I think CHAK DE! is SRK's best performance till date: Sunil Shetty

An Interview with Sunil Shetty

The mood of the nation is hockey and not cricket, courtesy CHAK DE! INDIA. Even Sunil Shetty, who is a cricket buff, feels so. Sunil, who was recently appointed official brand ambassador for hockey in the country, talks all about it and more.

When did u first learn that you were appointed the brand ambassador for hockey?
I learnt about it about two months back. I had okayed the papers. I have some friends in Bombay Customs who came to me and asked if I wanted to do something for hockey. They said that they had spoken to K P S Gill and he had mentioned that it would be great if I, being a sportsman and an active athlete, would be able to do it.

How do you feel about it?
I am very proud to be associated with hockey which has brought us more national glory than cricket. Except for the World Cup in ’83 and a few heroes like Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, can we talk about anything else in cricket?

You had okayed the papers before CHAK DE! released?
Yes… but I say that the actual brand ambassador of hockey should be Shah Rukh Khan and nobody else. See CHAK DE! And you will know what I am talking.

Did you like CHAK DE!?
I loved it. I messaged Shah Rukh about it. Then I saw it once more. And I liked it even more. I think CHAK DE! is SRK’s best performance till date.

Did SRK reply back?
Yes. He always does. He and I are pretty close.

There is a school of thought that if LAGAAN can go to the Oscars, why not CHAK DE!?
I endorse on that. What a patriotic film, and that without shouting any slogans! I think that the film is also a slap on the cricket selectors that they should start looking beyond their respective states.

Being the hockey brand ambassador, what will you be required to do?
I will certainly have to give time and I am willing to do that. It will require me to travel and be present at the major hockey matches which India plays, shoot a national feel song for them and talk about the game wherever possible. Also, I would invite some of my Bollywood colleagues to come over and be a part of it as and when they can.

Are you aware about the technicalities of hockey?
Look, I have not been appointed as the coach. My job is something else. Like today, my friend Akash Gupta of Air Hostess Academy has agreed to sponsor the forthcoming Glorious Cup between India and Pakistan which begins on September 11.

Source: GlamSham

'Chak De India' goes to Oscar library

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has requested a copy of the screenplay of CHAK DE INDIA for the permanent script collection. The scripts in the collection reside at the Margaret Herrick Library and are made accessible for research purposes only; students, film-makers, writers and actors are among the regular patrons. Screenplays may only be viewed in the library; they do not circulate. Also, no screenplay is allowed to be photocopied.

Source: IndiaFM

Shah Rukh has agreed to cut his hair

Vivek states, "Shah Rukh has agreed to cut his hair whenever I announce the next schedule of Dulha Mil Gaya. We have to shoot the portions involving him on a cruise liner. If I go ahead with it in the rainy season, it will be a risky proposition so I am desperately waiting for the rains to stop."

The film stars King Khan in a brief but important part and has Sushmita Sen, Fardeen Khan and newcomer Ishita Sharma in lead roles. The film has been in the making for some time now with delays reportedly happening because of the SRK’s busy date diary.

Vivek Vaswani, defending his super star buddy, says, "There has been no delay from Shah Rukh's side. It is just a ten-day shoot that is left with him. He is currently not shooting any other film and has assured me of his dates for Dulha Mil Gaya. I am currently chalking out our next schedule plans for the film to be shot with him in Goa on a cruise liner."

Shah Rukh had gone on his annual vacation with his family in late May, earlier this year to London. When he was back in a month's time, he was seen sporting long locks with a pony tail. He shot for Chak De India's title number as a promotional video and also the making of this hockey themed film with his long hair. The new Pepsi ad also featuring John Abraham had SRK in his new look. Last week he was seen shooting for home production, Om Shanti Om's item number in long locks too.

Source: Indya

Shah Rukh Khan The Box Office King

Three weeks after Chak De India's release, it has become clear that its scored a goal at the box office and become a phenomenon.

But with no leading lady, no love angle, no song and dance an unusually restrained, understated Shahrukh Khan, none of the tried and tested box office elements its not difficult to imagine the nervousness of the filmmakers of Chak De before its box office release.

"You get a few films where the producers and directors have guts to say let's take Shahrukh Khan and let's not make it a in-your-face commercial film and make him do what he does.

"I remember the last night when we saw the film. It was releasing the next morning. Adi and me sitting and Shimit, it's about 1.30 in the night.

"We were just seeing the film. Adi looked at me and he said, 'What do you think the film will do? My son and my daughter said they have loved the film. We will still worry, it has no standard to compare it with," said Shahrukh Khan, actor.

It's a film that makes a strong comment on hockey and women's sports. So does he think that this film will change perceptions about hockey and bring our neglected national game at par with cricket?

"I think we should take a cue from cricket and hopefully what cricket has done shows the way to not just what to do for hockey, for every sports.

"Sports are good. So I hope that but whether I think it will happen or not I don't know whether the film will do well or not so, let alone whether hockey will change or not. But, I am just glad that I could comment about the sport that I love," said Shahrukh.

Identity issues

Not only is Shahrukh's role in the film very different from the ones he's used to doing, it also engages with the complex issue of Muslims' indianness in the country.

"I am a complete promoter of the fact that if you have to ask am I a Muslim in a Hindu country, then I am not secular enough.

"I never asked myself that because I was never built like that. I think I am Indian. I am Indian. I mean, the question of being Muslim, from which part of the country, has never mattered to me.

"It has never been brought to my notice and I think the religion of our country is Indianness," said Shahrukh Khan.

It's obviously been a win-win situation.

It's a role that's probably lent more gravitas to superstar Sharukh's iconic status and repertoire of work.

And its worked the other way round also with his presence providing the initial impetus and draw to a film which is off the beaten track.


Swati Maheshwari, NDTV

SRK In Shimit Amin's next

Though at the moment Shimit isn't revealing anything, it's quite evident that the colossal impact of Chak De India has fastened up his desire to embrace the sporty theme. It is reliably learnt that sports and Shah Rukh will recur in Shimit's next.

Writer Jaideep Sahni, who gave such a stunning spin to the obsolete game of hockey, is likely to join the successful twosome in the next Yashraj film.

Says Shimit, "Audiences, do have certain expectations from me after Chak De India. And I'd be foolish not to live up to those expectations. But right now I'm not pushing myself to make my next film. I'm not going to force myself to start my next film. I'm on an extended vacation. I'll be visiting my parents in LA." Further decisions on his next project will only be taken after he returns from "home" in the US.

The big news is that Chak De India has now been given exemption from entertainment tax all over the country. "But the proposal to do so was put forward long before the President saw the film. I think a tax exemption for Chak De India is just the right prescription. Now I think people who never go to the movies can afford to catch Chak De India. I'm glad because it's very important for the film to reach the maximum number of people." Now the ball is in the producer's court.

Cheque de, Yashraj!

Subhash K Jha, IndiaFM