Don't drop catches: SRK

We try... we run... we jump... we fail... we attack... we fall... we rise... we hope... we wish... we go high... we go fast... we go slow... we go low... sports is such a great leveller. You just can’t wish away your losses.

I always believe something good lies within every bad moment... only as yet I can’t see the good, except that these defeats have bonded the whole KKR family closer. Have heard all the criticism about the team with sadness... the bad management... selling the business...
removing players... none of which are true.

As much as the kids are criticised, I guess a parent can’t dislike them. So I stand here... a bit alone... feeling responsible to all the sponsors for having let them down. I also stand with a huge resolve to set this straight as soon as possible. I also stand by my team feeling for them because I have seen them completely helpless at things going so wrong... only I don’t feel it as strongly as they all feel losing on the field... day after day. I love them even more now than I did before. We accept our defeats... but accepting defeats does not mean we have lost... it means we accept the truth that we haven’t done our best... or our best is not good enough... it means we have something to look forward to... there is a whole area of this sport that we can conquer if we improve. There is no greater feeling than the fact that we can do better at something.

There is something to look forward to... there is a positive desire when we wake up in the morning. I love to win... but you can only love winning if you hate losing enough. I guess KKR has now reached the stage where we are hating to lose... we are disgusted with losses... and the only way to change is to go out and win. I also believe that all the criticism about us is coming true. It’s right for people to not like our team... it’s also in our hands to change that. We very seldom get the chance to write our own destinies. The way of Allah is that He takes you down so much for you to realise that within all the losses lies the opportunity to correct them. That is the positive in losing so much. From the bottom the only way out is to look upwards. We can either blame everything else and lie there or blame ourselves and rectify our mistakes... our follies. At the bottom we lose our faith in God... it is made so... because God wants us to lose faith in Him and have faith in yourself. Unless you believe in yourself you can’t even believe in God... because we are His most loved creation. So the way forward is to believe in ourselves... believe in the good we can do for ourselves... believe in getting ourselves out of this rut. Just believe. I believe therefore I am. I believe therefore we will be... I believe therefore God will be with us... I believe therefore we will be back. Korbo, lorbo, jeetbo. PS: ... and stop dropping the catches... that will help!!

Shah Rukh is king of endorsements too!

Shah Rukh Khan’s name sells not only in Bollywood but also on television. The latest data from TAM Media Research reveal he endorsed the highest number of brands during 2008 on television, closely followed by India’s cricket captain, MS Dhoni.

He currently endorses 39 brands, including Pepsi, Hyundai, Airtel, Videocon, Sun Feast, Tag Heuer, Dish TV and Mayur Suitings. And, gets Rs 1-1.5 crore to be present at any function in India, according to event management agencies.

The brand endorsement business is around Rs 1,000 crore, including star appearances and events, according to Manish Porwal, CEO of celebrity management company, Percept Talent Management.

The report says Shah Rukh and Dhoni moved up in the ranking of celebrities endorsing products on TV during 2008, as compared with 2006. Amitabh Bachchan, Shweta Tiwari (Prerna) and Sachin Tendulkar, who were at the first, third and fifth place in 2006, respectively, were not among the top five in 2008.

Shah Rukh's most recent endorsement was with Linc Pen, one of the largest players in the branded pen industry, which appointed him its ‘brand ambassador’. Linc Pen had never opted till now for a celebrity brand ambassador to endorse its products. Says Deepak Jalan, Managing Director: “Shah Rukh Khan is someone who personifies style, entertainment and popularity and these values resonate perfectly with our brand attributes. Moreover, Shah Rukh cuts across age groups and demographics and appeals to a universal audience, just like our products, and was therefore a natural fit.”

Shah Rukh endorses Nokia handphones. D Shivakumar, Vice President (Markets), Nokia India, says the company is planning to bundle exclusive content featuring him for handsets sold in India. Nokia has bundled the full length ‘Om Shanti Om’ movie in the Nokia N96. It will look at bundling video clips and music of Shah Rukh Khan movies in the handsets. Khan, on his part, would extend collaboration with Nokia for such possibilities through his production house, Red Chillies Entertainment, he had told Business Standard.

Khan also has Kolkata-based Emami on his list of endorsements. For this, he is reportedly paid Rs 5 crore every year. The company is known for having the largest number of celebrity endorsers, including Madhuri Dixit, Raveena Tandon, Sunny Deol, cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and also Amitabh Bachchan. Shah Rukh’s ad campaigns for Emami include ads for Chyawanprash and some other herbal healthcare products of Emami; the firm gets more than half its revenues from their personal healthcare range.

Emami’s prime catch, however, has been Amitabh Bachchan, its umbrella brand ambassador. Bachchan is reportedly paid Rs 10-12 crore yearly for this endorsement.

Till a year earlier, the distance between Shah Rukh Khan, the No 1 player in Bollywood, and Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan was big. However, now Akshay is the highest-paid actor, currently getting Rs 17 crore for a film, while Aamir Khan is the highest paid star-endorser, having bagged a yearly fee between Rs 12-15 crore per annum for his three commercials on including Tata Sky, Samsung Mobiles and Parle Monaco biscuits.

Shah Rukh Khan would be paid around Rs 2 cr for a 20-minute performance at the wedding of Mumbai builder Kanti Gowani’s nephew. The actor had reportedly charged Rs 1.5 cr for his number at the wedding of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter.

Sources in GS Entertainment, the event management company handling the Gowani wedding shows, say Shah Rukh can be available, say for three days, for Rs 12 cr. On the other hand, Akshay Kumar charges Rs 1.25 crore to be present at events, while Salman Khan pitches Rs 1 crore, and Govinda Rs 70 lakh, according to estimates provided by event management companies.

During 2008, Airtel led the list of the top 10 brands endorsed by celebrities on TV, followed by Pepsi, the report said. “It is natural that the endorsement price is heavily skewed in favour of icons like Aamir, SRK, Akshay Kumar, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. These five, on average, get roughly three times what the next 10 get," says Porwal.

Shah Rukh Khan to take stock of Knight Riders post IPL

Shah Rukh Khan's team Kolkata Knight Riders is languishing at the bottom of the pile and critics are wondering as to why SRK is not throwing out John Buchanan, why is Brendon McCullum still playing when he is not in any form, why is SRK not taking stern action like Vijay Mallya did with his management in the first edition of IPL, when they were not performing?

In an interview with Businessofcinema.com prior to the start of the IPL, SRK had said, “The team should not feel that we have to perform for the sake of the owners. They are too young to go through that kind of pressure and Juhi, Jay Mehta or I would not want them to feel like that. They have to believe that they need to play well for themselves.”

And true to his word, SRK never put any pressure on his boys, but he certainly showed his displeasure at their performance by leaving the Rainbow country. The team has been trimmed but certainly no cricketer or staff has been given the pink slip, yet.

Decisions will certainly be taken post the tournament. But whilst the tournament is on, the momentum is not broken, because Khan believes in giving everybody a fair chance and as the saying goes, in cricket, one never knows until the last ball is bowled. And in the IPL with still five more games to go, with international cricketers leaving to play for their country, fortunes are changing ever day. There are still no clear favourites yet, and anything can be expected as the competition progresses.

SRK may watch Bollywood musical in Malaysia

Leading Indian choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant's semi-autobiographical musical The Merchants of Bollywood is set to be staged here in July and she hopes to get superstar Shah Rukh Khan to attend the gala.

"I am very excited to see it being staged here in Malaysia. Perhaps I can try pulling Shah Rukh from his busy schedule to come and see the show in Kuala Lumpur," said Vaibhavi, who is here to promote the musical, The Star newspaper said Tuesday.

Highly popular in Malaysia, Khan was made a Datuk, a traditional Malaysian knighthood, earlier this year.

Vaibhavi is one of the most sought after choreographers in Bollywood, working with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Shah Rukh.

The 90-minute musical will feature 48 songs including smash hits from Bollywood movies. The cast of 53 will go through 1,200 costume changes and wear 2,500 pieces of Indian jewellery.

The musical showcases the artistry of classical Indian dance moves fused with modern dance genres, funk, disco and hip-hop.

Vaibhavi said despite discouragement from her family that wanted her to stay away from dancing and cinema, she was carrying on the legacy of her grandfather, the late Hiralal, a top choreographer of the 1960s.

She said "Merchants of Bollywood" was close to her heart as 95 percent of the storyline reflected her life story.

"This is not just another project, it is not fictional. This is a part of me, a story that says dreams do come true," she said.

Kuala Lumpur would be the first Asian stop for the musical that has enthralled audiences in Britain, Spain, Italy and Germany in the last five years.