socks and everything because they make you take off your shoes.
I didn't draw any parallels, to be completely honest, this film is far deeper than taking a few incidents and saying, 'Wow, this happened to me in real life.' It's not like that at all. Like I've said, I've been detained at least 25 times and not only in America—in France, in England. People are always anxious to take pictures with me, including the ones in America. So, it's a process and they have to do it or maybe they just want to take excellent pictures with me—one of the two, I like to think the latter.
Personally if you ask me it's a bit of a drag. Earlier when I used to come to America you could leave like 30 minutes before a domestic flight and now you have to leave 2 to 2 ½ hours before. And you've got to wear clean socks and everything because they make you take off your shoes.
I didn't draw any parallels, to be completely honest, this film is far deeper than taking a few incidents and saying, 'Wow, this happened to me in real life.' It's not like that at all. Like I've said, I've been detained at least 25 times and not only in America—in France, in England. People are always anxious to take pictures with me, including the ones in America. So, it's a process and they have to do it or maybe they just want to take excellent pictures with me—one of the two, I like to think the latter.
On playing a character with Asperger's Syndrome:
SRK: Actually, I have been very interested in what is known as neruo-atypical behavior. I won't say I enjoy it, but I'm very intrigued about how a different mind thinks. It's very easy for all of us to sit down and say 'Oh this person is abnormal' but I want to know does he think the same about us?
When I was younger, I was in a theatre group and we did a lot of work with autistic children and that's where the interest started. And about four or five years back, a book had come out called "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime" about a little kid who has autism. I was really moved by that novel and I gave it to Karan and I said you should make a film with a small child like it is in the book. Three years later, Karan decided that I'll be the small child! He wrote a script with Asperger's, which is a more functional form of autism.
I like to read, so I read five or six books written by a couple of people who had Asperger's Syndrome and otherwise and I did a lot of research. I got documentaries and a lot of videos.
Kajol: I think you actually met a couple, as well.
SRK: Yes, we met a couple also whose story is similar to this. I took a bit of cinematic liberties. I've taken a couple of different traits from people who have this disorder and amalgamated them into one, but I still made sure that it in no which way disrespects people with Asperger's Syndrome. So, it might be a little different when you see a individual with Asperger's because Rizwan is like a mixture of a couple or three of them.
And then I did a lot of work on my physicality—there's a way I keep the eyes, the leg—and shot a lot of video. I showed it to Karan and, of course, because normally we take films where you're a hero type, everyone was taken aback – the writers, Kajol. This was a little different from what we imagined Shahrukh to be but, I guess, as the days went by, everybody was kind of convinced about it.
Kajol: We kind of fell in love with it a little later
On the potential of a cross-over hit like Slumdog Millionaire:
SRK: Films take a life of their own. You never where a film is going to go once you finish it. And I know Danny and everyone very well and neither did they [know about Slumdog]. So, I think that's the wrong kind of way to think about it. But having said that, I think the film has enough in it to hold the attention of all kinds of audiences because the emotion is quite universal. It is a whole showcase of the nicest talent from India and it has been mounted on that kind of scale.
I specifically believe that this is one of the few films which will touch a lot more people in the eastern and western world than any Hindi film has ever done before. How much—I would love it to be bigger than Slumdog and if you asked me privately, I'd show off and say yes. But on a public platform I'll be humble and say, 'Yeah, it's kind of nice.'
On the American actors in the film:
SRK: They were outstanding, amazing talent, so it was really wonderful to work with them. There's a lady who played Mama Jenny in the film. She told me, "inshallah when this film wins the Oscar you guys have to come to LA to eat ice cream at my house."
On the use of English:
SRK: You know we have a lot of American characters in the film so we just found it a little unreal if they were to speak in Hindi. We thought it sounded odd. What we have been smart about, is that when they are acting, one hundred percent of the time they are interacting with the Indian characters, so we kind of repeat what they are saying in a nice creative way.
There is a scene where somebody asks me, "Who are you going to meet?" And I say "main president se milne jao--I'm going to meet the president of the United States." So, I've already said it in Hindi and things will be understood. I've also kind of repeated what he has said because he can as a character but other times we have voiceover. The film is narrated by me, so you have voiceovers explaining whenever there are few English scenes.
Kajol: And I think in this day and age also you can't have shudh Hindi because it's colloquial Hindi that we're speaking—the Hindi that we speak normally—which has a lot of English in it, yes, but it's English that is generally understood.
When I was younger, I was in a theatre group and we did a lot of work with autistic children and that's where the interest started. And about four or five years back, a book had come out called "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime" about a little kid who has autism. I was really moved by that novel and I gave it to Karan and I said you should make a film with a small child like it is in the book. Three years later, Karan decided that I'll be the small child! He wrote a script with Asperger's, which is a more functional form of autism.
I like to read, so I read five or six books written by a couple of people who had Asperger's Syndrome and otherwise and I did a lot of research. I got documentaries and a lot of videos.
Kajol: I think you actually met a couple, as well.
SRK: Yes, we met a couple also whose story is similar to this. I took a bit of cinematic liberties. I've taken a couple of different traits from people who have this disorder and amalgamated them into one, but I still made sure that it in no which way disrespects people with Asperger's Syndrome. So, it might be a little different when you see a individual with Asperger's because Rizwan is like a mixture of a couple or three of them.
And then I did a lot of work on my physicality—there's a way I keep the eyes, the leg—and shot a lot of video. I showed it to Karan and, of course, because normally we take films where you're a hero type, everyone was taken aback – the writers, Kajol. This was a little different from what we imagined Shahrukh to be but, I guess, as the days went by, everybody was kind of convinced about it.
Kajol: We kind of fell in love with it a little later
On the potential of a cross-over hit like Slumdog Millionaire:
SRK: Films take a life of their own. You never where a film is going to go once you finish it. And I know Danny and everyone very well and neither did they [know about Slumdog]. So, I think that's the wrong kind of way to think about it. But having said that, I think the film has enough in it to hold the attention of all kinds of audiences because the emotion is quite universal. It is a whole showcase of the nicest talent from India and it has been mounted on that kind of scale.
I specifically believe that this is one of the few films which will touch a lot more people in the eastern and western world than any Hindi film has ever done before. How much—I would love it to be bigger than Slumdog and if you asked me privately, I'd show off and say yes. But on a public platform I'll be humble and say, 'Yeah, it's kind of nice.'
On the American actors in the film:
SRK: They were outstanding, amazing talent, so it was really wonderful to work with them. There's a lady who played Mama Jenny in the film. She told me, "inshallah when this film wins the Oscar you guys have to come to LA to eat ice cream at my house."
On the use of English:
SRK: You know we have a lot of American characters in the film so we just found it a little unreal if they were to speak in Hindi. We thought it sounded odd. What we have been smart about, is that when they are acting, one hundred percent of the time they are interacting with the Indian characters, so we kind of repeat what they are saying in a nice creative way.
There is a scene where somebody asks me, "Who are you going to meet?" And I say "main president se milne jao--I'm going to meet the president of the United States." So, I've already said it in Hindi and things will be understood. I've also kind of repeated what he has said because he can as a character but other times we have voiceover. The film is narrated by me, so you have voiceovers explaining whenever there are few English scenes.
Kajol: And I think in this day and age also you can't have shudh Hindi because it's colloquial Hindi that we're speaking—the Hindi that we speak normally—which has a lot of English in it, yes, but it's English that is generally understood.
On their emotional relationship with the film:
SRK: I'll be honest with you, I was going through a big injury while I was making this film—busted my shoulder—and just doing this film and saying the nice things and being with friends helped me. I've heard other actors turn around and say, 'we did a film and it affected us emotionally changed us as a person.' I don't know if I'm so deep. To be really honest, I would like to believe that normally I do the films that attract me as a person, whether it's Chak De India or Don or whatever kind of film I do.
Kajol: You identify with the character and with the film that you're making—you have to otherwise I don't think you could do it.
SRK: And for all this entertainment and songs and dancing, there are certain essential things that I look for and that Kajol looks for and that most of the actors look for, which I already identify with. The other way around, I don't know. I did a film called Asoka, which was about Buddhism and goodness and kindness and I got to learn a lot from it but did it change me? No, I still get into fights.
Kajol: And still make controversial statements!
SRK: But I'd never like to make a statement like this. A film as yet has not really changed me completely. I have taken films that are like me which I like the things of.
I'm doing a superhero film called Ra.1 next year. Maybe that will change me!
Kajol: You identify with the character and with the film that you're making—you have to otherwise I don't think you could do it.
SRK: And for all this entertainment and songs and dancing, there are certain essential things that I look for and that Kajol looks for and that most of the actors look for, which I already identify with. The other way around, I don't know. I did a film called Asoka, which was about Buddhism and goodness and kindness and I got to learn a lot from it but did it change me? No, I still get into fights.
Kajol: And still make controversial statements!
SRK: But I'd never like to make a statement like this. A film as yet has not really changed me completely. I have taken films that are like me which I like the things of.
I'm doing a superhero film called Ra.1 next year. Maybe that will change me!
On the potential of a My Name is Khan DVD director's commentary:
SRK: Yeah, I think it's a great idea! We always do wish to do that and if you make a special film and I genuinely – not because we are all here – but I do think "Khan" is a special film. There should be a commentary at the end of it about how we all felt, especially by Karan and [scriptwriter] Shibani Bathija.
We're aware that normally if you have an international distribution you have to give the film to them 6 months in advance. The reason Karan is not here is that he has not been able to deliver it until yesterday but most certainly we hope the film does so well we can get a delayed DVD release and once we delay we'll get Karan to talk about it. I would like to talk about it because I feel very close to it and Kajol should also because it's a special subject with the two delicate issues and otherwise too because of the kinds of love stories and it will interesting, shot in LA, San Francisco, and the kinds of things we've gone through trying to make it.
Specifically I think the commentary this time should include issues we had editing this film you know because, yes, there are certain statements which are strong and we don't want to sound radical because it needs to appeal to all kinds of people but it's a great idea and we all like to speak.
Shahrukh on Twitter:
SRK: I'm very shy, personally. Very few people believe that because most of the time you guys see me on the public platform or in a movie. I'm okay if I'm playing somebody else or when I'm talking about something that is not completely personal. So, that's why I've shied away from being on any social networking site. One night Karan and I were sitting and he said "Bhai, just do it." And I said "Okay."
I didn't want to, but when I came on the laptop and suddenly I had like 900 or a thousand people joining in I was very touched. The only thing that humbles me in life is 'How can people like me so much?' You know, it's very humbling.
Once people started writing, I'm like 'Now I cannot stop replying!' I have to be with them.
I'm like an owl—I keep awake at nights—and for half an hour I use Twitter wrongly. I use it as a chat. I don't put down my thoughts and let people go away and talk about it, I sit half an hour and people ask me. I've never answered so many questions at the interrogation at the New Jersey airport! I'm just answering and having a good time. Also, one thing I really like about Twitter is that I have this little notion that Internet sites and networking sites get a little rude and so far nobody has, so I find that very nice. Everybody is very kind and I say I'm tired and everybody says, "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep" so I just find that very kind and thank you for following me.
We're aware that normally if you have an international distribution you have to give the film to them 6 months in advance. The reason Karan is not here is that he has not been able to deliver it until yesterday but most certainly we hope the film does so well we can get a delayed DVD release and once we delay we'll get Karan to talk about it. I would like to talk about it because I feel very close to it and Kajol should also because it's a special subject with the two delicate issues and otherwise too because of the kinds of love stories and it will interesting, shot in LA, San Francisco, and the kinds of things we've gone through trying to make it.
Specifically I think the commentary this time should include issues we had editing this film you know because, yes, there are certain statements which are strong and we don't want to sound radical because it needs to appeal to all kinds of people but it's a great idea and we all like to speak.
Shahrukh on Twitter:
SRK: I'm very shy, personally. Very few people believe that because most of the time you guys see me on the public platform or in a movie. I'm okay if I'm playing somebody else or when I'm talking about something that is not completely personal. So, that's why I've shied away from being on any social networking site. One night Karan and I were sitting and he said "Bhai, just do it." And I said "Okay."
I didn't want to, but when I came on the laptop and suddenly I had like 900 or a thousand people joining in I was very touched. The only thing that humbles me in life is 'How can people like me so much?' You know, it's very humbling.
Once people started writing, I'm like 'Now I cannot stop replying!' I have to be with them.
I'm like an owl—I keep awake at nights—and for half an hour I use Twitter wrongly. I use it as a chat. I don't put down my thoughts and let people go away and talk about it, I sit half an hour and people ask me. I've never answered so many questions at the interrogation at the New Jersey airport! I'm just answering and having a good time. Also, one thing I really like about Twitter is that I have this little notion that Internet sites and networking sites get a little rude and so far nobody has, so I find that very nice. Everybody is very kind and I say I'm tired and everybody says, "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep" so I just find that very kind and thank you for following me.
The Shiv Sena has warned Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan to apologise for backing the Pakistani cricketers at the IPL and making remark that Mumbai is for all Indians. The party stated that his films would be banned in the city if he doesn’t offer an apology but the Baadshah is not bowing down to their demands.
The much awaited Shah Rukh Khan Kajol starrer film My Name Is Khan will be premiered at the 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival, according to an official list announced here today.
Imagenation Abu Dhabi has boarded My Name Is Khan alongside Fox Star Studios in the run-up to the release starring Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.
Well don’t get the wrong idea here, the sufi song Noor-e-khuda from the film My Name is Khan had its lyrics improvised not because of some moral policing but due to the fact that Karan Johar did not liked the initial verses of the song.
