'Shah Rukh's dedication to work is tremendous'

After being in the news in the past few days, has Shah Rukh switched off?

He has stopped using his mobile phone on the sets completely. The actor, whose is currently shooting for his next home production Billoo Barber, does not want to be disturbed by unwanted calls.

Priyadarshan, the director of the film, is completely bowled over by Shah Rukh’s dedication.

“Many stars can’t live without their phones. They give one shot and then get busy with their phone calls, but Shah Rukh seems to be from a different world. He is not using his cell phone at all on the sets. No messaging, no phone calls, nothing. He makes himself so engrossed in the process of filmmaking that it is infectious to others,” he says.

Priyadarshan adds, “His dedication to work is tremendous. Billoo Barber is his film and he is definitely setting an example for the entire cast and crew. He is the busiest man of the industry, he must be getting many calls and needs to attend them too, but he knows that doing several things at a time will harm his own project. I have never seen him even holding his cell phone on the sets.”

With this, Shah Rukh joins the league of other actors like Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, who are inaccessible when they are busy with their projects.

Priyadarshan says his cast and crew is hero worshipping Shah Rukh. “He has this uncanny ability to win over people and he has become a favourite of every one on the sets. I’m totally bowled over looking at his intensity and professionalism. My assistant directors flock around him as if he is their brother,” he says.

And how is King Khan as a producer? Is he finicky?

“I have never met a producer like him. He has asked me to make the film and he is taking care of the funding and other departments. He doesn’t even know what I’m doing with the film and how do I plan to shoot. He has given a free hand to me. That’s a sign of a man who has enormous confidence and faith on his team,” Priyadarshan ends.

Prithwish Ganguly, DNA India

Shah Rukh being targeted again

Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek, Aishwarya, Preity Zinta and Ritiesh Deshmukh, part of the month-long, The Unforgettables Tour, running across US, Canada, UK and the West Indies, have just finished their first two shows in Toronto and Trinidad.

Yesterday, Amitabh Bachchan in his blog made a telling statement about the show. We quote verbatim: "I am shocked and covered in disbelief at being privy personally to a design by certain sections of the media and the fraternity to bring down this show.

To kill it, to malign and write it off. This is shameful and disgusting.

"I have on several occasions spoken of a bias that exists for no reason whatsoever, against us and on each occasion, you my readers, have pleaded that I ignore them for greater dignity and character. But I am compelled to talk about it, dignity can take a walk for a while, because it has already started," wrote Bachchan.

When this reporter spoke to Bachchan in Toronto and asked him to 'talk about it', he chose to sit on the fence. "SRK is a friend and a well-wisher, not just of my family and me, but also of the fraternity and the industry. Also the speculation on the list of names [SRK, Salman and Aamir] is a lot of rubbish. I do not have any issues with any of them."

Says a source in the film industry, "It's difficult to understand whom Amitabh Bachchan means by the 'fraternity'. He has issues with Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Is he trying to say that they are out to sabotage his show? Aamir had made nasty remarks about Big B on Black, which Bachchan hasn't forgotten or forgiven though he made pretence of making up at Aamir's Jaane Tu premiere.

Bachchan and his family don't like Salman because of his history with Aishwarya, while his rivalry and cold war with Shah Rukh is a well-known fact especially after Shah Rukh ousted Bachchan from KBC3. Bachchan hasn't forgotten or forgiven him."

An US promoter, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that there have been attempts by a 'big star' to pull down The Unforgettables tour, "A big event organiser in India, has tried in multiple ways, to sabotage our shows.

The attempt was made at the behest of a very big star. This star tried to schedule his shows in UK and the USA in same cities as the Unforgettables tour, just a month before the tour and at half the rates we were offering. But he couldn't do it as it wasn't financially viable. So now the star is spreading rumours of our show in Toronto being a flop with tickets being sold at high prices."

"Mr Bachchan is an experienced hand at shows and is involved at every stage. Nobody will try to mess with us again though they tried very hard. It's an expensive show with each show costing over a million dollars (Rs 4.2 crore), while a Shah Rukh Khan show costs just $4,50,000 (Rs 1.9 crore)."

Upala KBR, Mid-Day

Star Wars

The fledgling truce between Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan over Shah Rukh’s joke about Aishwarya and Salman at Katrina Kaif’s birthday party on Wednesday, seems to have come all but undone. A source present at the party said that while Katrina turned teary-eyed at Salman’s behaviour, it was Aamir who told Salman it was ‘important for them to stick together’. Later that night, he accompanied Salman to Mannat where Salman reportedly apologised to Shah Rukh.

It was an uneasy alliance to begin with - Aamir was blogging about his dog called Shah Rukh, Shah Rukh had flatly refused Salman’s earnest request to do an item number in his home production Main Aur Mrs Khanna and Salman was sniggering that Aamir
wasn’t a Khan at all, but a Hussain. Isn’t he the son of Tahir Hussain?

While the spat may have stunned the industry, Amod Mehra says such differences won’t have any impact on the trade itself. “Whether they fall out or come together, it only makes a difference if there’s a film in question like Karan Arjun or Andaz Apna Apna,” he says.

Could the proximity between the Khans have been fuelled in part by their finding common cause against the Bachchans, especially after Amitabh recently revived the defunct ABCL with the active support of bahu Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and with the new entity, AB Corp, being bankrolled to the tune of Rs 1500 crore by friend Anil Ambani’s Reliance Big Entertainment?

“I don’t think ABCL’s revival is a cause for worry for any of the Khans. Reliance and Amitabh Bachchan have a big roadmap and they will play in their territory. Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir have individual fan followings and operate as individual players,” says film distributor Rajesh Thadani.

But despite the niceties, there’s little to suggest that they’ve drawn up any common gameplan. Shah Rukh took his time to cool down after Salman earned his ire by creating a scene with Aishwarya on the sets of Chalte Chalte. Now twice bitten, it’s unlikely that the two stars will let down their guard with each other in the future. It’s back to square one.

Saumit Singh & Prithwish Ganguly, DNA

Bollywood divided over Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan

The spat between the two Khans, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan at Katrina Kaif’s birthday party has spilt over to the industry with two camps of supporters rooting for the two actors.

The ugly turn of events started at Katrina Kaif’s birthday party when an inebriated Salman Khan started passing sarcastic comments on poor ratings of his guest Shah Rukh Khan’s show on the television . As things heated up Shah Rukh Khan made an inappropriate comment on Aishwarya Rai, the ex-girlfriend of Salman Khan. Things now almost came up to blows.

Actor Aamir Khan intervened and tried to cool things between the two stars. Then Gauri Khan, SRK’s wife, insisted on leaving the party at once and thus prevented a physical fight between the two.

Now the entire industry is caught up in the spat between the two. Actors like Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Khanna, Zayed Khan, Fardeen Khan, and Ranbir Kapoor called up Salman Khan and expressed their sympathies.

On the other hand, directors like Yash Chopra, Karan Johar, Farhan Akthar , Kunal Kohli and others like Javed Akthar and Sajid Khan made enquiries with Shah Rukh Khan. Thus Salman Khan got sympathies mostly from the actors and Shah Rukh Khan from the directors!

Thus the entire industry is divided in its sympathies over the two king Khans.

Salman started the fight with SRK (Video)

Katrina Kaif's birthday party has sparked off furious activity (and we're speaking literally) at Mannat and Galaxy Apartments.

The showdown between Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan has snowballed into a regular camp war, casting its effects across Bollywood.

Both Khans are furious, their supporters are worried.

The industry is already taking sides.

SRK's supporters camped at Mannat the whole day yesterday, discussing the incident and its fallouts. Sajid Khan and writer Mustaq Sheikh were the first to arrive. Then the calls started coming in. Farhan Akhtar called to offer support, so did Javed Akhtar. Arjun Rampal and Karan Johar made it clear that they were on his side. Kunal Kohli called SRK too. Yash Chopra called to enquire what exactly had happened, making it clear where the loyalty of Yash Raj Films lies.

Meanwhile, At Salman's place too the supporters and supportive calls streamed in. Ranbir Kapoor called to commiserate with Salman. So did Fardeen and Zayed Khan. Kareena Kapoor called Sallu too. Akshaye Khanna called and tried to cheer him up. Govinda's support is obvious for Sallu, he didn't even need to call. Sajid Nadiadwala is away in Los Angeles, so probably unaware that everyone is indulging in a show of support.

Aamir Khan's well-meaning efforts seem to have been in vain. The industry is abuzz with the feeling that this is the end of the road for the Salman-Shah Rukh relationship. Neither of them is in any mood to relent.

More from Kat's party:

Meanwhile, more reports are coming in from the party from eye-witnesses. Everyone is unanimous about the fact that a high-spirited Sallu goaded SRK right from the start. "Tu kya superstar, main hoon superstar" he said, again and again. An indulgent Shah Rukh tried to let it go, saying, "Haan haan, tu hi superstar."

But matters didn't end there. They began berating each other and their respective reality shows, using the choicest gaalis, Sallu getting more and more aggressive. Gauri Khan asked SRK to leave the party three times. Finally, SRK did so, but not before turning round and passing such a lewd remark about Aishwarya Rai that Sallu came rushing to hit him.

Mumbai Mirror

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A lot has been made about the Khan war at the Box Office but on Wednesday night in Mumbai, the two Khans – Salman and Shah Rukh were embroiled in a real-life tiff.

The two Khans reportedly got into a verbal duel after downing a couple of drinks at Salman’s girlfriend, actor Katrina Kaif's birthday bash at Mumbai's popular nightspot Olive.

Eyewitnesses are not sure about the reason of the fight. Some say Salman asked Shah Rukh to make a special appearance in his forthcoming film Mr and Mrs Khanna.

Shah Rukh reportedly turned down the offer, upsetting Salman. The party was disrupted, as arguments grew louder.

Shah Rukh's wife Gauri, Katrina and even actor Aamir Khan – all present at the party - intervened to calm them down later.

Watch the video

IBN Live

Mucky Media - people & Shah Rukh

This is what happened to Shah Rukh at the now-famous Katrina Kaif birthday party.

Shah Rukh came in with Gauri and helped a TV cameraman when he fell down. Khan picked him up and made sure he was fine.

However the press was not as cooperative later. They thronged him, making it impossible for Gauri to get into the car. Gauri gave up trying after a while and began walking down the road with Alison Kanuga. Karan Johar joined her, and got her back. Gauri did manage to squeeze herself into the car, only to land on SRK’s lap.

Viral Bhayani, Times Of India

Sukhwinder is Shah Rukh's voice again!

'Chaiyya Chaiyya', 'Kuch Kariye' and 'Dard-e-Disco'! So, why are we mentioning the hit numbers of King Khan, rendered by the matchless, Sukhwinder Singh? Well, there is a reason and a very good one too!

It is a well known fact that whenever Sukhwinder has lent his vocals for a song picturised on Shah Rukh Khan, it has turned out to be a blockbuster. Whether, it was the entertaining dance number atop a train, 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' (DIL SE) or the most recent 'Dard-e- Disco' (OM SHANTI OM), the Sukhwinder-SRK 'jodi' has always belted out chart-scorchers! And now the good news is that the same 'jodi' is back once again to enthrall us all and this time around the composers are the talented duo, Salim-Sulaiman. Yes, it is the same combination that gave us the (unofficial) National Sports anthem, 'Kuch Kariye' (CHAK DE! INDIA) which can be heard even now at almost every victory celebrations featuring Indian teams.

Well, Salim-Sulaiman has once again roped in Sukhwinder Singh to render two of their compositions, to be picturised on Shah Rukh Khan in Aditya Chopra's upcoming RAB NE BANA DI JODI. One hears that the songs were recorded recently and news is that they are both awesome tracks!

Abid, Bollywood Trade News Network

Imran Khan to star with SRK

Imran Khan's implausible performance in JAANE TU...has impressed one and all. All the biggie filmmakers of Bollywood are looking forward to work with the young lad.

And one such filmmaker is Karan Johar. If the buzz is to be believed than Karan has approached B-town's latest heartthrob Imran Khan to essay the character of a terrorist in his forthcoming Shah Rukh Khan starrer film MY NAME IS KHAN where SRK will be seen in the role of a NRI who later resorts to terrorism because of the difficult circumstances he faces.

According to the hearsay, initially Ranbir was approached for the role, who for some reasons refused to be a part of it, which Imran will play now.

Apparently when Karan saw JTYJN he got enthralled by Imran's work and at once decided to approach Imran for his next outing MY NAME IS KHAN. However it is heard that Imran is rather cautious than excited to star alongside Baadshah of Bollywood and has been seeking advice from mamu (Uncle) Aamir for that matter.

Rachana, Bollywood Trade News Network

SRK Vs Akki this Diwali

Here's a piping hot 'News Break' and as always, you get it first on 'SRKTHEDON'.

Get ready for fireworks this Diwali. With Salman's YUVRAAJ not arriving in the festive week and SRK's BILLO BARBER getting confirmed for Diwali, it seemed like a cakewalk for BILLO BARBER, since no other biggie was scheduled for release on October 24. But there's tough competition now.

Initially, the Akshay Kumar starrer CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA was supposed to arrive a week later, on a Wednesday to be precise [October 29], but Warner Bros., Rohan Sippy and Nikhil Advani have decided to bring the film in Diwali. Which means, BILLO BARBER and CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA will battle it out this Diwali.

It's a battle royale, what with the two superstars, SRK and Akki, coming face to face in the festive week. Expect fireworks, for sure.

Aamir played mediator between SRK and Sallu

What happens when two of the most powerful Khans in Bollywood have a public fight?

Well, before it gets ugly, and reaches the paparazzi, the third Khan steps in to play peacemaker.

At Katrina Kaif's birthday bash at Olive on Wednesday, the who's who of Bollywood was present as also a phalanx of the media. Somewhere in the wee hours, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan got into a huddle.

The three men have, over the last couple of years, forged an unlikely friendship and often visit each other's homes after work. Sources say that Shah Rukh, never known for his diplomatic skills, started ribbing Salman, and his off-colour joke about Ash and Salman got Sallu's hackles up. And from there on, matters escalated into an ugly spat, resulting in SRK and his wife Gauri leaving the party midway in a huff and Sallu dangerously bad-tempered.

That's when Mr Tactful, Aamir Khan, stepped in to take charge.

He sat Sallu down, talked to him and got him to calm down. Once Salman's temper had cooled off, Aamir took him along with him to SRK's house. There, he played mediator between the other two Khans and got them to at least hear out each other's points of view and shake hands and promise to put the ugly incident behind them.

After which Sallu still had the job of returning to the party and making it up to birthday girl Kat.

Mumbai Mirror