Animation fails to make SRK-Salman bond

The great divide between Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan has been in news for quite a while. Now, it seems this realistic battle is all set to hit celluloid as well.

News is that Karan Johar, who is making an animated version of his directorial debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai called Kuchie Kuchie Hota Hai has roped in Sanjay Dutt to do the voiceover for the character that Salman played in the original. However, the other actors — Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji — will dub for the animated version.

Some industry people say Sanjay dubbing for Salman could be a result of the SRK-Salman fight as Karan and SRK are close friends and King Khan is in no mood to reconcile with Salman. However, Karan says the inclusion of Sanjay was due to the changes made to the character Salman originally played.

Karan says, “It is true that Sanjay Dutt is lending his voice to the character that Salman played in the original film. In the animated version we made certain modifications to Salman’s character and so after those changes, we realised that Sanjay Dutt was best suited to lend his voice for it. It was not due to any other reason.”

Whatever may be the reason, SRK and Salman are definitely not sharing screen-space, not even in animation.

The Mesmeric SRK persona

Shah Rukh Khan’s fan following doesn’t stop growing. Those who come in touch with Shah Rukh Khan, just once is enough to get mesmerised by his charm and magnetic person. Here’s one more… ;

Composer Rahul Seth, who composed a jingle for a radio ad for King Khan, has joined the band wagon.

SRK gave his voice for the jingle that was recorded at his house Mannat. “He’s so humble, it’s overwhelming to see a superstar like him, getting involved in every aspect of his work.That’s amazing,” recounted Rahul who has also dubbed for the Hollywood super-star Will Smith for the Hindi version I am Legend.

Rahul happens to be the nephew of renowned author Vikram Seth. The composer is now look forward to working with SRK once again.

Looks like SRK continues to cast his spell on everyone!

Shah Rukh Khan: Future perfect

Can the stars be more favourable for this man? Noted astrologer Bejan Daruwala’s Ganeshaspeaks.com predicts what the coming year holds for SRK. Read on…

From being a normal TV actor, Shah Rukh Khan has risen to the helm of Bollywood. Having been bestowed by the title of Datuk in Malaysia recently, SRK has proved his national as well as international popularity and fame.

Let’s see whether the coming year brings him more fame (if that’s possible) and success…

Astro analysis: The Lord of the tenth house Venus, which signifies art and acting, is situated in the fifth house making it immensely powerful. The situation of Rahu is in Kendra ie the tenth house indicating strength. As Saturn is a slow moving planet, Khan is progressing in his career gradually. Presently, he is under the influence of major period of Saturn and also sub period of Saturn.

So what’s in store?

On the career front, 2009 is a very progressive year for Khan. Any business related assignments or films that he takes up from April 03, 2009 to October 03, 2009 will definitely bring him greater fame. He may start a new venture which might bring him success. He will also become more calculative and logical but may take some rash decisions.

In the second and the third quarter of 2009, his career seems to be very bright. He will be able to establish himself as a successful businessman as well in the coming year. He may get financial gains through business as well as films.

The last quarter of the year 2009 may not give him any great gains. He will come up with a big business project. But, its launch may get delayed due to some difficulties but finally the project will make good money.

Radio One thrills Shah Rukh Khan Fans with an all day playlist

Fans of Bollywood’s reigning King Shah Rukh Khan, had a special treat this Sunday, November 2nd, as Radio One 94.3 FM, for the Fataafat Generation, thrilled them with a day-long playlist of Shah Rukh songs, movie history, tv history, stage shows, trivia, gossip and conversation.

The playlist included songs and dialogues from all time great Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to new releases Om Shanti Om and Chak De India. Listeners could call in to share star stories, wish Shah Rukh a Happy Birthday or request favourite songs.

Through the day RJ’s shared anecdotes from the stars extraordinary life, some inspiring, others humourous and outrageous, while Ghanta Singh regaled listeners with some excellent mimicry of the star.

Says Vehrnon Ibrahim, National Programming Director, Radio One, “This is Shah Rukh Fataafat. Tune in anytime of the day, and instantly you will be immersed into a rocking celebration of the life and times of Bollywood’s biggest star on his special day.”

SRK Launches $2.1 Billion Boulevard in U.A.E.

The development project, a tribute by ‘King Khan’ in response to the love and affection shown by the people of the U.A.E. to Indian cinema, Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard will be located on the Dana Island in Ras Al Khaimah.

This is the latest in the series of endorsements and signature developments that are coming up in Dubai with names such as Brad Pitt, Boris Becker and Tiger Woods continuously doing the rounds.

Khan will work closely with Los Angeles based architect Tony Ashai in the design concept of the beachfront community comprising 10 residential towers, it was announced during a press conference here.

Announcing the project with T.S.A. Group, Shah Rukh Khan said, “Indian cinema has enjoyed strong emotional ties with the U.A.E. and Arab cine-goers for decades. The Arab world is Hindi film industry’s strongest foreign market.

“Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard is my tribute to the love and affection shown by the people of the U.A.E. to Indian cinema. I have lent my name to the project and I intend to share and transfer my passion for design and living spaces into this world class community that residents will be proud of.”

Scheduled for completion in 2012, Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard will have residences including specially designed studios, and one-and two-bedroom apartments and townhouses. It will also have beach front features piers and boardwalks besides marine sports and leisure facilities.

Shafi Toffic, President of T.S.A. Group, said, “With a fan base of over three billion people worldwide, Shah Rukh Khan is the most successful name in the movie industry globally. It is our honor to be associated with him to develop a premium, resort-style community on Dana Island, Ras Al Khaimah, a fast developing tourism and lifestyle destination offering peaceful pristine surroundings.”

Tony Ashai, Principal, Ashai Design Corporation, U.S.A., commented, “This project is very special to me because of Shah Rukh Khan’s involvement in the concept and design.”

Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard will be part of Dana Island, which will eventually house several hotels, a shopping centre and commercial complexes spread across 6.3 million square metres.

T.S.A. Group will showcase the boulevard at Cityscape Dubai 2008 running here from October 6 to 9. Rakeen is the master planner and development arm of the Ras Al Khaimah government in the UAE.

The top-secret script of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is out!

Aditya Chopra’s films are shrouded in secrecy and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is no different. From the leading lady of the film to the story, it’s all closely guarded.

There have been rumours that the story was kept hidden even from the crew of the film. No one had even seen the script, besides the three lead characters — Shah Rukh, Anushka Sharma and Vinay Pathak.

But the thing with secrets is that they always get out. Just as it did with the story of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. A source from the industry tells all: “It was a very earthy romantic film about SRK who is married to Anushka Sharma. There is a big age difference between them and they are not what you’d call a perfect couple. They are merely stretching their marriage with no real romance in between them. They are two very different people. There’s a reality dance show called Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi — which is the main backdrop of the movie. The show is on the lines of popular television show, Nach Baliye.”

The source continues, “Anushka wants to take part in the dance competition but she can’t because her husband is a old and not hip and happening. She fears that if she dances with him, she will lose the show and become the laughing stock among all her friends, who are taking part in the same. Shah Rukh over hears his wife’s problem and decides to go in for a makeover. He then watches some movies and changes his image completely and comes back to the show and woos Anushka off her feet. All the way through the dance competition, she keeps on falling in love with this new and improved Shah Rukh, without once realising that the man she is dancing with, is her real husband.”

The spokesperson for Yash Raj Films simply says, “No comment!”

SRK or Adi: Who’s inspired Simple Simon ‘Suri’

Currently, the vote is out on what people really think of superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s simple Simon look in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

Some insist that the common man look for our most romantic star is a tribute to the Amol Palekar-Hrishikesh Mukherjee-Basu Bhattacharya movies of yore.
But SRK himself has a different take on this. He insists that his almost-boring, simple character ‘Suri’, in the film, is based on director Aditya Chopra.
However, Adi thinks it’s just the opposite; that it’s based on buddy Khan’s truly simple persona.

Then, the third angle of this great friendship triangle, Karan Johar, has his view. “The relationship SRK, Adi and I share, is probably the last of the rare, true, honest friendships in the industry now.” Which is the reason why they’ve started being and behaving more and more like each other. But one thing is for sure. Neither of them is ‘boring or simple’ by any yardstick.
Anyway, if that’s the way they’d like to project themselves, who’re we to dispute?
We’ll still stay as ‘politically incorrect’ as we wish, huh?

My kids were ashamed of me, says SRK

The King Khan himself makes an honest confession about it. He says that his children were ashamed of the fact that he does make-up like a woman before he leaves home.

Says he, “Waise to main mard hoon lekin (Though I am a man) I have to put on a lot of make-up before I go out of my house to give public appearances. Initially my children, Aryan and Suhana were really ashamed of me. They didn’t like it. I had to make them understand that it was a part of my profession. I myself didn’t like it but I knew I am an actor and I supposed to look good whenever I make a public appearance. Initially it was quite unusual for me too but now I have come to terms with it. Now my children are ok with it.”

With his latest film ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ set for a December release, King Khan is all out to promote his film.

Talking about his frequent appearances with new actresses he says, “Of late, I have worked with a lot of young actress whether it’s Deepika or Anoushka. In fact in ‘Chak De India’ I had more than a dozen girls working with me and all of them were quite younger to me. But I have no role in choosing the cast of the films. It’s totally up to the directors to decide who they want to cast opposite me. Till today I think I have worked more than 20 to 22 actresses who are younger to me.”

So how was working with these new actresses? Answers he, “It was excellent. In fact to be very honest whenever I work with a new actress I feel my acting skills improve.”

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi Music Review

Music of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, 2008’s most anticipated movie, directed by Aditya Chopra after a gap of 8 years has finally hit the stores. Its finally here…6 fabulous tracks…Get them…NOW!

1. Haule Haule - Sukhwinder Sigh

2. Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai - Roop Kumar Rathod

3. Dance Pe Chance - Sunidhi Chauhan & Labh Janjua

4. Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte - Shreya Ghoshal

5. Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai - Sonu Nigam

6. Dancing Jodi - Instrumental

Music of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, 2008’s most anticipated movie, directed by Aditya Chopra after a gap of 8 years has finally hit the stores. This film has a lot of expectations considering it’s the first release of Shahrukh Khan this year, debutant Anushka Sharma who is creating a lot of buzz among the crowd, combination of Shahrukh and Aditya which created history with DDLJ in 1995, and Yash Raj Films, which are looking for a big hit this year.

In Bollywood, music of the movie plays a vital role in the success of the movie and if the songs are good then half of the battle is won. Looking back at the track record of Salim – Sulaiman, who also gave the music for Chak De India in 2007 and Fashion this year, winning half of the battle doesn’t seem to be a big problem. And yes, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi succeeds in every department. The power of this soundtrack lies in its simplicity. Let’s get a song by song review of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

1. Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai

Roop Kumar Rathod does it again! After making “Maula Mere Maula” a classic with his melodious voice, Roop takes Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai to a whole new level. It requires only one listen to love this song. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this ultimate romantic number. Background vocals add the required mysterious romantic feel to Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai and the music is simple and yet, melodious to ears.

There is also a short version of this song sung beautifully by Shreya Ghoshal. Some of you prefer the short version because it’s too good and also because of the fact that there is only one song of Shreya in the soundtrack.

2. Haule Haule

Haule Haule, the promo song of the movie is already a hit among Shahrukh fans and haters alike. And why not, Haule Haule is the simplest and the most romantic song of 2008 with lyrics so good that you love the song on the very first listen. It’s like love at first sight. I mean how many times have you seen a Harmonium playing an important role in the music of a song in this Hip-Hop era?

Add to that the great voice of Sukhwinder Singh, who is now the voice of Shahrukh Khan, without a doubt. Also worth mentioning is the video of the song which you see on your T.V sets these days. The whole scene was shot in one take. Prodigious!

3. Dance Pe Chance

When I saw the tracklist of the soundtrack, I was little worried about the inclusion of Labh Janjua in Dance Pe Chance. It’s not that he is a bad singer or something but because I can’t see Shahrukh lip-syncing his voice. But O Boy! I was surprised. He turns out to be the strongest link in the whole sing.

When he sings, you can feel the energy which is required for Dance Pe Chance. Going by the lyrics, this song looks like Anushka teaching Shahrukh how to dance. Sunidhi Chauhan has also done a fabulous job and she’ll surely suit Anushka.

A special mention about the music and lyrics, when the song begins, you’ll feel like it’s an average Pritam number, but no, keep listening to the song and wait for the part of Labh Janjua’s part and then you’ll see the difference. It’s a song which is a must inclusion in your I-POD.

4. Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte

Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte is, indubitably, the most creative song of 2008. Music and lyrics of all the classics of golden era of Bollywood has been included in the song. For example; the famous “Yahooooo” by Shammi Kapoor, “Jai Jai Shiv Shankar”, and “Babu Moshai” by Rajesh Khanna from the classic movie, “Anand”.

Two thumbs up for Sonu Nigam, who did the job so well that you just fell in love with the song. Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte shows the genius minds of Salim – Sulaiman, as this song was surely not an easy song to make.

5. Dancing Jodi

Dancing Jodi is basically the instrumental versions of all the songs of the soundtrack just like it was with Jhoom Barabar Jhoom but only better. Calling Dancing Jodi a remix would be wrong and inappropriate. This song is a delight for the dancers who prefer the Indian – Western hybrid music to shake their hips. Kudos to Salim – Sulaiman for a tremendous instrumental version.

Verdict

Verdict-In an age where songs and their remixes are filled with rapping, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi stays away from this. It’s, unequivocally, a gem for the music lovers and the best soundtrack of 2008.

It takes you to those good old days when music was simple and great and at the same time, it has the modern touch to capture universal attention. There is nothing wrong with the soundtrack, no remix, no rapping and most of the songs are of short length which is a big bonus. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is a kaleidoscopic soundtrack which is a must in everyone’s collection. Go out and buy the CD!

Rating: 5 STARS!

Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, and Vinay Pathak

Music Director: Salim-Sulaiman

Movie Director: Aditya Chopra

Waiting for Shah Rukh Khan…

How does a 50-year-old woman who bought a VIP ticket to be “someone special” for one night deal with it when her favourite star Shah Rukh Khan’s concert is abruptly called off, less than four days before it was to be held?

Fans see no boundaries, it seems, when it comes to Bollywood and, in this case, King Khan. When word spread that his three-city Temptations tour of Germany had been called off, his fans in Germany and beyond mourned.

The feelings ranged from shock to anger and concern. “I thought Shah Rukh is ill, because he works too much,” says Anja, 37, from Dortmund, Germany who spent nearly 260 Euros on the ticket, train and hotel booking for the show (some fans over 600 Euros).

Says another fan, who had been looked forward to the concert since May, “I lost a lot of money, but it was the emotional aspect that had me crying. I had been counting the days and nights for the last five months. I imagined how incredible the concert would be, how happy I would be when I saw SRK and the dress I would wear. But nothing happened… We were left without any shows and without SRK. These last five months were for nothing and that’s the terrible part.”

She adds, “To be honest, at first, I was really angry with SRK and thought he was responsible for the mess. But a few day later, I realised I had been angry only because I was so disappointed. Sure, I love him as much as before, but I’m really, really, disappointed.”

The star’s fans feel they’re now a fan base without support. German Bollywood blogger Barbara Skoda writes, “…The German market seemed to look like fat firang tourists in Chor Bazar to the filmi industry-walas that could easily be skinned for money. To steal a line from K3G, Tum sirf entertainer ho, parameshwar nahin.” From the DVD market, where C-grade movies are sold using SRK on the cover, and instead of the real thing, customers get “shiny moments of Indian movie history like Hottestm@ail.com or Husn Bewafa.”

The Shah Rukh visit during the Om Shanti Om premiere at the Berlinale earlier this year led fans to believe the slump was over, “especially since some of the multiplex chains started to screen current films” and both the Bachchan’s Unforgettable and the Temptation tours announced shows.

Skoda adds, “And now we have the latest of their disasters and this time it’s not simply Shilpa Shetty’s Miss Bollywood or the Bachchans (which both probably got canceled due to bad pre-sales). This time it really hits hard. This time it’s SRK. I know of more than a few cases of fans who literally had to scrimp and save to be able to afford a once-in-a-lifetime journey to one of the concerts.”

However, the refrain across is that the fans will definitely shell out money for a ticket for a SRK show again, but not in advance! “Nothing will put me off from Shah Rukh or Bollywood,” asserts Sonja Hellenthal.

As for the star’s appeal, Ramona Magnus describes it as “What makes me such a fan of SRK? I ask myself that very often. Strangely, he feels a little like family. He has a special, very warm charisma and a very strong aura. I like his sense of humor.”

The star’s appeal spreads beyond Germany and Austria or Switzerland, from where fans were headed to catch the Berlin show. A thriving online and offline fan club works across the globe and is connected by… guess what? Mini Khan, a miniature Shah Rukh miniature, the size of a Barbie doll, couriered from member to member.

Says Beth Watkins, from Illinois, US, who bought the doll off ebay, “There are also Kajol, Hrithik, and Priyanka Chopra dolls but, quite frankly, we didn’t think any of those sounded nearly as fun. Mini Khan has been on the road for about a year now. He has visited several locations in the US and Europe so far, with plans to go to Nigeria, India, Japan, Korea, and Canada. Currently, he is in London. He was also with us in Munich during the European Bollywood fan and blogger meetup last March, and now it’s hard to imagine a gathering without him.” There’s even a blog which has a world map with a tracker pointing out Mini’s Khan past, current and future destinations!

The doll came in white and black t-shirt, denim jacket, orange cargo pants, similar to what he wore in Kal Ho Na Ho’s “Pretty Woman” number, but he’s been gifted more clothes since — a fan, a professional tailor, has made him a handmade black leather jacket like the one he wears in Don.

The fans, it seems, will bounce back from the shock of a cancelled tour, though they’re bristling at being taken for granted. However, have these concerts become more about ticket sales and less about reaching out to fans? Says actor Chunky Pandey, who enjoys a huge fan following in Bangladesh, “As for Shah Rukh, I’ve toured with him too and he puts in a lot of money back into his shows. And, generally speaking, when films didn’t pay as well as today, concerts were also about money. But, today, with stars doing brand endorsements too, concerts are more about connecting with fans.” It’s all about nurturing the fan base, he adds. We hope Bollywood is listening!