Shah Rukh Khan is the king and he has no close competition

It pays to be a Shah Rukh Khan, more today than ever before! Why? Because Shah Rukh as an actor-producer is minting money like nobody else! On a very realistic estimate, his home production, 'Om Shanti Om', starring himself, must have cost Rs. 35 crore to make.

Now to the revenues. There are several corporates bidding for the worldwide distribution rights of the film, directed by Farah Khan, but the highest bid is by Eros and is said to be in the region of Rs. 55 crore. Add to that around Rs. 6 to 8 crore for audio rights and another Rs. 14-15 crore for satellite and other electronic rights, and you have a recovery of over Rs. 75 crore on the table, before release! That means, it's a straight doubling of investment and even more.

This arithmetic is making other top actors go crazy. Reportedly, a couple of them have decided to further hike their already high prices. But everybody needs to understand some things about Shah Rukh Khan and 'Om Shanti Om' clearly. One is that Shah Rukh Khan's popularity in the Overseas territory is unmatched.

Therefore, the price an SRK starrer commands for overseas circuit is one that no other hero can dream of. Secondly, on the satellite and DVD circuit too, Shah Rukh Khan is the king and he has no close competition.

Given this mathematics, it doesn't make economic sense for Shah Rukh Khan to act in any other banner's film except his own. Of course, exceptions for close friends like Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra will always be made.

"Chak De India" with "Partner"

As we had told you last week, the trailor of Yash Raj's CHAKDE! INDIA, which made its first appearance in the prints of their JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM, released last month, did not find much appreciation, as per a section of the media.

Also the fact that JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM has now been removed from most theaters (after its dismal third week run) means that the CHAKDE! INDIA promo won't be able to get the type of coverage that Yash Raj wanted.

We now hear that the new follow-up trailor of CHAKDE! INDIA may be included in the reels of David Dhawan's Govinda, Salman, Lara and Katrina starrer, PARTNER, which is expected to open to bumper houses on 20th July.

While on CHAKDE! INDIA, the Shimit Amin directed, Shah Rukh Khan starrer will be released / distributed by Yash Raj all over on August 10.

Karan Johar's Next Film Titled "Khan"

Shahrukh Khan has always been a part of Karan Johar’s films and he will be seen in the latest venture too. However Karan has pulled a coup of sorts by finally roping in the reluctant Kajol as she was not very keen to take up a film which will be shot outside the country as that would mean being away from her daughter for a long period. SRK and Kajol have shared great chemistry in their earlier films and once more Karan hopes to capture that magic in his new venture titled ‘Khan’. The film has been tentatively titled ‘Khan’.

However it was not an easy feat for Karan to convince Kajol about taking up the film. Kajol is not worried about her film career now; she is happily enjoying motherhood and wants to be there for her daughter whilst she is growing up. Kajol in fact has not signed up too many film projects for this reason. Meanwhile Karan’s film ‘Khan’ definitely has a unique title and one wonders if it has anything to with his fixation for Shahrukh Khan. According to sources though Karan is keeping the subject of the film extremely secretive but he has conducted plenty of research regarding social issues, including safety issues and terrorism at NGO’s in the US. Supposedly SRK and Kajol will play husband and wife in the film and it will be shot in New York.

Kajol is currently busy with hubby Ajay Devgan’s directorial venture in which they will be seen together. Kajol and Ajay have also been fianlised to play Ram and Sita in Rajkumar Santoshi’s mega budget project Ramayan. Since Kads already has her plate full, she was reluctant to do Karan’s film. But in the end Karan managed to convince the actress by using a bit of emotional blackmail claiming that he would not make the film at all without her. Well that settled it for Kajol who is also a good friend of Karan's and she agreed to do the film.

Meanwhile SRK will also be doing another film for his home production to be directed by Shirish Kunder. After working with Farah again for his home production Om Shanti Om, he decided to work with her husband director Shirish. The movie will be a mega-budget film and has been titled ‘Joker’. It is based on science fiction and SRK will in all probability play a new kind of superhero. Well move over Hrithik and Abhishek, SRK is gearing up to play a superhero . Also another book revolving around Shahrukh will hit the stands on August 9. The book titled ‘King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema in India’ has been authored by noted film critic Anupama Chopra.

"Super Hero" Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan is finally treading the part of his much younger contemporaries and is set to experiment with a new and varied role. Like Hrithik, SRK is soon set to play a superhero. SRK is in talks with director Shirish Kunder to produce and star in a sci-fi film that will most likely have him play a superhero. The film’s storyline and script is being researched and readied for taking off next year. As for this year, SRK will soon be seen in Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om which is based on the re-incarnation theme and Yash Raj Films Chak De India which according to sources is based on a real life story of an ex-hockey player.

According to sources Chak De India is based on the life of former hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi. The story of Chak De India depicts the life of a former hockey goalkeeper, how he was charged for match fixing after India lost to Pakistan at the Asian Games at New Delhi. Sources claim that Mir Ranjan was the dishonoured goalkeeper who was ousted from the team but later proved himself and was given a privileged position. SRK plays the dishonoured and troubled coach who goes through a struggle when he is suspected of match-fixing. However later on the ex-hockey player goes on to coach a girl’s team and brings home the gold medal. He is then restored to a position in the Hockey Federation with dignity.

Negi has given major inputs to the film to try and make it as authentic as possible. In fact Negi also plays a small role in the film and has accompanied the cast and crew to Australia to give more inputs in the sport of hockey. Negi has personally interacted with SRK sharing his personal traumatic experiences with him and many a times Negi broke down as it was quite emotional for him to re-live those painful memories when he was dishonoured. However owing to the secrecy surrounding Yash Raj Films, no cast and crew members are allowed to confirm any details regarding the storyline.

As for being the next superhero, Shahrukh will be competing with Hrithik who has already starred as a superhero in Krrish and also Abhishek Bachchan who will soon be seen playing a role akin to a superhero in Drona. SRK’s Red Chilies is slated to personally see to the SFX for this sci-fi film. Well SRK’s fans will surely be anxious to see him in a superhero avatar.

Walt Disney Pictures keen to invest in SRK's Red Chillies Entertainment

It is believed that Walt Disney Pictures, the bigwigs in the Hollywood's entertainment business, have approached Shah Rukh Khan.

The company is keen to invest in SRK's Red Chillies Entertainment.

According to sources, they want to invest $30 million in the deal. When SRK was holidaying in London with his family, it is believed that representatives of the company flew down from Hollywood to meet him and strike a deal.

Other international companies like Sony Pictures and Rupert Murdoch's company have also expressed interest in investing in Red Chillies. So far, the actor has not confirmed anything about the deal.

So one will just have to wait and watch.

Book on Bollywood Super Star Shahrukh Khan

Noted film critic Anupama Chopra's next book, this time on superstar Shah Rukh Khan, will be released Aug 9.

Titled "King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema in India", the book will trace Shah Rukh Khan's climb from a middle-class Delhi boy to a Bollywood superstar, both in India and abroad.

"King Of Bollywood ..." will also be available in Hindi, Marathi and German translations.

Chopra's earlier book, "Sholay - The Making of a Classic", won her a National Award in 2000 for the best book on cinema.

SRK and Kajol come together again

Karan Johar is already working on his next film. It is a given that actor Shah Rukh Khan will play the lead in it. But what is surprising is the title of the film. It will be called Khan.

Khan will see the jodi of SRK and Kajol come together again. Kajol has signed on the dotted line. She took her time to think and has now finally agreed to work in the movie opposite SRK. The main issue for her was her daughter. She did not want to be away for too long from her daughter. It is believed that Karan even resorted to emotional blackmail to get her to say yes to the film. The film will be based in New York and deals with social issues like terrorism and safety. Karan has done the rounds of NGOs in US while doing research for the film.

Hrithik met SRK at his residence Mannat

Great minds sure think alike. Guess what is common between Bollywood baadshah Shah Rukh Khan and heartthrob Hrithik Roshan. The two stars have the same physical trainer Prashant Sawant, after an impressed Hrithik insisted on having a fit body like SRK.

Hrithik met SRK at his residence Mannat before SRK left for his long holiday to London. That’s when some serious guy talk happened between the two, since Hrithik was quite impressed by the way Shah Rukh’s body was looking.

And the next thing they did was exchange Prashant’s number. A close source says, “Hrithik met Shah Rukh at his residence recently and was quite impressed with SRK’s fit body. Hrithik immediately took Prashant’s number and asked him to train him too.” Prashant confirms the news. “I have been training Shah Rukh for a long time now. Recently I also got a call from Hrithik saying that he wanted me to train him too. I was a little surprised initially when Hrithik invited me to his residence. He was also impressed by the power equipment that I use to train Shah Rukh. It was great fun training him and he’s quite a hard-working actor. Even though Hrithik has a state-of-the-art gym at his Juhu residence, he visited my gym and checked out the equipments and was quite impressed.”

The source adds, “Prashant trained Hrithik for a week on a regular basis before he left for his vacation. Hrithik’s wife Susanne was very pleased with Prashant’s training and she also sent him a ‘thank you cheque’ after she met him the first time.”

T-Series has bagged the audio rights of Shah Rukh Khan starrer film Om Shanti Om

Music giant T-Series has bagged the audio rights of Shah Rukh Khan starrer film Om Shanti Om. The film is directed by Farah Khan and is produced by SRK's company Red Chillies.

Despite repeated attempts, T-Series chairman and managing director Bhushan Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan were not available for comment. However, sources inform that the deal has been struck for an amount in the range of Rs 60 - 70 million (Rs 6 - 7 crore), making it the biggest audio buy ever.

The highlight of the music and the film is that close to 36 film personalities (mostly actors), from the Hindi film fraternity come together in one song and even do small cameos throughout the film. They include Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Rishi Kapoor, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Subhash Ghai, Suniel Shetty, Karisma Kapoor, Karan Johar, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Govinda, Bobby Deol, Kajol, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Zayed Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Dino Morea, Ritesh Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Rekha, Shabana Azmi, Lara Dutta, Vidya Balan, Malaika Arora, Amrita Arora, Juhi Chawla, Tusshar Kapoor, Tabu, Urmila Matondkar and Vishal Dadlani.

The music of the film has been scored by Vishal Shekhar. Lyrics have been penned by Gulzar. The film also stars debutante Deepika Padukone alongside, Arjun Rampal and Shreyas Talpade.

The film is due for release in the month of November, however exact date is yet to be known.

SRK's home production Om Shati Om bags Rs 75 crore

For over two months, big boys of showbiz have been bidding for the worldwide rights of Shah Rukh Khan's home-production Om Shanti Om. While one of the Bollywood trade papers pitched the deal at Rs 80 crore, sceptics scoffed the speculation because it was an unheard of amount for a Bollywood film. Buzz is the deal is largest for worldwide rights for Om Shanti Om finally closed in the last couple of days.

It is learnt Kishore Lulla's Eros International, listed on AIM's junior LSE, has bagged the worldwide rights for the Khan flick for Rs 72-75 crore.

When asked about the deal, Sunil Lulla of Eros said, "I will be in a position to talk to you about the deal only next week." But insiders say the deal has been signed, sealed and is waiting to be delivered.

Another film that is being sought after is Aamir Khan's under production Taare Zameen Pe. "Since PVR is producing film with Aamir, they may distribute it themselves," says analyst Amod Mehra.

Acquiring the worldwide rights of a Bollywood film is the latest innovation in showbiz deals. "Since companies like Adlabs Films, Eros, UTV, Studio 18 and T Series are flushed with funds, it has become easier for them to shell out astronomical sums to acquire the worldwide rights of a film," says Mehra.

"Consolidated distribution rights will be the business practice in the future," adds Sandeep Bhargava of Studio 18. "This is primarily due to the entry of organised players in the distribution business." Studio 18 recently acquired the worldwide distribution rights of Mahesh Bhatt's Awarapan.

According to Bhargava, producers prefer to sell worldwide rights to a single party because it saves them the bother of dealing with a network of distributors.

One of the earliest examples of the acquisition of consolidated distribution rights started with Yash Raj Films taking over Mangal Panday The Rising. Next, UTV took over the WWR of Taxi 9211 from Adlabs and Ramesh Sippy Entertainment.

Vipul Shah, whose Namastey London was acquired for global distribution by Eros, feels selling worldwide rights makes good business sense.