A surprise treat from SRK!

Another treat for Shah Rukh Khan fans is on its way — his biography titled 'Shah Rukh Can' will hit the stands next month.

Priced at the Rs 395, it’s an account of SRK’s life, from his childhood in Delhi to the sets of Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain (this was being added to the book at the time this story went to press).

The book’s author Mushtaq Sheikh, who had earlier authored Still Reading Khan and The Making of Om Shanti Om, said, “It’s an introspective study about SRK the human being, the actor and film personality. He’s openly talked about his life, his idols, and also about how exciting his journey from television to cinema has been. He has spoken about his seniors, contemporaries and has not made any controversial statements about anyone”.

Asked about his experience of working with King Khan, Sheikh said, “For me, the most exciting experience was to see the child in him, as he would go down memory lane during each of the sittings.” The book highlights SRK’s achievements in his career as well as his future plans. Ajay Mago of Om Books, the publisher, said, “Each chapter starts with a quote from Shah Rukh. There are so many facets of his life. He personifies the best that a mother would want in her son, a girlfriend would dream of in her lover, a wife would want in her husband, and a child would want in his father”.

The book has 24 coloured pages with pictures from Shah Rukh’s childhood and growing up years as well. Asked why another book on SRK, Mago explained, “We received a tremendous response for Still Reading Khan, but priced at Rs 3,000 it was beyond the reach of an SRK admirer from among the masses. This book is specially developed and designed keeping both the masses and classes in mind.”

The book is an extension of the coffee table pictorial biography Still Reading Khan, according to him. As distributors, selling 20,000 copies of King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the seductive World of Indian Cinema, a biography written by Anupama Chopra, encouraged them to come up with the next book, said Suresh Kohli, Chief Editor, Om Books. Plans to have the book translated in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and German are in the pipeline.

Pricy Jain, Hindustan Times