Achievement Award Nomination for Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, A.R. Rahman and Subhash Chandra have been nominated for Indian American Achiever's Awards along with the likes of N.R. Narayana Murthy, Sam Pitroda , Dr. Deepak Chopra, Bill Gates and Richard Gere.

These awards are started by CineMaya Media Group in honor of 60 years of India's independence and to acknowledge the contribution of Indian diaspora and Americans. The announcement of the awards and launch of CineMaya Media Group's Indian operations was done at an event in Mumbai.

Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM

SRK's Chak De! India declared a Super hit !

With the fourth week of CHAK DE INDIA also holding quite strong in spite of competition from more popular cinema like HEYY BABYY, this Shimit Amin/Jaideep Sahni/Shahrukh Khan film is now a SUPERHIT.

Less than 50% in the third week has resulted in 8.5 crore more coming in to bring the total to 45 crores. This is for a movie that was stated to be offbeat/unconventional to begin with and had doubts around it's entertainment quotient! Collecting close to 1.75 crore from Mumbai, 1.2 crores from Delhi and 65 lakhs further from Delhi NCR, CHAK DE INDIA is a winner all over.

The film's anthem composed by Salim-Sulaiman is now the sports anthem across India as well as abroad, something that can be witnessed from all the victory cheers around recent cricket and hockey wins for India. Many girls from the film are also being noticed with Vidya Malvade getting a fresh lease in her career and Sagarika Ghatge getting the best of offers.

Joginder Tuteja,IndiaGlitz

'King of Bollywood' in Marathi creates a record

KING OF BOLLYWOOD: SHAH RUKH KHAN AND THE SEDUCTIVE WORLD OF INDIAN CINEMA by Anupama Chopra, which was recently translated and released in Marathi, has sold over 900 copies in one week.

The English edition sold over 10,000 copies in the first ten days, after which the Marathi edition has also created a record for itself. The Marathi translation, published by Ameya Prakashan, was released in Pune last week.

Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM

Rajnikant to play Shah Rukh Khan!

The Hindi version of Sivaji will see Rajnikant pay homage to current Bollywood screen icon Shah Rukh Khan in a specially added song.

The film, which will release after Diwali, will see Rajnikanth in the guise of the Rukhster as well as enacting like yesteryear actor Shammi Kapoor. Rajnikant was also asked to parody Amitabh Bachchan, but he refused due to the immense respect he has for the legend.

A.R. Rahman is to compose this song which Rajnikanth and the film's actress Shriya will begin shooting in the next month.

RajivDutta, IndiaTargetNY

'Dard-e-Disco' rocks with SRK's 6-pack abs!

The latest song promo from Farah Khan's 35-crore 'Diwali' release, OM SHANTI OM, is basically a tribute to the 80s disco era, aptly titled 'Dard-e-Disco'(a la Dard-e-Dil from Karz)!

More than the song, what is noticeable is that it is after six long years (ASOKA) that Shah Rukh Khan has bared his body for his home production, OM SHANTI OM. It is obvious that Shah Rukh has worked very hard on his physique before exhibiting his 6-pack abs! Will the girls go weak in their knees watching a more muscular Khan?

While on the much awaited audio album of OM SHANTI OM, it is expected to be released on September 18, at a grand function in Mumbai.

Abid, BollywoodTradeNewsNetwork

Shah Rukh Khan extremely proud of his new lean look

Experiencing severe cramps in his legs, pulling a hamstring earlier, despite all these discomforts, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is extremely proud of his new lean look.

Everyone is well aware that SRK has been sporting a new lean look these days along with a new long hairstyle. However SRK’s new lean look is the result of extremely rigorous workouts and diet control.

But recently while shooting for the film SRK experienced severe cramps in his legs and his legs were also weak as he had pulled a hamstring earlier.

SRK has been working out rigorously to get a lean six pack abs and doing this at the age of 42 and that too with his recent back operation has proved to be quite a task.

Nonetheless the King Khan has been dedicated in getting the task done and has almost achieved his desired body with the help of his trainer Prashant Sawant. But this too has come at a price and SRK frequently experiences cramps in his legs and his trainer claims this is due to his low carbohydrate, high protein diet.

His trainer Prashant too admits that SRK’s cramps are a side-effect of giving up carbs totally. Prashant says “It’s a minor thing. He has almost given up carbohydrates and that’s why he keeps getting these frequent cramps.”

SRK has been alternating between cardio exercise and weight training for the last four months. Despite all the discomforts SRK is extremely proud of his new lean look.

Source: Apunkachoice

SRK time travels

Shah Rukh Khan is going back in time.

No, it’s not because he’s back on board Ram Gopal Varma’s Time Machine, but because his next film, Om Shanti Om, is set in the ’70s.

The Baadshah plays Om, an aspiring actor, who falls for Shanti, the diva of the film industry at the time, played by Deepika Padukone.

So is it that B-town is changing gears, bringing out movies set in the not-so-recent past and not-so-distant future, rather than either making films with contemporary settings or giving us the opulence of periods films such as Devdas or Umrao Jaan ?

Maybe director Farah Khan is going for the look of the era in Om Shanti Om , says director and scriptwriter Leena Yadav.

“There’s a lot of nostalgia attached to the ’60s and ’70s and that period had a great energy that can be tapped into even today,” she says, “and I don’t think Om Shanti Om is using historical facts as the basis of the story; it’s using the era for the music and the styling.”

Anjali Muthanna, TNN

Om Shanti Om in a Nutshell

Music Release : September 18
Film Release : November 9

Language: Hindi

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Director: Farah Khan

Producer: Red Chillies Entertainment

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal, Kirron Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Bindu

Music: Vishal-Shekhar

Cinematography: V.Manikandan

Editing: Shirish Kunder

Story/Writer: Farah Khan, Abbas Tyrewala

Synopsis:

This is a story of Om and Shanti.

Om's film started in 1977 and ended in 2007. He was a junior artist in the 70's.

Shanti was a superstar of the 70's.

He was her biggest fan.

She was his biggest inspiration.

He was madly in love.

She was ready to give up everything she had for love.

He felt betrayed in life.

She felt betrayed in love.

... And then ... started the saga of 'Om Shanti Om'.


For some love stories...

...one lifetime is not enough...

Source: NowRunning.com

'SRK has done wonders for us'

Regardless, the "sex sells" policy seems valid -- promoters say sales of "fairness cream" have shot up.

"The advertisement has worked very well for us," said a spokesman for India's Emami group, the Kolkata-based company which makes Fair and Handsome cream for men.

Emami launched the cream in 2005, labelling the product after the popular Fair and Lovely, which has catered to Indian women for decades and continues to be the largest-selling fairness cream in India.

Skin-lightening products -- positioned as fairness products in India -- for men are a niche but rapidly growing part of the lucrative male grooming sector, estimated to be worth more than 11.5 billion rupees (286 million dollars).

The total market for skin-lightening products in India is estimated to be worth nine billion rupees. Nearly one-third of users are said to be men.

Since the launch of Fair and Handsome -- which the Emami group claims to be the world's first fairness cream for men -- nearly half-a-dozen products have been vying for attention.

This year has seen the launch of several new fairness products -- the latest being Fair One Man by pharmaceutical company Elder Healthcare.

"There is a huge growing awareness among Indian men to look good. Being an actor who wants to look good, I felt there was a need for this cream," said Elder Healthcare managing director Anuj Saxena, who is also a television actor.

Saxena's company is targeting turnover of more than 100 million rupees this year.

"The men's fairness cream market is nascent in India, but is already one of the biggest in the world," he said.

Market research companies estimate an annual growth of more than 10 percent.

The Emami group -- which started the trend -- says it sensed opportunity when market research showed many users of skin-lightening products targeted at women were actually men.

Elder Healthcare's Saxena, who has acted in popular soaps for Indian television, says being fair is beneficial.

"There is enormous pressure to look good in the entertainment industry, and being fair helps," he said.

Wanting to look light skinned has "always been the case here. Look at the matrimonial ads. Everyone wants a fair bride or groom," he added.

But critics balk at the use and promotion of fairness creams, which they say perpetuate deep-rooted prejudice. "These products and their advertisements reinforce an old South East Asian bias that you have to be fair to be beautiful," said leading advertising consultant Prahlad Kakkar, who refuses to make such commercials.

"Sunscreens, skin-whitening, fairness creams -- they are all the same.

Regardless of the massive sums involved and glamorous advertisements, some professional dermatologists are sceptical about such products. They think consumers are wasting their money.

"These creams are not medicines, but only cosmetics which contain a tiny concentration of skin-lightening components. They are partly effective at best," said Anil Malik, a skin specialist at Fortis hospital.

Source: Santabanta.com

Shahrukh & Shimit had a Great time Together

Shimit, who's worked as a film editor and camera attendant turned heads when he made the hard-hitting Ab Tak Chhappan , which got him recognition as a director. How did a sporty, feelgood film like Chak De! India happen?

"Well, Jaideep (Sahni) had this script and he showed it to Aditya Chopra. When Aditya liked the script, he asked me to direct it. I liked the script a lot, it had everything in it. There were important issues, many characters and its multi-layered nature made it different," says Shimit, a mathematics graduate from University of Florida.

Making the blockbuster wasn't easy. "I think getting the cast was the most difficult task. We had to find out such faces who could do justice to the role and play hockey at the same time," he says.

From editing to handling the camera, Shimit seems to have a fair knowledge of most aspects of filmmaking. So does it help if you know so many aspects of film making? "Though I find editing and camera work very interesting , knowing so many things doesn't always help. It may complicate things," says the multi-faceted director.

Quiz him about his tiff with Shah Rukh Khan and Shimit firmly points out that they were "only rumours created by people who have nothing to do. SRK and I had an amazing time together. And nothing of this sort happened during the shoot."

Chak De! India has been selected by the Oscar library for research , and this news makes the director feel more proud about his work. He says, "It feels good when your work is getting appreciated by others. Now one more feather has been added to my cap."

Source: TimesOfIndia