WATCH: I applaud Shah Rukh for his stand - Khushboo

Kollywood/Tollywood actress Khushboo has come out in support for Shah Rukh Khan on his stand against Shiv Sena and says it is saddening that people residing in Mumbai are being divided.

WATCH: Jaya Prada supports SRK

While most big Bollywood stars have not spoken out in support of Shah Rukh Khan, expelled Samajawadi Party leader and actor Jaya Prada told NDTV she is shocked by the Sena's actions against Khan.

WATCH: SRK - Should I retract that I'm an Indian?

As the Shiv Sena targets him and his new movie, an anguished Shah Rukh Khan refuses to retract his statement on Pakistan players.

SRK: (Very) Little help from his friends

For the premieres of films like Paa, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh, Amitabh have brought their combined star power to the red carpet. At a recent awards show for Bollywood, Shah Rukh did a dance from Paa with Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan on stage, fighting whispers that the Bachchan-Khan rivalry is one of Bollywood's worst-kept secrets.

But now that a different sort of spotlight is on Shah Rukh Khan, he's being forced to get by with very little help from his friends.

As cinema owners receive warning letters from the Shiv Sena asking them not to screen Khan's forthcoming release, virtually every big actor, producer and director is silent.

No comment issued so far by Salman Khan, Aamir Khan or Akshay Kumar; even the usually-outspoken Preity Zinta has not volunteered any public support.

On Twitter, a handful of voices, including Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar and Priyanka Chopra have said they stand by Shah Rukh and Karan Johar, the director of My Name is Khan.

And in the midst of the crisis, Amitabh Bachchan blogged lavish praise for Bal Thackeray, sharing that he is planning a special screening of Rann for him.

In London, Shah Rukh said he will not compromise on his values by apologizing to the Shiv Sena for saying that Pakistani players should participate in the next season of the Indian Premiere League (IPL). ''Can someone tell me what I said was wrong? I have apologised to people in the past but will someone tell me what I said was wrong. I am sad.''

In the past as well, Bollywood has been a Lonely Planet for people caught in political controversies. Nobody spoke for Aamir Khan when his Fanaa was blockaded by the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat. Preity Zinta took girl power to a whole new level when she became the only person to testify in court about the underworld's role in Bollywood. Deepa Mehta fought along for her Water when its shooting was disrupted by saffron parties.

Jaya Bachchan points out that when she was attacked by Raj Thavkeray in 2008 for choosing to speak in Hindi at a public function, it was only her family who stood by her.

The point is lost on nobody: there is business worth crores at stake, so taking on the Sena has to be the job of a Lone Ranger.

And to avoid losses, or controversies, Bollywood has repeatedly sought political patronage from the Sena, vetting the party's status as an extra-constitutional authority. It may be cowardly, but it has worked. Amitabh Bachchan's Sarkaar, loosely based on the lives of the Thackerays, was released without a hitch.

While Bollywood chooses to be seen and not heard, Shah Rukh's status on the streets of India has escalated to a real-life superhero. On the internet, in SMS-es, and in television stories, people are volunteering by the thousand to tell SRK they support him, and they will stand by him. Many comments sent to ndtv.com said the senders would go to see My Name Is Khan repeatedly, as a vote of thanks.

Bandra Muslims to defend SRK, Mannat from Sena

Muslims from Bandra have come out in Shahrukh Khan's support after the actor drew flak from the Shiv Sena for his comment on the non-inclusion of Pakistani players in the IPL.

The 700-member strong Bandra Muslim association, whose membership includes maulanas, political leaders and Muslim youth from Bandra, held a meeting last night and decided to express their support for the star and oppose the Sena's stand. They have also decided to guard the actor's residence, Mannat.

'Stern action required'

Farooq Ghosi, president of the association, said, "Shahrukh and Aamir belong to the Bandra area and they are being targeted because they are Muslim actors. We have been noticing the statements made by the Sena leaders in the last few days and we won't allow this to continue. The government should take stern action and arrest Uddhav or we will come out on the streets. We will guard the homes of these actors and if Sena protestors come to their residence, our youth will protest. We will answer the Sena people using their own methods."

When asked whether this would create further law and order problems, he said, "Shiv Sena has already created the controversy. We are just trying to help the actors as saving the people of Bandra is our responsibility. We are not the actors' followers but we won't allow the Sena to target them unfairly." The association will hold a press conference at the Press Club this afternoon.

Shah Rukh Khan, who is in New York for My Name is Khan's promotion, said he did not regret any of his comments -- be it about the Pakistani cricketers or about Mumbai belonging to all Indians. He said that he was proud to be an Indian and described the Sena's attitude as 'unhealthy' and 'undemocratic'.

Mumbai Police promises protection to SRK's MNIK

After Bollywood showed their support to Shah Rukh and his film My Name is Khan by making it clear that they stand by the actor, BJP spokesperson Shaina NC and Mumbai Police's DGP AN Roy has now assured that too will ensure a peaceful release of SRK's film on FEB 12 in Mumbai as per schedule.

In a press conference on Thursday Vijay Singh, Fox Star CEO, BJP spokesperson Shaina NC and DGP, Mumbai Police AN Roy jointly made a statement that full security from Mumbai Police will be provided to theatres releasing the film in Mumbai.

BJP's this decision goes against their allies Shiv Sena who have made it clear that SRK should apologize for the statements he had made on how Pakistani cricketers should be a part of the IPL. Sena has also threatened to disrupt SRK's forthcoming film on grounds of his pro-Pakistani players stand.

Shahrukh Khan asks fans to book tickets for 'My Name is Khan' on KyaZoonga

Fox Star Studios and Dharma Productions have appointed KyaZoonga.com, India's first and largest entertainment and sports ticketing company as the Official Ticketing Partner for their upcoming Bollywood blockbuster, My Name is Khan, starring one of the most celebrated Bollywood on-screen duos - Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.

Several innovations have been planned as part of this association:

Users will be able to get instant alerts about booking My Name is Khan tickets on KyaZoonga.com for My Name is Khan before the advance booking window opens up

Several exciting prizes from unique consumer engagement activities have also been launched such as: Journey of Love, "Khan" Dive and "Khan" Sail - complete with a trip to the World Premiere, fantastic holidays, scuba dive lessons, navigating the high seas of Mumbai with personal sailing lessons and many more.

Offers and vouchers for frequent ticket buyers redeemable for My Name is Khan on KyaZoonga

In addition to this, the association has also launched a KyaZoonga - My Name is Khan co-branded ad-campaign across television, radio, outdoor, print, online and mobile, in order to reach out to a large audience. A unique feature of this campaign is that for the first time, a Bollywood superstar is personally reaching out to his fans to buy tickets via television.

Neetu Bhatia, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, KyaZoonga.com, said, "We are extremely proud of our association with Shah Rukh, Karan and our continued relationship with Fox Star Studios. We are very excited that for the first time ever, Shah Rukh is personally reaching out to all his fans to buy their tickets on KyaZoonga.com. Another unique concept that we have introduced for this blockbuster is the KyaZoonga TicketAlert system where fans can sign up to receive updates on ticket sales start dates and other important updates related to the film. We have always strived to bring more than just tickets to our customers and our association with My Name is Khan is one more step in that direction."

"Overcoming obstacles to reach the goal, positive morals such as honesty, if you do good deeds good things will happen, we are stronger than our fears and greater than our limits, are the key takeaways from My Name is Khan. The association with Kyazoonga will allow us to reach out to a large audience and make it easy and convenient for them to be a part of this extraordinary journey", added Apoorva Mehta, CEO, Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd.

Commenting on the association, Vivek Krishnani, Head of Distribution, Marketing and Syndication, Fox Star Studios India, said, "My Name is Khan is a film that will appeal to people of all age groups. Our continued partnership with KyaZoonga.com allows us to reach out to all those who prefer to book tickets from the convenience of their homes instead of standing in queues. We believe Kyazoonga will play an important role in bringing significant traffic to theatres and help us engage the users through the various interactive initiatives executed by Kyazoonga.com

The film is slated for global release in theaters on 12 February 2010.

To book your tickets and participate in exciting contests, log on to www.kyazoonga.com/mynameiskhan.

State must act on SRK issue: Benegal

Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal on Thursday said the government in Maharashtra must step in on the matter of a Shiv Sena threat to stop release of actor Shahrukh Khan’s new movie My Name is Khan in Mumbai.

Shahrukh Khan has refused to apologise to Shiv Sena for his comments in support of Pakistani players' induction in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Benegal reacted sharply to the question of a Bollywood disunity on the issue when quizzed by a TV channel, saying: “United to do what? Form a vigilante group? What are you talking about?”

“The state must step into this immediately. The state has enough power,” he said.

“Why is the state not doing anything,” he asked.

While Shiv Sena has vowed to prevent the release of My Name is Khan in Mumbai on the scheduled release date on Feb 12, the King Khan said he did apologise to his business partners because he felt his comments will have an adverse effect on the business of the film.

The Maharashtra government has said it would take action against Sena if they tried to stop screening of the film.

Shah Rukh Khan not scared, MY NAME IS KHAN on time!

Shah Rukh Khan, the King Khan of bollywood who features in Karan Johar’s upcoming flick ‘My Name Is Khan’ opposite gorgeous Kajol and is in New York promoting his flick, has refused to be cowed down by the threats of belligerent political parties in Mumbai.

The gutsy Khan has made it doubly clear that he still stands by his views on Pakistani players becoming part of IPL, and is not willing to budge from his position as he holds a strong opinion on them. As far as his upcoming flick ‘My Name Is Khan’ was concerned it would be released on Valentine Day, February the 12, and he hoped that Mumbai would accept his flick in the same way as earlier.

Shah Rukh Khan also expressed the view that the film’s international performance would not be affected due to controversy in India. The courageous Khan made it clear that he did not want to offer any excuse for his views and still stands by them. He also termed the attitude of certain political parties in Mumbai as ‘undemocratic’ and ‘unhealthy’.

Shah Rukh Khan also made it clear that his security checkup at Newark airport in the US was not a new thing for him and he had already been through such checkups at various airports of different countries like France, Britain and the US.

In fact, Shah Rukh Khan’s episode at Newark had got out of proportion publicity due to him being detained for a longer time. Even, Shah Rukh Khan was not used to such delays and he had made a call to Indian consulate and that caused the media to blow it out of proportion.

Further elaborating on his film ‘My Name Is Khan’, King Khan says that his film offers a completely new view about the whole thing of bombing in New York. It is no secret that there have been several films on 9/11 bombing of New York, but they were all from the view point of west.

While Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘My Name Is Khan’ promises to be the first flick from the viewpoint of eastern people. Shah Rukh Khan’s perception as Rizwan Khan would be from an Asian viewpoint who is residing in the US, and has to go through various hardships due to his surname ‘Khan’.