Shah Rukh takes KKR higher

Pakistan all-rounder Yasir Arafat has signed up with Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders for the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to held in April next year.

Arafat, who plays for Kent in the English county, confirmed that he was approached by the Kolkata team and had accepted the offer after getting clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board.

"They (Knight Riders) approached me and I was keen to join because it was owned by Shah Rukh Khan. The team has got many exciting players in it," said Arafat, who is having a successful season with Kent in Twenty20 form of the game.

Arafat hails from Rawalpindi, the same city from where pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Sohail Tanvir belong.

Hindustan Times

A surprise treat from SRK!

Another treat for Shah Rukh Khan fans is on its way — his biography titled 'Shah Rukh Can' will hit the stands next month.

Priced at the Rs 395, it’s an account of SRK’s life, from his childhood in Delhi to the sets of Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain (this was being added to the book at the time this story went to press).

The book’s author Mushtaq Sheikh, who had earlier authored Still Reading Khan and The Making of Om Shanti Om, said, “It’s an introspective study about SRK the human being, the actor and film personality. He’s openly talked about his life, his idols, and also about how exciting his journey from television to cinema has been. He has spoken about his seniors, contemporaries and has not made any controversial statements about anyone”.

Asked about his experience of working with King Khan, Sheikh said, “For me, the most exciting experience was to see the child in him, as he would go down memory lane during each of the sittings.” The book highlights SRK’s achievements in his career as well as his future plans. Ajay Mago of Om Books, the publisher, said, “Each chapter starts with a quote from Shah Rukh. There are so many facets of his life. He personifies the best that a mother would want in her son, a girlfriend would dream of in her lover, a wife would want in her husband, and a child would want in his father”.

The book has 24 coloured pages with pictures from Shah Rukh’s childhood and growing up years as well. Asked why another book on SRK, Mago explained, “We received a tremendous response for Still Reading Khan, but priced at Rs 3,000 it was beyond the reach of an SRK admirer from among the masses. This book is specially developed and designed keeping both the masses and classes in mind.”

The book is an extension of the coffee table pictorial biography Still Reading Khan, according to him. As distributors, selling 20,000 copies of King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the seductive World of Indian Cinema, a biography written by Anupama Chopra, encouraged them to come up with the next book, said Suresh Kohli, Chief Editor, Om Books. Plans to have the book translated in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and German are in the pipeline.

Pricy Jain, Hindustan Times

Shahrukh Khan's Home Town

He's the King of Bollywood, but of course it wasn't always that way... Shahrukh Khan started his life in Gurgaon, Dehli, where he lived with his father, mother and older sister, before going to school at Saint Columba's School in Dehli.

So when did SRK make the big move to Mumbai? Well that would be in 1991 - the same year he made his big screen debut in the award winning, Deewana. The film projects, endorsement deals, world tours and more, have only added to his massive bank account. All that has only added to his massive bank account, which has earned him his new home (or should we say mansion!) Mannat, in Bandstand, India. And the rest is history!

SRK sureshot hit in Sri Lanka

Bollywood hottie Neha Dhupia rightly said a few years back that there are only two things that sell in the world - Shah Rukh Khan and sex.

And in Sri Lanka, King Khan is truly bigger than even the Southern sweetheart Rajnikanth. Even as the city is swarming with policemen due to the Saarc summit and despite the fear of the LTTE, one thing remains constant and that is the love people shower on the undisputed badshah of Bollywood.

"I have been watching his films since I was a child. And today, I must say that I know Hindi thanks to him," says Suma, a mahout in Pinnawala, an elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka. But that's not all. Suma catches the first day first show of his favourite actor and even gives you a free demonstration of his dialogues from the blockbuster Darr. Remember "K-K-Kirrrran"?

With issues like the Ram Sethu controversy raging and the gossip among people being that LTTE chief Prabhakaran being spotted in a bunker (allegedly the Army knows his location, but is waiting for the right moment to strike), Bollywood remains on top of their mind.

Says Kumaran, a driver at a local tourist service, "We love Shah Rukh as he transports us into a different world altogether with his movies. He also has a very unique personality that can cut across all language and geographical boundaries. I remember his movie Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, he was simply superb in it. We hope he comes again to Sri Lanka, and I know the people here will give him a royal welcome."

Interestingly, many Sinhalese can speak Hindi and if you switch on the TV you will see many of Shah Rukh's songs (from his famous films like Kal Ho Naa Ho) dubbed in the local language. And a Walkers' tour guide Shane confirms that many women in the country swear by Mr Khan.

Lanka Times

'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' is the biggest hit of 2008

Never mind if Tashan and Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic weren’t eventful. Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is all set to bring back Yash Chopra’s lost glory.

Looks like Shah Rukh Khan will prove to be their lucky charm once again after Chak De... India. At least that’s what numerologist Niraj Mancchanda predicts.

He tells us, “Rab Ne... will be the biggest hit of 2008. It comes to number 42 just like Dil Toh Pagal Hai did and that number vibrates with both Yash Chopra who is a number 9 and Aditya Chopra who is a number 3. The movie may might break records.” So, SRK need not worry about losing his throne or crown.

Times Of India

Katrina is out of Shah Rukh's 'Temptations Reloaded' tour

The otherwise cool and composed man Shahrukh Khan seems to have not taken the recent spat with Salman Khan lightly.

He and his wife Gauri Khan left Katrina Kaif's birthday party recently following a spat with Katrina's boyfriend Salman, who threw the party.

Now, Shahrukh has responded in his way.

The news is doing the rounds that Katrina is no longer a part of Shahrukh's Temptation Reloaded Tour.

It is said that Katrina, who was part of the tour along with Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Javed Ali, Anushka Dandekar and Ganesh Hedge, has fallen victim to King Khan's wrath. She is out of the tour now.

One India

Defending Shah Rukh Khan

Viveck Vaswani is a happy man. His Dulha Mil Gaya, which has been in the making for around 1 and a half years now, is fast nearing the finishing mark. The film would be more than 90% through this week as a marathon 20 day schedule comes to a close. In fact in the days gone by, the crew has already shot a substantial portion of the film in Panchgani, Vashi and Pune.

Says Viveck in a relaxed tone, "Over the months there have been media speculations around the completion of Dulha Mil Gaya. It was amusing since more than me they seemed to be worried about the film. There were all kinds of stories circulating around the so-called troubles that the film was facing but my only response to them was - 'Keep Speculating'."

But weren't there murmurs around Shahrukh Khan being the cause of film's delay? Apparently, he wasn't too willing to spare his dates for the film even as he was busy keeping his other commitments.

"Even I read about this but again, as I said, all this was plain speculation and a wrong one too", smiles Viveck, "Any big film would take its own sweet time to be completed. Yes, there were minor issues but none of them had anything to do with Shahrukh Khan. He never created problems for Dulha Mil Gaya. My father was unwell for quite some time and I was busy there. He expired some time back and after a mourning period, I resumed work on the film."

Questioning those who have been spreading false stories about SRK being uncooperative, Viveck challenges back, "Have you read any news piece where Shahrukh himself has quoted anything about being unhappy with DMG? We interact on a regular basis and he has never opened his mouth against the film. Yes, there have been instances where he has been busy but that's understandable. It is a professional thing to do. I don't see any reason why it should be considered as a scoop enough?"

So when do we see SRK's scenes being canned? "This week the film would be more than 90% complete and only a few scenes with SRK remain to be canned", informs Viveck, "There are 7 songs in the film and 6 have already been shot. One song with SRK remains and we can shoot for it anytime in August, September or October, whenever his dates permit."

"We are not in hurry because the technicians at our production house are already on the job. They are keeping busy with the post production and making sure that the end product turns out to be good. It isn't as if the office is running all these years on a film which has been supposedly stalled. Sorry to disappoint a few, but we all are quite charged about Dulha Mil Gaya and making sure that it turns out to be the most talked about film", says Viveck in an excited tone.

So the million dollar question is, when does Dulha Mil Gaya eventually release? "Approximately we are eyeing a January 2009 release. Things are going as per the plan and I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be able to make it on that day", concludes Viveck.

One India

Shah Rukh Receives Terrorist Threat (Update 03)

Just 24-hours passed by as two of the country’s leading cities Ahmedabad and Bangalore became victims to deadly bombs that rocked umpteen number of places bringing the entire nation to a standstill.

What’s next is another scary threat, but this time it’s no city or community, it’s Bollywood’s four Khan czars, who are at the hit list of one of the most notorious terrorist organisations - Indian Mujahideens.

From the look of it, the scenario would make a perfect plot for a nasty action packed B-town thriller, however, the truth of the matter is that the threats are not a part of any script but it’s very much real and happening.

The dreaded terrorist organisation has sent an open letter to the four Khans of Bollywood - Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan, asking them to stop acting in films or else they and their families shall face the consequences.

The choice of actors for the threat is no surprise. The four names are undoubtedly ruling the Indian film industry and are most valuable to Bollywood in terms of the moolah put on them. The four Khans alone have an estimated price of Rs 450 crores put on their films this year.

However, in a move to present a strong and brave front, the industry has come together in support of the four Khans. The Bollynation’s answer to such threats has once again proved that the industry will not give in to such demands as it swears to stand by the Khans.

Speaking to a news daily, producer cum director Karan Johar said, “In the film industry, talent is God and creativity our religion. Our work has involved some of the most prolific Islamic writers like Javed Akhtar, who has written the lyrics for songs like Radha kaise na jale and for bhajans. I believe that our fraternity has no gender, sex or religious bias and we work in tandem together. There may be personal divides but never any religious divide. I won't stop working with anyone.”

Adding to this filmmaker Kunal Kohli stated that the industry does not pick up actors on the basis of the religion but on their talent. "It’s time that we learn that resilience and survival of the human spirit from the common man." The sentiment has been widely echoed by filmmakers throughout the industry.

For now, the security has been tightened. Hope this scary threat turns out to be just another scary gimmick and peace is restored in the filmdom.

Zee News

....................................................................................

According to a new report, the Indian Mujahideen has sent e-mails demanding that Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan stop working in Hindi films, or else.

We asked some B-Town producers and directors for their reaction to the attempt at creating a divide within the industry on the basis of religion. Also, would they stop working with the four Khans if threatened? The voices echoed the same sentiment. That the film industry has always been a secular place and they will not let anyone or anything change that.

Farah Khan - Director

The film industry is a very secular place and basically, people here are interested only in success and not caste, creed, religion, where you stay or even if you are a man or woman. Personally, don't attach any importance to who belongs to which caste. After all, I married a Hindu. But let me tell you, that in the film industry, if you are successful, people will work with you irrespective of which God you pray to. And if you are not no one gives a damn, in any case.

Karan Johar - Producer, (Dharma Productions) and director

In the film industry, talent is God and creativity our religion. Our work has involved some of the most prolific Islamic writers like Javed Akhtar, who has written the lyrics for songs like Radha kaise na jale and for bhajans. I believe we are a fraternity where there is no gender, sex or religious bias and we work in tandem together. There may be personal divides but never any religious divide. I won't stop working with anyone. We are all one in the eyes of God. Our film industry has always been the most secular place in the country and the world. I believe very strongly that we are all humans first.

Ekta Kapoor - Producer, Balaji Telefilms and Motion Pictures

It's our choice on which actor we should take in our projects or not. A threat is just that, and should be treated like that. Nobody will take this threat seriously. As an industry, we are very strong. There will never be any apprehension as we are a very secular place. Mumbai itself is very secular with TV, and film artists and technicians all working together without any religious bias. It's going to take much more than terrorists to strike terror in our hearts. We have much more terror striking us every day.

Kunal Kohli - Director

We are a secular country and we will work with everybody. We are not from any religion but from India. There are so many workers from so many different religions working in tandem with each other in India and that's the beauty of our country. After every blast every city has gone back to being normal. That's the Indian spirit. We have to learn that resilience and survival of the human spirit from the common man.

Upala KBR, Shaheen Parkar & Amul Sharma @ Mid-Day, Mumbai

.................................................................................

Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor has said that security of Muslim Bollywood actors has been beefed up after they were threatened by Indian Mujahideen, a terror outfit that claimed responsibility for Saturday's serial blasts in Ahmedabad.

The outfit issued life threats to Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan."Security of all has been stepped up, and the one's who are in need, has been beefed," said Gafoor.

An e-mail sent allegedly by the terror group to various television news channels on July 26 had threatened to target Bollywood actors and industrialists.

A total of 49 people were killed and more than 160 wounded when several bombs exploded across the city on Saturday.

Daily India

SRK's Concert Update

"Shah Rukh Khan's Temptations Reloaded concert will hit Dubai on October 21, if all goes well," says Mohammed Morani, one of the Morani brothers, when we called them to confirm whether rumours about the stage show hitting Dubai were true or not.

The Moranis were the organisers of the successful Temptations tour, which took place in 2004 and featured Shah Rukh, Saif, Preity and Priyanka.

Temptations Reloaded is a sequel to Temptations. The first of its concerts was held in Rotterdam, Holland, on June 21, 2008. Other than Shah Rukh, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Arjun Rampal were part of that stage show.

"Dubai, Kuwait and Germany are on the radar, but so far only Dubai has been finalised," adds Morani, when asked about the tour's forthcoming dates and venues.

Earlier, the Temptations Reloaded shows were to take place during the same time as that of the Bachchans' Unforgettable tour, which is currently on. But somehow things did not work out.

"Probably the stars have yet not been roped in," informs our mole.

Even for the Dubai show the other performers haven't been finalised. SRK remains the one confirmed star at these shows as he is one man who can easily draw in a crowd anytime.

Morani adds, "Isahallah, if everything goes well we are planning a huge entertainment event all over the world sometime between September and December next year as well."

When quizzed about who the star participants for the Temptations Reloaded shows are, he says, "Shah Rukh is our main star attraction. The rest have to be finalised. Once everything is crystal clear I shall update you."

Analyse this, Shah Rukh

Whether it’s his films, shows or his ad films, the Shah Rukh Khan magic never fails to work.

The industry folks call him the hit machine.

Amidst all this, a downer like Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hai comes as a shock.

Wrapping up the finale of the show, SRK analyses what went wrong with it.

To begin with, the show that was launched with loads of glitz and publicity didn’t manage to entice the viewers. Was it hard to digest the failure? “In life you can’t always be giving hits. Success and failure are part and parcel of life,” SRK says coolly.

In the past, the man has anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati which was a runaway success. So what went wrong this time? Was it the format of the show or Shah Rukh Khan himself? “This is one question I keep asking myself. Look, I don’t understand the TRP business. Personally I’ve really enjoyed working on Paanchvi Paas more than KBC . But, I do not want to play the blame game here. I’d like to believe that it was a rough patch.”

Khan has always had the courage to call a spade a spade. So, does he accept that he could be one of the reasons for the failure of Paanchvi Paas . “I’m as responsible for its failure as I am for the success of my films and shows. I shouldered the responsibility of the failure of Paheli . I understand that as a celebrity I play a larger role in the fate of a project. So, here if there is anything that’s gone wrong with Paanchvi Paas , it’s me,” he smiles.

Currently, recuperating from his knee injury, Khan is also busy winding up Biloo Barber. “After Paanchvi Paas , I had to shoot for a song in Biloo Barber . And then there is my knee that’s demanding my attention.”

Style, humility and smartness all rolled in one. That’s Shah Rukh Khan for you.

Reena Thapar Kapoor, India Times Movies