Shahrukh Khan IIFA 2009 'Actor of the Decade'

Superstars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan were declared the 'Actors of the Decade' at the IIFA awards here.

Aishwarya won two honorary awards for her work in Indian and international cinema while Khan was honoured for his work in popular Indian cinema, Bollywood.

The 35-year-old actress who also performed at the awards gala received both the trophies while Shahrukh had to miss the ceremony because he is shooting for his upcoming film 'My Name is Khan'.

The 43-year-old actor, who began his career with the small screen, beat Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan to win the title.

Aishwarya won the 'Golden Decade' award for her memorable performances in the past ten years beating off competition from Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

While Aishwarya shot to global recognition with international projects like 'Pink Panther' and 'Provoked', Khan, too has a global following around the world being the 'Badshah of Bollywood'.

The former Miss World won the'Outstanding Achievement by Indian in International Cinema' award which was won last year by musician AR Rahman who won the 'Golden Decade of Music' award for his contribution to Indian films where music is often as important as the script and actors.

SRK's always game for audacious stunts

Farhan Akhtar says Shah Rukh Khan will be performing daring stunts in Don 2.

"He's always game for the audacious. But the health problems really frustrate him," says the director referring to the SRK's shoulder surgery this year.

But now SRK is all set to bounce back with a full-on actioner in Don 2.

And there's Priyanka Chopra for company again.

Bipasha Basu who has been eased out of Race 2 firmly believes leading ladies don't have a future in sequels.

But here's one to prove her wrong. Though Priyanka has apparently been left out of Dostana 2she's very much a part of Don 2which starts shooting, finally, in May 2010 in Ireland and Berlin.

In fact Don 2 will be the first Indian film to be shot In Dublin.

Says the producer Ritesh Sidhwani, "We're very much going ahead with the original cast Shah Rukh, Priyanka, Boman Irani, Arjun Rampal and Om Puri. Only those who died in the original won't return, obviously."

Also, for obvious reasons, this time there won't be a double role for Shah Rukh. What he will be doing is, some of the most heart-in-the-mouth stunts ever done by any leading man and certainly SRK's most audacious actioner yet.

For this Shah Rukh needs to recover from this year's back surgery.

Says a source, "This is why he allotted dates in 2009 to Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan. It requires very little physical exertion whereas Don 2 is a kick-ass role."

When the proposal to do the sequel first came up Shah Rukh was very sure it would have to go beyond the first part in terms of locales, action and drama.

Says producer Ritesh Sidhwani, "We're shooting Don 2 in Dublin .No Indian film has been shot there. We want to make sure that the sequel goes ahead of the first film. While the first part was a remake the sequel is an original script and would be much tougher to film for Shah Rukh and Farhan."

SRK: Direction is nice but lonely!

There have been a few murmers doing the rounds that Shah Rukh Khan, after having ventured into production, television and cricket has finally decided to take up direction. We all know that King Khan has directed a football sequence in Karan Johar's KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA and also written the concluding 'Japan darshan' scene from Aditya Chopra's RAB NE BANA DI JODI, but is he ready to take the full time plunge into direction? Well, here is the answer from the man himself!

Says SRK, 'I don't know yet. I think it's a very lonely job. It's very nice, but am I ready to be so lonely so early? Not quite. I like the sound, the noise and the people. I want to do television, endorsements, Knight Riders and movies. I want to do so much and when there is nothing left to do, then I will direct...'

With the above statement to a reputed international source, SRK has made his stand clear!

What is Shah Rukh Khan made up of

If someone posed you a question like 'What are you made up of?' you are bound to say 'Flesh and bones'.

But if you were to ask the same to the ever-so-affable Shahrukh Khan, then, he, with all his childish like charm bundled together, will bounce off saying 'Tag Heur'. 'What are you made up of?' incidentally happens to be the catch line of the TAG Heur brand of watches, of which he is the Brand Ambassador!

Recently, the guys from TAG shot for their new global ad campaign aptly titled 'The Knights Of Time' featuring the enigmatic Shahrukh Khan, whose international counterparts for the ad, include the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton and Maria Sharapova! The TAG officials consider them more than just stars. According to them, these celebrities are the 'Knights of Time' and are the conquerors of the 21st Century.

The Indian campaign featuring SRK was shot by ace photographer Atul Kasbekar at Mehboob Studios in Mumbai. For the uninitiated, this is the third ad campaign that TAG has shot with SRK, the first two being in 2003 and 2006.

The recently shot ad exhibits the aura interspersed with class that SRK and TAG enjoys. And it is this class that the ad tries to showcase in a very close connection, highlighting the emotion and sophistication of the association.

Talking about his association with the ultra prestigious TAG Heur and about the latest campaign, the eternally mint-fresh SRK said, "I have said this before and I shall reiterate that when I was young, I always wanted to own a TAG Heuer watch and it is a matter of great pride for me that I am the brand ambassador of TAG Heuer for six years now.

This is my third ad campaign with TAG Heuer. This one is extremely special and different. It's very rich and intense in its look and appeal and makes me feel closer to the watch than ever before.

The attitude has never been to sell more watches. The attitude is to bring to you a different lifestyle, a lifestyle based on precision, perfection and passion."

Man! Here is truly a man who knows what he really knows the altitude of attitude, which is making us feel slightly nostalgic…Bas…itna sa khwaab hai. What say Shahrukh?

'There are no rules for good photographers. There are only good photographers'.

The aforementioned saying was quoted by one of the legendary photographers. And the person who stands true to every inch of this is none other than the ace photographer of all times Atul Kasbekar. And it is this man whose magical hands, doubled by his delightful camera lens, together have made this global dream come alive and how!

On his association with TAG and SRK, a proud Atul said that "I've worked with TAG Heuer from the time it launched in 2002 and it's like family now.

With SRK, I've worked very closely for many years now and so I know what kind of lighting works for his face and what does not. This new campaign reflects a lot of strength and aspiration and my challenge has been to adapt the international brief for India and Shah Rukh Khan."

If you rattle out the common factor that binds together Race, Dhoom 2 amongst others, what you will find is that besides the fact that these films were simply a class apart, it were costumes of these films that commanded the same amount of attention as much as the stars!

And the lady solely responsible for all this 'attention' is none other then Bollywood's very own Anaita Shroff Adajania, who also happens to be the Master-Stylist of the TAG Heur campaign.

Recalling her experience with this prestigious brand, SRK and the lovely shoot, she said "The campaign is extremely smart and elegant. There's a lovely edge which is strong and powerful, which is the character that Shah Rukh is.

We've used beautiful clothes to match the character of this campaign including clothes from Ermenegildo Zegna. There is a strong sensuality between Shah Rukh and the watch that he is wearing."

Way to go lady!

Shahrukh being sought for a public service message

The state government is seeking Shahrukh Khan for an anti-child labour campaign. But will the superstar give his nod?

Initially, Aamir Khan was approached by the government for the campaign. But because Aamir has declined the offer, the labour ministry is thinking of roping in another Khan. And who else better than Shahrukh?

The reason for Aamir’s no is that he doesn’t want to be too preachy with his various public service messages. He has already done a few public service ads for the government. And doing another one can take away the credibility of the previous ones. According to Aamir, as reported by a daily, “I didn’t want to dilute the (message in the) ads that I’ve already done by doing another one.”

Aamir has already done ad for elections and the ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ campaign for Indian tourism. He is face of ‘Incredible India’.

Kavita Gupta, state labour secretary admits that Aamir was the perfect person to launch the campaign, but his denial has disappointed the department. Ad man Prahlad Kakkar who is set to direct the campaign, feels Aamir’s refusal may be because of creative reasons than for the cause.

Now, the ministry plans to knock at Shahrukh’s door. Let’s hope SRK agrees to do this campaign. But the superstar hasn’t said anything on this; he is not in India and is holidaying and shooting in US.