Shah Rukh's house in Mumbai attacked

Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan's mansion in Bandra in Mumbai was attacked early on Friday morning at around 4:30 am.

Two to three unidentified miscreants threw a bottle containing an inflammable substance at the Khan's sea-facing house called Mannat.

The bottle was a kind of crude bomb. The miscreants later fled from the spot, however, nobody was reportedly hurt. Police are investigating the incident and an FIR has been lodged.

Shah Rukh loves to talk of life rather than his films

Shah Rukh Khan was recently out on a promotional event for ‘Billu’, and talked at length about the film, and of course – himself. Never once leaving his double-barbed wit, the Bollywood superstar answered well aimed questions with dexterity acquired through years of practice.

Addressing the media and public, the winsome charmer won hearts saying, “I am here because I want you to join me in the party, and have a good time. I am glad you all have turned up. I love spending time with you. Don’t you like spending the whole day with me? I would love to spend the night also with you, but that would be contrary to familial peace.”

When questioned about his presence at the promotional event when the central character of the film happened to be Irrfan Khan, he said, “I am promoting the film because I have a long enough role in the movie. I am a part of the movie.”

The movie has three item songs with top-notch Bollywood actresses shaking their legs opposite King-Khan. When the topic was brought up Shah Rukh faced it clarifying, “Why should a movie be a hit if there are three item songs in it? It does not work that way, we look at the story, the script, not the songs. Agreed that there is one song that looks a bit superfluous, but that was needed to be filmed on Lara.” Not missing a beat, he added, “Call the film whatever you like, ‘Billu’ or ‘Ullu’, but do watch it!”

But the most interesting part came when he hit a well aimed snide at Amitabh Bachchan. Knowing well that Big B freely uses his blog to talk of his films, and even uses pictures of the shootings and locations on his blog, Shah rukh said, “When I am out promoting my film, and interacting with people, I like to talk about life, and not about the film’s songs or sets or locations. I like to talk of life and everyday matters that interest all of us.”

“Shah Rukh, I love you!”

Shah Rukh Khan somehow manages to instantly hit it off with the public. At a press conference in Delhi recently, he had everyone in splits with his witty repartees.

In the middle of a Q&A session, a woman from the crowd shouted, “Shah Rukh, I love you!” While everyone turned around to see where the voice had come from, SRK quickly said, “I love you too, darling. Don’t worry, we will get married as soon as I am done with this press conference. Please wait for me.”

A few minutes later, after the laughter had subsided, when someone asked him about his fetish for wearing black and white for almost all his public appearances, SRK was at it again and said, “You see, I am a black and white person. I like this colour combination. And every time I have to go out, this is the combo that I think of.” Oh! so what happened to the ‘Yellow Yellow, dirty fellow’ line of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi?

King Khan on a promotion spree for Billu…

Using his star power to the fullest king khan went on a promotional spree for his forthcoming release Billu… as he hopped from one promotional event to another all in a days work.

So after interacting with the media at his Bandra residence Shahrukh kept the shutterbugs on the move as they tried to catch up with his pace.

“Why do all these fancy things. You just have to call me. I will do anything to promote my film. The media though must be sick of me. I will be in their nightmares also. I will not leave them till they declare my film a hit,” Shahrukh Khan.

And though the controversy surrounding the title of the film seems to have ended but the King Khan is still apprehensive.

When asked if any of the Khans would get upset with the title of his next film my name is Khan SRK replied.

“I don't know about Khan, but I just hope no Billu… gets upset for the next few days that I have used his name as the title of the film, otherwise my film will be nameless. Just my photograph, and directed by Priyadarshan,” adds Shahrukh.

Amidst all the media frenzy King Khan ensured his fans weren’t disappointed.

“Lots of love to you dadi, please pray for me and I want to dedicate a song for you mar jaani mar jaani,” added Shahrukh.

Come Friday and we hope Billu barber proves to be a gift of love by king Khan to his fans on the valentines weekend.

Shah Rukh, Kajol to dub for Kuchi Kuchi Hota Hai in April

Dharma Productions is on a roll. After churning out Dostana last year, the Karan Johar helmed production house is now gearing up to wrap up its first animation film - Kuchi Kuchi Hota Hai.

The movie is being directed by Tarun Mansukhani and is the animated version of Johar's film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which starred Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukherji.

Mansukhani is now focusing on getting the animated portions done. Speaking exclusively to Businessofcinema.com, he says, "We have more or less a month's work of animation left to be completed before we start on the post production work like dubbing and sound effects. Shah Rukh and Kajol will start dubbing for it from April onwards."

Although this film is an animated version of the original film, Mansukhani said, "We are just keeping the premise and the plot the same. The scenes, the conversations and the scenarios will be different. The music, which was originally scored by Jatin-Lalit, is now being composed by Salim Suleiman. The tunes are the same, but we have changed the lyrics. We have also added three songs to the original soundtrack."

Khan and Kajol recorded a rough voiceover prior to their departure to Los Angeles for the first schedule of Johar's, My Name is Khan. Mansukhani is planning either an August or an October release depending on the suitability of a good date for Kuchi Kuchi Hota Hai. My Name is Khan is also slated to release later this year.

As has already been reported by Business of cinema, some of the other films that are underway at Dharma Productions are Renzil D'Souza's movie starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor and Ayan Mukerji's Wake Up Sid! starring ; Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma.

Shah Rukh to invite barbers, hairstylists for Billu premiere

In a move to appease the Hairdressers' Associations of Mumbai, Shah Rukh Khan is planning to invite various barbers and hairstylists for the premiere of Billu, which was earlier titled Billu Barber.

"As far as I know, Shah Rukh is planning a premiere for the various barbers and hairdressers' associations, so they'd see and know that the film doesn't ridicule them in any way. In fact, the film is a homage to the hair-cutting technique. I can't understand how there can be a protest about the film or its title without anyone seeing the film," Priyadarshan told IANS.

According to Priyadarshan, Shah Rukh is not inviting friends from the industry for the screening.

The film was earlier titled 'Billu Barber', but when Hairdressers' Associations of Mumbai objected to the use of the word "barber" in the title, Shah Rukh, who is producing the film and making a guest appearance, decided to change it.

"I'm in Chennai. Shah Rukh Khan tells me all the posters hoarding with credits will blacken out the word 'barber'. If it was hurting anyone's sentiments, I'm okay by it," Priyadarshan said.

He wonders how the word 'barber' could be okay in other languages and not in Hindi.

"Does it mean half the Indian population is not put off by the title and the other half is upset about it? I don't understand the controversy. And I've left it entirely to Shah Rukh to deal with it."

The director has no plans of being in Mumbai for the release of Billu. "I've done my best. And Irrfan Khan in the title role is the best homage that can be paid to any profession."

Priyan does wonder, and so do we, if we as a collective nation protest too much.

Irrfan Khan plays the title role and is paired with Lara Dutta in the film, which is releasing Friday. Shah Rukh will make a guest appearance along with Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone.

Dish TV renews contract with Shah Rukh Khan

Dish TV has extended its endorsement contract with Shah Rukh Khan for another 18 months. Dish TV, which leads the DTH category in the country, had signed up with Shah Rukh Khan in ‘07 to endorse its service.

According to Dish TV officials, the service has a base of 4.85 million subscribers. Rival Tata Sky too uses Aamir Khan extensively in its advertising.

As reported by ET last week, Shah Rukh tops the list of celebrity endorsements on TV according to a new Tam AdEx report.

The economic slowdown seems to have had a positive rub-off on the DTH industry, as people have started restricting their entertainment bills and going out less. In the July-September ‘08 period, the DTH industry was adding six lakh subscribers per month, but the base jumped to one million in the October-December period.

SRK's next is a super-hero film

The excruciating pain on his shoulder notwithstanding, Shah Rukh Khan is going all out to promote his new film Billu (the word 'barber' has been removed from all posters/billboards) Tell him that he's the best marketing brain in the industry thanks to the kind of promotion he did for Om Shanti Om, he says, "Not Om Shanti Om, but Yes Boss was the film that started it all."

Although Billu is an SRK production, with Irrfan Khan enacting the title role, SRK hasn't forced himself in the story. On the contrary, he has removed two of his scenes from the film.

Not many are aware that Priyadarshan had offered SRK two choices - a film on heist and the other, a story on friends.

"I chose the second." And the actor is extremely happy with the way Billu has shaped up.

"We had a screening recently for family and friends. I wasn't expecting people to get emotional, but a lot of people did. The last 20 minutes did make me moist-eyed as well. I think the film will connect with the audiences," Shah Rukh reveals.

Financially too, SRK will make a neat profit on the film. Reportedly, he has sold the film for a fantastic price (Rs. 50 cr.) to Eros.

"The rumours just don't stop. Sometime back I was told I was charging Rs. 100 crores for a film. I've never over-charged any of my producers. Now this one! The truth is, we've spent quite a bit on the making of the film. Coming to the point, the price is not Rs. 50 cr, but Rs. 35 cr," the actor says.

Next on the cards is a film with Anubhav Sinha.

"It's a super-hero film. I want it to be the best super-hero film made in India. We're hiring technicians from abroad. I'm really looking forward to this one," he adds.

SRK shoots on the lawns of the White House

Karan Johar wanted to shoot some scenes for My Name is Khan in the White House in Washington DC, USA. Now it is confirmed that the director shot for a sequence on the lawns of the White House with former President George W Bush’s lookalike.

A source says, “Getting permission to shot even on the lawns of The White House was a big deal. Usually, production houses have to go though a long procedure. It was a big win for Dharma Productions to get the space to shoot. This makes My Name is Khan the first Hindi film to be shot on the White House grounds.”

The film is set in 2001 right after the 9/11 attack, hence the sequence required Shah Rukh to interact with Bush (the then President of the United States). There are several lookalikes of Bush used, in numerous Hollywood movies. Karan chose the actor who looked the closest to ex-president.

The unit of My Name is Khan will leave for USA once again in July to finish the film. It is said that the film will be shot in San Francisco then.

Shah Rukh Khan to undergo surgery on 16 February

It is time for Shah Rukh Khan to go under the surgeon's scalpel yet again. SRK will be operated upon on 16 February. Although the actor is in tremendous pain, he will honour his commitment to attend the Zee Carnival in London.

Khan will be leaving for London on 12 February for the three day star-fan interaction at the annual Zee Carnival. He will be accompanied by his Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi co-star Anushka Sharma.

A source informs Businessofcinema.com, "Shah Rukh is in great pain and the travel will not be easy for him. But he will be going for the event as he had committed to the organizers. Post his return, SRK will head straight for Breach Candy Hospital for his operation."

SRK hurt the tendon of his left shoulder when he tripped while doing a scene where he had to run., for Vivek Vaswani's Dulha Mil Gaya. The torn tendon got worse in the Los Angeles winter, when he shot for Karan Johar's My Name is Khan. SRK has been advised bed rest for two weeks post his surgery.