SRK is hit with his six pack

And it won't be long before his pictures from his forthcoming movie Om Shanti Om adorn the gyms perhaps replacing the current pictures of Pocket Hercules, Salman Khan or perhaps the non-smoker John Abraham.

The man who came chasing his love Gauri Chibba to Mumbai, also pursued his celluloid obsession to the city of dreams and reached the top with a singular mission of doing so.

From wielding a hockey stick during his college days to doing so in the recent Chak De India , King Khan as he is popularly known, has oscillated between the out and out entertainers to message-oriented movies in recent times.

His last release also is knocking on the doors of a national award for the actor even as the title song of the film has gone on to be a sporting anthem.

Cut to Circa 1985. The actor wasn't the quintessential goodlooker or didn't have a father making movies to launch him.

The actor considered a go-getter right from the days of his theatre days, got along with a bunch of friends right from television days. Incidentally, his first television serial Fauji was directed by a gentleman called Colonel Raj Kapoor.

Khan, who landed sharp for a 6 am audition, was strong enough to survive a strenuous backpack run and a punching exercise — enough to get the role of Abhimanyu Rai, and the hero Vikram Rai's brother in the series. But SRK and the camera fell in love with each other and Abhimanyu Rai's character soon transmuted into the lead role.

Khan hasn't looked back since then with hits like Deewana, Darr, Baazigar, Karan Arjun and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge placing him right up there among the greats.

In the early 90s, SRK rose to power with Darr , Baazigar and Anjaam as the second angry young man after Amitabh Bachchan when the nation was tormented by communal turbulence.

He then added fresh doses of love to his huge youth following and in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge taught them ideals by refusing to run away with his lover till her family approved of their relationship — much like his real life ballad.

Darr and DDLJ got him to be a regular with the Chopras, and filmmaker Karan Johar says that he cannot imagine a script without Shah Rukh. Almost every filmmaker worth his salt has a script ready to cast Shah Rukh in.

Gutsy enough to pick on a negative role in Darr when many including Aamir Khan preferred to opt out, Shah Rukh has moved from strength to strength doing cinema that is populist as well as experimental. Films like Maya Memsaab, Asoka, Paheli or serials like Mani Kaul's The Idiot and In Which Annie Gives It To Those Ones with Arundhati Roy prove his passion to be a part of good cinema as well.

Box office juggernauts like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil To Pagal Hai, Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kal Ho Na Ho, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Veer Zaara , have only consolidated his status as the biggest entertainer of the new millennium.

Fans of Shah Rukh Khan who loved the character of Mohan Bhargav in Swades modelled on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had just finished nominating him as the youth icon for a popular music channel.

Khan was also gutsy enough to take on the role of Emperor Ashoka in Santosh Sivan's Asoka which he even produced and tried to take it to the Oscars but lost out to a good enough candidate, Lagaan .

Beneath the veneer humour that the Khan exudes at times is a stylish and elegant man who loves dressing up, a man who loves success and has enough ability to back the desire.

How else can one explain the several endorsements that the man has been able to do with élan and remain at the top of the cinemabiz for a decade now?

Answers, anyone?

S Ramachandran, TNN

Living life Khan-size!

At 42, he has all the trappings of commercial success that any 35mm superstar can dream of.

Youth icon, the most searched name on Internet search engines, waxed for posterity in Madame Tussaud’s, he has a perfume, an orchid and a watch named after him. His house in Mumbai is an address flashbulb celebs crave for and if advertisers are to be believed he earns Rs 247 per minute!

For someone who reportedly charges between Rs five to seven crore per endorsement and has sold his latest home production Om Shanti Om for a whopping Rs 70-odd crore, brand SRK seems to be overshadowing SRK, the actor. And today he’s at a stage when he confesses that “Fridays no longer unnerve” him.

What makes him such a successful one-man industry by himself? Director and close friend Sajid Khan feels, “Shah Rukh, by far is not only one of the most intelligent people I’ve encountered, but he’s also one of the nicest guys around. It’s difficult to be so successful and nice. He’s one actor who doesn’t put on any act of pretence.”

As far as Brand SRK goes, Sajid says, “He’s not only marketed himself well, but has also connected with people well. He has this superb way of doing things which makes everyone happy at the end of the day.”

Ad guru Santosh Desai says, “The transition-from someone who started with a TV serial Fauji and has seen tremendous success in cinema, has been like an unbroken journey forward. He has fully developed his potential as a brand and has this charismatic quality about him. And this charisma comes through the person he is as none of his physical attributes account for his popularity unlike Amitabh Bachchan.”

Even a two-minute commercial doesn’t seem predictable, thanks to SRK’s inimitable style and attitude. Trade analyst Komal Nahta says, “Shah Rukh Khan is one of the biggest brands in the country because finally, it is all about money and his movies are fetching money. He is over 40 years and looks much younger than his age. Actors much older than him are working so I feel that a brand like SRK will continue to be strong. The masses have proved it.”

Author Anupama Chopra who has written a book on Shah Rukh Khan says, “Obviously, an actor like SRK is one of the strongest brands and he has proved that with Chak De India!

A brand needs reinventing, which he has continuously done with Swades, Paheli and many other films. Besides, Shah Rukh is too sharp and talented to be caught in the trap of being repeated in his films. So, globally I feel SRK is one of the most important brands the country has.”

What adds to Shah Rukh’s brand equity is his popularity among the Indian diaspora. The overseas rights of his films garner the highest price, placing him among the top of the heap in Bollywood. While Hollywood isn’t an option (he’s been quoted as saying, ‘I’m not talented enough for Hollywood’), there’s plenty of action in India, with Farhan Akhtar’s Don 2 and Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan .

And on a personal level, once the grease paint is off, SRK is looking at a “studio somewhere in Mumbai”, “playing soccer with my son” and “a few more hours to the day”.

A toast to the Khan-tastic actor’s dreamz unlimited.

Tanvi Trivedi, TNN

SRK is an extremely generous actor : Shreyas

Infact, he got an opportunity to know first hand the 'Badshah of Bollywood' and share screen space with him in 'Om Shanti Om' is a heady feeling.

''I have been a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan. In this sense, I feel I am extremely fortunate to have got a chance so early in my film career to work alongside him,'' Shreyas said on the eve of release of 'Om Shanti Om' next week.

''Working with Shah Rukh Khan was an exciting feeling more so since he brings to the film and his scenes a lot of improvisations in order to improve the film, which makes him the remarkable actor and performer that he is,'' Shreyas said.

''Shah Rukh's ability to improvise on the sets perhaps comes from the fact that he hails from a theatre background. Being from a theatre background myself, I know that this habit to improvise comes naturally for those hailing from the world of theatre,'' Shreyas said.

Talking about his experiences of working with the 'King Khan' during the shooting of 'Om Shanti Om', Shreyas says, ''While on the sets, Shah Rukh often makes his contribution to the role something that I am also used to doing being from the theatre background. So, during the shooting for 'Om Shanti Om', we hit it off instantly."

''I fondly recall that both of us together used to lend little improvisations to our characters in terms of their hand movement and gestures. All this made working with Shah Rukh a really exciting experience.''

Shreyas said working with Shah Rukh never made him feel he was working with a superstar.

''Working with Shah Rukh never makes one feel one is working with a superstar. Apart from being a brilliant actor, Shah Rukh is an extremely good human being which is why I feel he is in the position he is today. In this sense, getting to know him from close quarters has made me like him all the more,'' Shreyas said.

''What is remarkable about Shah Rukh is that as a co-star he is an extremely generous actor. He has no qualms of giving two extra lines to an actor appearing in the same frame as him. This is something that one does not see in the industry where actors are hungry for more dialogues. And here is one actor who is overeager to give his lines to a co-actor,'' Shreyas said.

Featuring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead along with model-turned actor Deepika Padukone, 'Om Shanti Om' is scheduled for release worldwide on November 9.

UNI/dnaindia.com

Shah Rukh & Farah's Grand Finale for Om Shanti Om

Om Shanti Om remains one of the biggest releases this year and director Farah Khan is hoping that one sits through the entire length of the film.

As a result its credit role has been shot to entertain the audience.

"You will have to see what the credit roll looks like. It has become a tradition with whatever movie I make and people come and they work in my film because they want to be seen at the end of the film," said Farah Khan, director.

"We arrive at a scooter, we run around and jump like monkeys, walk down a red carpet," said Vishal Dadlani, music director.

This isn't the first time that Farah has shot so extensively for the credit roles, with her first film Main Hoon Na, she had done the same.

"We have like a red carpet premiere of our film, we have all our technicians, spot boys. They are all coming out of limousines, they are dressed in suits and tie," said Farah.

Well Farah has maintained that OSO is going to be a complete entertainer and as if the presence of SRK and the song featuring almost the entire Bollywood who's who wasn't enough, now even the credit role claims that you would be screaming for more.

Shah Rukh Khan launches New Car for Hyundai

Having groomed India as its global manufacturing hub for small cars, Hyundai Motor Co (HMC) is going to target its India facilities to contribute 30 per cent of its international production from next year.

A strong indication was given in this regard as the company held the global premiere of its new compact car ‘i10’ here on Wednesday in the presence of the superstar and brand ambassador, Shahrukh Khan. This car will be manufactured only in India and exported to over 70 countries. Significantly, this is the first car from Hyundai stable that made its international debut in India.

Hyundai is also strengthening its research and development in the country. The company would be investing $40 million at the Hyderabad centre and increase headcount to 800 by 2009. Simultaneously, the Chennai R&D centre would be further reinforced and strengthened, Mr. Laheem said.

TheHindu.com