SRK = Vivek, says Salman

When Salman Khan summons, you show up. His PR man wants me to come to Bandra for a quick chat with the actor. I rush to the suburban studio though I am warned of a long wait as Salman is shooting for his newly launched film. After what seems like an eternity, I am invited into his vanity van.

I take a seat opposite Salman, who is bare-chested... and smoking. He gets up abruptly and asks his boy to fetch him a tea. After he clothes himself, we settle down for a chat about his upcoming film God Tussi Great Ho, his girlfriend Katrina Kaif, his fight with SRK.

Excerpts from the interview:

Let's talk about your fight with Shah Rukh.
There is nothing to talk about, bro. Have I spoken about Vivek Oberoi? Why should I speak about him, then?
I see Shah Rukh and his situation with me in the same light as I see my situation with Vivek.

But if you bump into SRK, will you greet him?
I used to like him a lot at one point of time. But now things have changed. We have grown up. Now, we don't see eye to eye. I don't see any reason to keep in touch with him. If I am not fond of anyone, I will not pretend to be friends with him and then stab him in the back. I will simply tell a person like that to stay away.

Buzz is that you got Aamir and SRK together after the dog blog incident! Is Aamir doing the same for you? Also Sanjay Dutt says he wants to sit you and SRK down and sort it out.
Why would Aamir or for that matter, Sanjay, want to help me? Why would I want to help Aamir sort out his issues with Shah Rukh? I'm not a two-year-old kid, you know. It is our situation SRK's and mine. I think it is better the way things are. It is better to not pretend and act like close friends. I will not do anything to harm him as that is not in my nature. I will not bitch him out either. It's just that everyone is talking about it! Shah Rukh himself hasn't spoken about the fight and what went down but a lot of his close associates are giving stupid stories and leads to the media. Since the fight, I have been reading very, very negative articles on me.

What actually happened at Katrina's birthday?
Till now, what you've heard is only Shah Rukh's side of the story. When I see the situation getting out of hand, I will come out with my side of what really happened. There are too many people involved and as far as I am concerned, it was a private conversation. That is still one side of the story. I don't think that anybody should be disrespectful or vindictive; everybody has their own lives and their own destinies.

Amul Sharma, Mid-Day

SRK: The Master of Dumb Charades

Bonding big time on the Coimbatore sets of Shah Rukh Khan’s Billo Barber with the Bollywood Badshah, has been actor Irrfan Khan.

A kind of 'hatke' friendship has developed between the two Khans that traces its origins back to Delhi in 1986, when both were into theatre.

In Billo Barber, SRK plays a filmstar and Irrfan the barber. And Irrfan, whose run of films includes international exposure in Mira Nair’s Namesake and Brad Pitt’s A Mighty Heart, has come away from Coimbatore mighty impressed with Shah Rukh. “His humility is noteworthy, he doesn’t have any air of stardom, and he’s so much like any other ordinary guy that it’s an absolute treat to be his co-star,” said Irrfan.

Nights, after the pack-up had been ordered, was party time off the sets. And SRK, a game freak, taught Irrfan how to play Dumb Charade. “He’s a champion at it, I’m a buddhu, and even though I was sloshed, SRK took it upon himself to teach me this game,” recalled Irrfan. “In the beginning, I was an embarrassment, a total disaster, but by the third round I could do it right.”

He remembers seeing SRK for the first time at a play rehearsal in Delhi in 1986. “I was an NSD student and he was with Barry John. Somehow, even though it was dark in the auditorium, his face stayed on in my mind,” added Irrfan pensively.

Afsana Ahmed, Times Of India