Tawang Buddhists no less adore 'King Khan'

Buddhism may be the religion of the monpas (locals) of this Himalayan state but they are avid fans of Hindi music and no less adore Bollywood stars like 'King Khan', Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.

Unlike their counterparts in Meghalaya and Mizoram where the people play instruments and like Western music, people here are fond of Tibetan songs and Hindi movies.

Thier passion for Bollywood blockbusters distinguishes them from others in the region.

"My 12-year-old daughter preferred to watch the latest Shahrukh Khan movie yesterday than attended the religious discourse of the Dalai Lama," Shila Tsering, a local resident, says.

The Bollywood stars are very popular among the majority of the college and school students.

"We do not miss any of the movies of Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai," says Monpi Lama, a college student.

Karan Johar´s Khan Men And Hindu Wives!

What’s common between Karan Johar’s two forthcoming films, 'My Name Is Khan' and 'Kurbaan'?

Besides the fact that both the films deal with the theme of terrorism, the heroes in both play Muslim characters while the heroines in the films play Hindus.

Shah Rukh Khan plays Rizvan Khan in 'My Name Is Khan' and he gets married to Kajol, who plays a Hindu.

Likewise, Saif Ali Khan plays Ehsan Khan in 'Kurbaan'. He gets married to a Hindu girl, Avantika (played by Kareena Kapoor). Of course, the stories of the two films are very different from each other.

Malacca govt. planning Shahrukh Khan concert

Kuala Lumpur: Malacca government is planning to rope in Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan to perform at a concert organised to mark UN World Assembly of Youths 60th anniversary celebrations.

Shahrukh was conferred a 'Datukship' title by Malacca Governor Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob last December for indirectly promoting the state to the world through six movies.


Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said that the event will be held at Stadium Hang Jebat in Krubong to enable as many fans as possible to catch their Bollywood idol in action.

"We are trying to get a private company or maybe several more to sponsor the event," The Star Online quoted the Rustam as saying. "It will be worth their while as they can get international publicity if Shahrukh Khan endorses their products," he added.

He said state representatives had recently met the star in India to discuss how to promote and develop the local film industry.

However, Shahrukh said he was not keen on setting up a studio there due to time constraints, but he said he would be glad to assist the state as an adviser.

Shahrukh dumps Shirish Kunder

Honeymoon Travels director Reema Kagti, and not Shirish Kunder, is now developing Zoya Factor. The film, produced by Shahrukh Khan's production company Red Chillies, is an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name penned by Anuja Chauhan. Says a source, "Differences arose between SRK and Farah Khan's hubby over the screenplay and script. They had severe creative issues. Both were looking at the script with a different vision." At this point, SRK decided to change his director.

SRK offered the film to Reema as she seemed to understand what he wanted to do with the film. But he forgot to tell Shirish that he was giving the project to someone else to work on. Shirish found out by accident that the film no longer had his name on it. When Farah heard this, she was hurt and upset at the manner in which her hubby has been ousted. Adds the source, "Shirish had started work on the film and was looking for an actor who would play a cricketer. The film was supposed to go on the floors early next year."

Reema maintains, "I am writing the screenplay of the film, not directing it. Vishal Punjabi is directing Zoya Factor." Vishal was the visual effects producer for the SRK starrer Paheli which he had also produced. Meanwhile, Shirish says, "I was never supposed to direct Zoya Factor, only Joker." SRK remained unavailable for comment.

What is Zoya Factor?
It is about a girl called Zoya who was born exactly at the moment when India won the World Cup in 1983. Strangely, Zoya proves to be a girl of incredible luck for cricket matches. Whenever she watches a match, India ends up winning.