"He is mind blowing, too good to express in words, and I just love him," Preity Zinta

Mallika Sherawat famously wore one last year to dodge the media when she was coming out of the airport in Mumbai from a foreign jaunt.

And singer Himesh Reshamiyya daringly got into one last month to slip into the Ajmer Sharif dargah incognito. We are talking about the burkha.

Which the attractive Preity Zinta wore on Independence Day eve so as not to attract attention when she went into a Bandra cinema hall to see Shah Rukh Khan’s hit movie Chak De India with the junta.

Preity tells the story, “I could have seen the movie in the safety and comfort of a multiplex, but to gauge the reaction of the audience, I had to sit among the masses.

I went along with my mom and cousin, hidden in a burkha, and because nobody could see me, I was at my buoyant best!”

According to the vivacious actress, in her disguise, she was able to scream, whistle and cheer along with the audience for SRK and his team of women hockey players in the movie.

There were other women in burkhas as well among the audience, so she got away with it. Says Preity, “The movie has elevated patriotism to a higher level, it’s given energy a new meaning and youth a new direction.”

Coming from someone who is at the top of the Bollywood heap herself, and who made her debut with SRK in Dil Se, this is high and handsome praise indeed.

The two acted in a few more successful movies together, like Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Veer Zara and Kal Ho Na Ho. But Preity believes the Bollywood Badshah’s performance in Chak De India is his finest so far. “He is mind blowing, too good to express in words, and I just love him,” adds Preity. “

It’s rare for an actress to openly admit such feelings for a male co-star. And Preity unburdened these emotions on the man himself which SRK, in all his humility, accepted.

But then, Preity Zinta is known to be outspoken and honest, if not to wear her heart on her sleeve. Ness Wadia and Gauri Khan to please note.

Source: TimesNewsNetwork

"It is a very intelligent film with a great way of storytelling and brilliant acting," said Mayank Shekhar, Film Critic

"It started with 60 per cent on Friday but the film being so good, the figures went up to 90 per cent on Saturday and 100 per cent on Sunday almost in all parts of the country," said Amod Mehra, Trade Analyst, Film Critic.

The tale of an underdog coach and his team of 16 girls has struck a chord not just with audiences but critics as well.

"It is a very intelligent film with a great way of storytelling and brilliant acting," said Mayank Shekhar, Film Critic.

It is also a much-needed change of pace for Yashraj whose last few films have not fared terribly well- perhaps just another reason for them to say chak de!.

By: Eishita Chaturvedi | Source: NDTV

Shah Rukh Khan among the 50 most influential Indians

NEW YORK: As India celebrates 60 years of independence, US-based BusinessWeek magazine feels IT is no longer the lone global face of the country- evident from its compilation of 50 powerful Indians leading change in politics, the economy and the society.

The list put together by BusinessWeek editors names industry tycoons Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Mittal, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, Aviation Minister Praful Patel, UP Chief Minister Mayawati, Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan, film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, sportspersons Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar as new leaders of India.

While acknowledging the role of IT wizards - Infosys' N R Narayana Murthy, Wipro's Azim Premji, and Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) S Ramadorai - the magazine said: "There's more to India than just outsourcing."

Other business leaders who have made it to the list are Anand Mahindra and Anil Aggarwal, bankers K V Kamath and Deepak Parekh, Tata Steel Managing Director B Muthuraman and L&T Chairman A M Naik.

Politicians still carry the most clout with government controlling a major part of the economy, but in India's 60th year of independence, the names on the list are representative of changing times, BusinessWeek noted.

"There are politicians who actually work, corporates who think globally, athletes who aim high, and designers who ensure India is in season. And Bollywood is now teaming up with Hollywood for a whole new script," the publication said.

"Tech leaders used to dominate the show. But a booming economy has thrown up new sectors, new heroes, and new businesses. Telecom, financial services, retail, and many more industries are thriving," the magazine said.

Source: TimesOfIndia

Chak De! Overseas

A new Bollywood film that focuses on gender inequality in India through women's field hockey and adds a dash of patriotism has pleased critics and scored at the box office as well.
"Chak De India" (Go For It India), which opened last week starring Shahrukh Khan, the most bankable star in the Hindi language film industry, is loosely based on the true story of a 1980s Indian national men's hockey goalkeeper.

Khan plays the Muslim captain of the Indian team who misses a do-or-die penalty shootout against arch rival Pakistan in the final of a world championship, sparking a national outrage and triggering charges of match-fixing, leading to his ouster.

He returns seven years later as the coach of a ragtag women's national team and transforms a bunch of divided girls from far corners of the country into world beaters. "It's a big success, it's a definite earner," said Bollywood trade analyst Komal Nahta.

"Two things are responsible -- one it is a very well written screenplay, and secondly it has got so much patriotism, it has worked."

Bollywood films based on sport are not rare but most of them have revolved around cricket as the country boasts the largest following for the game in the world. Some stories have also been set around boxing.

Field hockey, once India's national sport and one in which the country ruled the world for a large part of the last century, has lost its appeal along with a decline in the national team's fortunes.

"Chak De" was a winner not only because it has managed to make hockey a topic of conversation but also because it peddles patriotism, fights gender bias, rips apart class distinctions and makes a valid criticism of regional chauvinism and minority bashing, critics said.

While Khan, the reigning star of Bollywood, has been praised for his uncharacteristically understated acting -- with some critics saying he may not be able to better this performance -- his team of unknown actors has also drawn widespread appreciation.

Some of the biggest applause in cinema halls showing "Chak De" comes when the women go around breaking Indian stereotypes -- walking out of homes, beating up men who harass them in public and declining marriage proposals -- all for hockey.

"Director Shimit Amin not only manages to make the impossible possible, he does it with a delicate sensitivity and sensibly steers clear of all cliches," critic Nikhat Kazmi wrote in the Times of India.

The opening of the film was timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of India's independence from British colonial rule and "Chak De" has the inevitable hint of jingoism so popular with Indian audiences.

One of the players in the film asks Khan's character what he was doing outside in the dead of the night as flags are being raised on the eve of a world championship final his team has entered in Melbourne.

Khan replies: "I am watching a white man raise the Indian national flag for the first time."

Source: Reuters

A Chit Chat With King Khan

The King Khan tells the inside story of Chak de!, what was it working with more than a dozen women, the toughest thing while shooting Chak de! and lots more.

Excerpts:

Naomi: What was the toughest thing while shooting for Chak de! India?

SRK: Shooting the sports part of the film. It is very difficult to shoot a sport sequence attractively or interestingly. If I was to tell, with due respect to all the cameramen here, shooting a sports film is a challenging job. Subsequently, it is also difficult to edit it.

Naomi: If that was the toughest part, is there an easy part when it comes to shooting for any film?

SRK: Acting is the easy part.

Naomi: You know you are acting when you are playing a hockey coach, did you mould like a real life coach, the mannerisms?

SRK: No, one would like to say that but I don’t work so hard. I am an easy going actor. I just go and do what naturally comes from my heart. I have a different take on acting. I have said it many times, I am not very conscientious about taking it from a character that I have seen. Obviously, I am an actor so I observe a lot of things around me and I just try to put it in a larger than life perspective when it comes to a film. But, I have never really moulded a character or seen someone, but yes there are gestures and thoughts that I keep observing of coaches when they were teaching us. There were times when I would do something different and they would say, "Hey! this is something we should include in ourselves."

Naomi: Like what?

SRK: There were moments when I asked them to use symbols or signals to make moves like one does in rugby or baseball.

Naomi: Ok. You spoke about larger than life perspective, but with this film, it's almost a return to films that you have done earlier, 'Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Naa' - more of intimate films.

SRK: To be honest, I have reached a stage, and I am not being pompous about it, if I am in a film, it's no longer a small film. I mean it's not, it's just not a small film.

Naomi: No, in terms of the theme.

SRK: The producers told me the other day, 'if you were not in this film, we would have never been able to make this film. On the other hand, somebody even told me, I wouldn't see this film if you were not in it. There is always going to be this double take on every cinema that I do. Yes, it is a little more realistic, it doesn’t have songs, it doesn’t have a heroine, but yes, it is larger than life because it has a regular commercial movie star trying to slum it or tone it down. But as an actor, it's something I believe in. I did 'Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa' at that time because nobody was giving me money to do a bigger film. But now, people give money to make a bigger film so we make bigger films.

Naomi: Do your sensibilities also change, as you grow older? Do you consciously look for a more mature persona?

SRK: I don’t know. I am really silly and stupid in 'Om Shanti Om'. I am a geek and I am running around and doing the most foolish things I have not done in the last 18 years. I play a superhero with tight costumes and I do strange things in the film. It depends on the role. I think as long as somebody is willing to take a chance on me, I am ready to do it. Suddenly, Farhan (Akhtar) comes up and says, 'Hey, I would like you to be a mean 'Don'. I like you mean.' I meet people who say I miss you being the bad guy of 'Baazigar'. So, it’s not my persona and my thought process. I don’t make the films, I act in them. If somebody believes in me, then it's my job to perform it and maintain that belief. I would do a 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna', if I am asked to and at the same time I would also do a film like 'Om Shanti Om'.

Naomi: Eventually, it is about an audience which wants you to, which likes a certain screen image.

SRK: I was reading an article in 'Time' magazine that which said, about 3.6 billion people recognize me in this world. It makes a lot of eyeballs and I keep thinking, 'Can I make a film that all those 3.6 billion people want to watch?, 'Can I read the minds and hearts of the people who like me?' And my answer was 'no'. Let me do a film, I like. If that persona fails, then the easiest way is when you know what people want of you. Whenever I have produced a film and it does not do well, then its not me people didn’t like, I think the film was crap, and well, I have the guts to say that.

Naomi: As an actor, does the box office still kind of unnerve you?

SRK: Absolutely. If a film does not do well, I'll be out, you won’t interview me. I'll not be a star. It will be difficult to sell my movies. When we make Rs 10, only one person has seen it, when we make 10 million dollars, about 10 million people have seen it. So, its an interesting problem we have every time we release a film.

Naomi: In Chak de, you have maximum number of co-stars you've ever had. Yet, your director says, there was no scope for romance?

SRK: That's the irony. I mean, it's ok. Bad for them!

Naomi: Their bad luck?

SRK: Well, firstly, all of them are very young, I am not saying I'm old or anything but I would feel odd romancing any of them, they are all little girls. Some of them were not even born when I started acting. There's lot of love in the film but yes we are not romantically inclined. We don’t have love making scenes.

Naomi: There aren't any, anyways in your films.

SRK: I feel too shy to do lovemaking scenes so I don’t do them. It has love, but no romantic angle. They have their romantic angles within themselves and their boyfriends.

Naomi: Hockey officials said, In India, people are not too interested in watching hockey but they are interested in watching Shahrukh. Does that put some sort of responsibility on this film, given the state of hockey?

SRK: I don’t think I can change the world, but you know in Sufism they say you are not here to change the world but if you can change the thinking of the people around you that’s good enough. My main aim in life as an actor or a producer or as an artist, is to entertain you. I try my best to make an entertaining film. Whether hockey takes a flip because of these changes and people come on road with hockey sticks and start playing, remains to be seen. I doubt that will happen, but if two or three people are able to know what hockey means, and what it means to be a sportsman or a sportswoman, I think my job is done.

Source: TimesNow

I have read the Quran and nowhere does it encourage the killing of people: SRK

It’s Independence Day eve, and we ask Shah Rukh Khan a blunt question: is there anything he has done for the country that makes him proud today?

He smiles, unfazed, and answers, “Go to any part of the world and you’ll see that India is associated with Bollywood. That's my biggest achievement. And the India I see on the world map is a sparkling and happy India, which is moving forward with never-seen-before energy. This is what the new, raring-to-go India is like, and I am proud to be the face of it.”

So a proud-to-be-Indian SRK is not waving the flag just because of the success of his new film, which has a strong patriotic theme running through it. He is already busy making his next for Karan Johar, the working title of which is My Name Is Khan. This film comes at a time when the Mumbai bomb blasts trials and questions about the Srikrishna Commission report’s implementation have brought issues involving inter-communal relations back to the forefront of public debate.

But Shah Rukh Khan is not someone who is insecure over such issues. Being on top of Bollywood's charts for close to a decade as the definitive superstar hardly leaves scope for questions of acceptance. “People have accepted me for what I am, nobody has ever questioned my religion,” he says.

And goes on to add, “I am an educated, liberal Muslim, and I am proud to be a Muslim. My wife is Hindu. My children learn both the religions,” said the superstar. His concern at the global stereotyping in the post 9/11 world, though, comes through when he points out that “people should realise that every Haneef is not a terrorist and that everyone with a Khan surname need not be frisked at the airport.”

But isn’t that on account of the spectre of terrorism and the edgy, even paranoid, reactions to it?

“Nobody supports terrorism,” he is emphatic. “And terrorism recognises no religion. I have read the Quran and nowhere does it encourage the killing of people. Such acts only take us backward. We should take a stand and we should talk against terrorism. Even if we don’t talk against it, we should be completely against it.”

Do incidents of communal disharmony disturb him, make him ask questions?

“That is always the work of a few people. It's all about acquiring power in the bigger picture. We need to see through all this. One has to understand and feel that the only thing that can stop India from being the greatest superpower in the world, is the misuse of religion.”

Does the superstar wish to play political messiah too?

“No, I am an actor, a people's person. I have no political aspirations. But we all can try for the formation of a fair social and political structure, from the heart. If we believe we can, we can do it. The power lies within us, the common man,” says the man who is the common man’s hero.

Source: TimesOfIndia