Shahrukh & Ritesh: The Knight Riders

Same, Same: Riteish Deshmukh wears the same tee to the Manish Malhotra party at LFW that Shah Rukh wore at the finale of the ‘Knights and Angels’ reality show.

Terminator SRK is back in action

Mr Bionic Man is at it again.

With even more ‘titanium’ (and various metallic parts) inside his body, Shah Rukh Khan actually laughed aloud when we called him ‘Terminator’. “Yes. I’m a Terminator. I terminate my rivals. I terminate obstacles and I’m now even more ‘bionic’ than before,” he told us.

And all the ‘metal’ is probably putting more steel in his spine too, when it comes to dealing with ‘shouldering’ all his roles and responsibilities. In fact, he’s hit the floor running — from walking the ramp, to shooting for Karan’s film, to planning his cricket strategies to shooting videos... Phew! Now isn’t that too much bojh on his brand new shoulder? Well, it’s only because his recently operated shoulder is still healing. Otherwise our King Khan can stalwartly carry the cross of Bollywood on his big, broad shoulders, hai na? And while his whirlwind activity is on, we heard that Gauri and buddy Karan Johar have been tut-tutting and are becoming overly protective about that still ‘sore’ part of him. He’s shooting for

My Name Is Khan, and Karan’s been overtly careful to shoot only some easy portions with SRK, no heavy-duty stuff for him for sometime. Hmnnnn. Does this also mean that he won’t be jumping on some cricketer and wrapping himself around him...a la Shoaib Akhtar last year? Hmnnn and double hmnnnn!

I wear black so no one knows if i’ve repeated an outfit

Shweta Shiware and photographer Shadab Khan catch Shahrukh Khan backstage for an exclusive chat before he takes the ramp at Lakmé Fashion Week.

Whoever thinks fashion is frivolous, surviving on air kisses and pink bubbly, should have dropped in at the rehearsal for Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra’s Knight Riders show at Lakmé Fashion Week, where anxiety and tempers ran amok.

Just then actress Preity Zinta steps in with NY hotelier Vikram Chatwal, the first celeb attendees to arrive followed by Kareena, Amisha Patel, Celina Jaitley, Genelia, D’Souza, Isha Koppikar and Kajol. “It’s only at my shows that front row celebs arrive before anyone else,” quips Manish, before springing towards Kareena to give her a hug.

“Shahrukh came up with the idea of a Knight Riders show. It made sense since black and gold were big last year. You can’t escape glam; a sport like cricket too has acquired a glam status. It’s nice to take fashion to the masses, don’t you think?” Manish asks before disappearing backstage.

In those dark recesses, glamour and politeness go for a toss in a mad rush to change outfits. “Your laces are mismatched,” Manish screams to his assistant, wiping off the frown in time to greet actor Arjun Rampal and wife Mehr, who’ve made a last minute decision to attend.

A sharp contrast to the storm brewing backstage, Shahrukh Khan arrives looking eerily composed, a cigarette keeping him company while he scans LCD screens to soak in the madness outside. The crew whispers he’s here, before he heads to a plush lounge.

“Boys, believe in yourself,” the crew-in-charge peps the rest when the Knight Riders anthem thunders and models take a last look in the mirror.

At the fag end of the show, Manish is a less anxious man. He takes a deep breath, adjusts his hair, waiting to be called to take a bow with SRK. The crew has their eyes glued on the LCD, pretty much like they would if India played a rival on a cricket pitch. And when the designer and his muse stand before the photographers’ pit, the cheering backstage takes a deafening turn. It’s over. Phew!

SRK talks fashion

Who is your favourite designer?
Karan (Johar), Anaita (Adajania)… (We interrupt to tell him they are stylists, not designers). What’s the difference, Manish (he turns to Manish Malhotra)? But then Manish only designs for pretty actresses.

How long did you take to dress up for the Golden Globes?
Two minutes. I always wear black. It’s easier since no one can tell if I am repeating a garment.

Being a favourite with fashion designers, has any designer hit on you?
Naresh from Masculine is my oldest friend, who I have worked with when no one did. There’s Shabina (Khan), Manish (Malhotra), but (takes a long pause) nobody has ever hit on me. Neither men or women. I don’t get hit on, I just dish out hits.

Through your films you’ve set fashion trends that are emulated by fans. How do you feel about that?
I wear clothes to cover my body. Comfort is important, that’s why you will always find me in jeans and tees. My children don’t like me wearing shirt and trousers (smiles).

Off late you have been sporting a Kaffeyah, a favourite with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Do you consider the religious connotations of a garment?
Karan (Johar) picked a couple of them for me from Belgian designer Martin Margiela and said, “Bhai, you should wear it.” That’s when I began sporting them. Before it became a fashion statement, I used it as a sling after my surgery. I have asked Manish to design some along the Knight Riders theme.

For me, there are no political or religious sentiments. It’s the Shahrukh Khan sentiment. It’s about love. I wear trousers. Tonight I am wearing a Bengali-style dhoti for the show. Fashion should never be a creation of religion or politics.

Good models look like fish deprived of sex

“We love you!” shrieks were heard from some of the last rows when Shahrukh Khan walked the ramp for Manish Malhotra’s Knight Riders show. The star walked the ramp in black dhoti pyjamas worn under a black vest, his arm safe in specially designed gold sling. “He (Manish) has designed a lot of things, but this is the first time the man’s made an arm sling!” he said, and the crowd guffawed at his wit, and possibly his ability to turn everything about him, SRK.

As the line of black-and-gold sporty-cum-party garments (in sync with Kolkotta Knight Riders’ uniforms) terminated, SRK decided to be a rather “honest” showstopper — and expressed how he doesn’t look good, can’t walk but still had the privilege of walking the ramp. “Lubna (Adams) told me to suck my cheeks in, pucker my lips and then look really angry; that’s what all good models do — they all look like fish deprived of sex.”

The sweatpants/shorts and hoodies may not have stolen the show, but SRK managed to up the ante on the glam radar by “felicitating” models-turned-actors (like good friend Arjun) among others. By the end of it, we weren’t sure what we were laughing at — the plight of the fashion industry, that Bollywood rules everywhere, or both.

Arjun Mathur’s hat-trick with Shah Rukh Khan

Arjun Mathur who made a mark with his recent releases Luck By Chance and Barah Aana is working with Shah Rukh Khan in My Name is Khan. But this is not the first time the newcomer has got in the same frame with the superstar. In fact Arjun’s managed a hat-trick working with the King Khan so early in his career.

Arjun states, “I have worked with Shah Rukh Khan before as well as I have done a TV commercial with him and there was also that important scene during the pre-climax of Luck By Chance. I think SRK is just amazing. He oozes energy and ease. He is so polite and a lovely human being to be with. It feels great to work with him as I have grown up admiring him. I remember watching the combination and magic of SRK, Kajol and Karan Johar in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. This combination fuelled my desire to make it big. You know when I first went on sets of My Name Is Khan in which I play a student activist, I behaved like an 18-year old between them, as I was 18 when KKHH released. I must admit it has been a dream come true working with them, especially SRK.”