King Khan goes Missing!

After delivering back-to-back hits at Bangalore and Kolkata by leading from the wings, Shah Rukh Khan is letting his Kolkata Knight Riders fend for themselves.

Against Team Chennai in their match this Saturday at Chennai’s M A Chidambaram Stadium. SRK, who is reckoned to be the lucky mascot for his team, was in the stands orchestrating the Kolkata Knight Riders’ successes against Vijay Mallya’s Royal Challengers at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore and against Team Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

But now, he has to give the Chennai IPL match a miss because he is required in London first for an awards show and then in Paris, where a statue of the Bollywood Badshah will be unveiled at the Grevin Wax Muesum. Incidentally, the only other statue of an Indian at this prestigious museum is that of Mahatma Gandhi.

Of the Parisian honour, Shah Rukh smiled and told BT, "It’s got less to do with me and more with the unfolding of Hindi cinema across the globe. After other parts of the world, Bollywood is now hot in France. It’s simply a sign of progress for our cinema."

And as for missing the Saturday match, he said, "Before the IPL began, I had decided to see only the matches being played in Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai. My schedule doesn’t permit me the luxury of all this. And my involvement with the players is before and after the match. I sat with my team the day before and gave them moral support and whatever else was required of me. I will miss them on Saturday and vice versa, but the point is they are the real performers. I am just adding to the hoopla by dancing and cheering."

He does not deny, though, that his presence in the stadium is considered a good omen for the Kolkata Knight Riders. "I have heard lots of flattering stuff about my luck factor. By saying this, it’s taking away the credit from my team. Luck is too frivolous a concept that truly dilutes all the hard work people put in. I have always been doing my job. The rest is all God’s blessings," SRK said.

And as for bringing the glam element to IPL, he said, "Just because my friends and I belong to the entertainment industry and, maybe, we grab a lot more eyeballs than others, it can be said we lend the glam quotient. But honestly, we are here because we love the game like everyone else. I will only be involved in things I am passionately interested in."

Times Of India