Shahrukh Khan ,a king overseas

That he is a bigger draw than Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise with the diaspora in the UK and the USA, is an earlier-known fact. This time Shah Rukh Khan has gone a step ahead. His latest film, Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan, has become a global phenomenon.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “It has taken the biggest opening ever for a Bollywood film in the UK, and also in USA. This reiterates the fact that Shah Rukh is King in the overseas market.’’ The film has also taken several other foreign markets by storm. It has broken the record for the biggest initial for a Bollywood movie in the UAE. And is the first Hindi film to release in Egypt across eight theatres. Then, in the first week of March, the film will also release in nine theatres across Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

High on the praise he has received from the Indian and foreign media, an ecstatic Karan says, “MNIK is the first global film that has actually come from Bollywood. It has penetrated far deeper than the parameters of the diaspora markets and has found patronage in countries like Poland, German and Russia where no Bollywood films have found such a huge favour. We have already added 25 odd prints across the Middle East — Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, heartened by the phenomenal first week collections in UAE.’’

Currently Fox Star Studios, Red Chillies and Dharma Productions are smiling their way to the bank because in the Middle East countries, the print counts that stood at 61 will go up to 71 by the first week of March. This is almost double the print tally for most Hindi films. In Singapore alone, the film has done phenomenal business at the ticket windows which is a record for Hindi film. And the great word of mouth continues to keep it on top, says the local distributor. Australia and New Zealand have ended their first week collections with record ticket sales. In Hong Kong the film is running to packed houses.

What has warmed the cockles of Karan’s heart, though, is his recent trip to the prestigious Berlin Film Festival where SRK, Kajol and he walked down the red carpet. Reports say there were 3,000 ecstatic fans braving the minus 10 degrees temperature to participate in their moment of glory. Sources say that when Shah Rukh got the 1,800 lucky viewers who finally made it into the auditorium to dance to the Sajda number, he won these Germans over for life.

But Khan has a long journey ahead. Karan and Shah Rukh still have a couple of aces up their sleeve. “We will be releasing the film in many other countries across Europe and America right till the month of June,’’ says Karan. “The actual assessment can therefore be made only after July, when the real numbers of the film start showing.’’ Karan is right. The film is being dubbed in German and Polish also so that the non-Hindi speaking SRK fans also get to enjoy MNIK.