A BMW DATE WITH SRK

He is in a lot of pain but talk about Calcutta and the Kolkata Knight Riders and the famous dimpled smile is back on Shah Rukh Khan’s face. He kept Pratim D. Gupta of t2 waiting for a while on Thursday morning at his palatial Bandra bungalow Mannat but once he stepped out, the King made the wait worth every second and more. Sitting next to him in his silver BMW (555, if you please), t2 spent one hour with the man who has evolved from “Mike Tyson to Muhammad Ali”. He doesn’t mind getting beaten these days — the sling makes him look even more tough — but the raging bull says “You can’t take me down”. He talks about KKR being a team of the future but signs off with the line “we will win this time”. Let’s just say, you can keep Shah Rukh Khan out of Calcutta but you cannot keep Calcutta out of Shah Rukh Khan. He is wearing a white T-shirt and a brown leather jacket. Before starting the interview, he quickly scans the inbox of his Nokia Communicator. He ignores most of the messages and chooses to reply to a couple of them. The car has meandered out of the Mannat backgate, through the narrow lane next to his bungalow, out near the Bandra Bandstand and sets off for Andheri to the Yash Raj Studio. It will be Shah Rukh’s first shoot — for Knights & Angels — after his shoulder operation two weeks back. Here are excerpts from the Kingsized chat, from shoulder tendon to terrorism, KKR to My Name is Khan, Aamir to Amitabh. A t2 special, from SRK’s silver BMW

You promised to come to Calcutta in January. Was it the shoulder operation that got in the way?
Yes this (shows the sling)! If I am a little better I will come during the next camp (for KKR) which gets underway on March 16. I am not shooting so I can come. I can’t shoot. It pains all the time. It’s also a problem sleeping with this, yaar. A lot of things have happened to this shoulder.

How did you manage to hurt it in the first place?
I must have hurt it before, which I don’t remember. But it was not too major... just a little tear to the muscle. A muscle-muscle attachment is called a ligament and a muscle-bone attachment is called a tendon. So this ball and socket joint in the shoulder has three muscles. One to move the arm to the front, one to move it to the back and the third to move it to the side. The middle one, the one needed to move the arm to the side, has torn from the bone. I was shooting for this film called Dulha Mil Gaya... aaahhh... I did it for a few friends, Sushmita Sen was there. And there was just a couple of days of shooting. So I went and for the last couple of shots I had to jump over and my shoulder hit against the ground. I didn’t realise it then. In fact I shot My Name is Khan in the US with this shoulder, without realising. Then I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t sleep. I went to the doctor... luckily I had the world’s two best shoulder specialists in the US. Both saw it and said the shoulder muscle was completely torn. A few strands were left and I had to get it operated immediately. If those strands came off, the shoulder would never heal. So I came back and got operated on. What they did was take the muscle and put it back on the back and nailed it, in layman’s term. Two nails have gone into the bone. So they pain. The muscle pains. The shoulder pains. I can’t move it for eight weeks. If I move it, the muscle will move away from the bone again and I can’t do the whole thing again! So it requires a lot of careful rehab. The external stitches have just been taken off and I am allowed to travel a bit. But that’s about it.
Shah rukh khan with juhi chawla (left) and priyanka chopra during the shoot of knights & angels. Picture by gajanan dudhalkar

Are you disappointed with Ponting missing out on the IPL this season?
Ponting was only available for three matches. In fact he had a match a day after he landed, something John (Buchanan) never allows. Even Matthew (Mott) the field coach doesn’t like it. So Ponting sent us a request to be released this season. He said he would have been here if he had played all the 10 matches. Just to get used to the game here, he said, he would take two matches. “I will be doing more harm to the team than help it,” he wrote. He asked us very sweetly if it would be ok if he was excused this season. It was a very logical thing to do and just shows the good thinking on Ponting’s part. In the spirit of both the teams — Australia and Kolkata Knight Riders — it was the right thing to do to release him.

Where does that leave the KKR team in Season Two?
See, we have had sporadic camps... they have not been the best, but not the worst either. We have chosen some really good young players. The whole idea is to prepare the team for tomorrow. The August-September camp last year failed completely. Then we went to Australia, which was okay. The second camp sort of failed because we didn’t get all the people because of Ranji and other tournaments. We wondered whether we will ever get them together. But then the third camp turned out really well. We got these five-six young boys who are great. Some of them are even being considered prodigies. We have signed them on for the future. I have come to one realisation — trying to get a result overnight is not going to happen. You need to build a team. Basically in the last one year we have achieved 20 to 30 per cent of what we set out to achieve and that will tell in the championship.

What about the international players?
(Chris) Gayle will be here till May 3. He will play at least eight to nine matches. David Hussey is there... we hope he is not selected for the Aussie Test team. I know that’s a bad thing to say (laughs). Then there’s (Brendon) McCullum who will be there fully... We have seen the kind of form he is in right now. Ajantha (Mendis) is there throughout. Dada (Sourav Ganguly, of course) will get to practise from the 16th. You know, more than the game, in Twenty20, it is about the team spirit. John is very realistic about our chances. He says that we should aim to be in the last four and then see what happens.

Any regrets of buying the Calcutta team because you had the option of Rajasthan and Delhi...
You know what, I had this chat with Lalit (Modi) even before the IPL and I told him that two cities in the country represent sports to me and they are Calcutta and Goa. I don’t know whether it is because of the colonisation under the British and the Portuguese, but the sporty feel is there in these two places. From carrom to cricket. Like if I have to do films, I will do it in Mumbai. The facilities may be there in Calcutta but I would rather do it in Mumbai. These places just happen to represent certain aspects. Like if you want IT, go down south, man. You know when it comes to Calcutta, mujhe culture maloom hai, history maloom hai, Bengali zeal bhi maloom hai, par mujhe Calcutta sports hi lagta hai. I am very happy that the city has embraced me. I haven’t learnt the language yet. I have a problem with languages. That’s what I tell Mani (Ratnam) Sir... I can’t do Tamil yaar. But yes I have to learn the culture more. We now have a permanent office there. My wife’s relatives are there. Coming back to the team, inshallah we will reach there. Even Manchester United comes third. It’s a long-term plan. I want to do a stadium there. There are too many issues and sometimes I get tired but my two life ambitions are to build a world-class studio in Mumbai and a world-class stadium in Calcutta.

Shah Rukh reaches up to the ceiling of the car with his right hand to turn the ventilator on and starts smoking. The ventilator is overworked as he goes seamlessly from one cigarette to another. In no time the ashtray hole on the door of his car is filled to the brim. The car is the Smoking Khan’s hideout, as he is not allowed to light up in front of the kids — Aryan and Suhana — on the fifth and sixth floors of Mannat.

First 26/11 and now the attack on Lankan cricketers in Pakistan... Do you feel scared when you go out today?
No. I believe I am Allah’s good man. I am not affected by any of this. Like everybody worries about my shoulder injury. I have no iota of doubt in the goodness of life. I have no iota of doubt in the positivity of life. If you doubt it even for a bit, you are no longer positive. I also have no doubt that this hand will be all right in six months and I will be jumping and screaming again. I will go and hang from the 10th floor just to prove to myself that my hand is fit and also to prove to others and my kids. See, you can’t do much. You pray everyday. I have no issues about security. During Billu’s release, somebody came and threw something at my house. The commissioner of police came and asked me if I needed more security. I said I have enough. I have bullet-proof cars. If needed I can send one to Calcutta. But you know what, I have this strange feeling and I don’t know whether I should say this but I will never be attacked. I am too good a person and I give too much entertainment to everyone. Even the bad guy will say, ‘picture bhi toh dekhna hai uska’.

How did the My Name is Khan shoot go in the US?
We shot the second half. The first half is left. It’s come out well... main khud ke baare mein badhaa chadhaake nahin bolna chahta. I am playing an autistic person, so it’s very different for me. It’s not a very serious film. It’s a Forrest Gump kind of a film. You feel bad for this guy but there’s a lot of positivity in the film. Like a person who is not well can look at life so positively. Why can’t everyone do the same? It’s not about a disabled man’s fight against disability. It’s a disabled man’s fight against the disability that exists in the world — terrorism, hatred, fighting. I only do films with a subtext... I know normally my films don’t look and feel what I think about them. Because I am very clear that films should entertain. My Name is Khan is also about Islam and the way the world looks at Islam but we are not taking any sides. We are only trying to say that there are only good people and bad people. There are no good Hindus, bad Hindus, good Christians, bad Christians. Either you are a good person or a bad person. Religion is not the criterion, humanity is. The tagline we have put in the film is: “The first superhero with only one superpower — humanity”.

Like Rab Ne’s ordinariness was extraordinary...
And people liked him. I just learnt about this poll that 80 per cent of the audience liked the character of Suri. And to think of it, I made it on a real guy (a Paanchvi Pass contestant). Also the fact that you never question that a 40-year-old man is romancing a 18-year-old girl. That’s interesting. Here is a completely played down version of a movie star who is supposedly known as a superstar. A superstar is a rockstar. Here is a rundown version. If I wasn’t in the movies, I might have looked like Suri. Because I have to change my look everyday as an actor. We do exaggerate in cinema. Art is always larger than life. But here was a simple man with simple wants.

SRK’s driver’s mobile starts ringing even though the owner’s phone is in silent mode. But SRK doesn’t mind. After all, the driver’s ringtone is the Haule haule song from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. He doesn’t ask him to switch it off and continues the conversation.

Is there a lot of creative satisfaction in your work these days?
Yes, the last few films were very satisfying. I also really liked Billu. It’s a great thought — friends that you don’t forget. I loved Irrfan in it. I liked Chak De! India. I also really enjoyed Don. And now playing an autistic person in My Name is Khan is so supremely satisfying that I don’t want to work on any other movie for the rest of the year. Arre yeh bahut hai! I am so happy doing it. I did a lot of studies, a lot of research.

Is that something you are doing in the last few movies? Or did you always research your characters?
I have always done it. See, I have usually played the hero type and even then I have done studies. Like Don is taken from this man I knew who is really tough but walks like a girl. Obviously that man is not so famous that you will instantly recognise him. Like Darr is based on a Parsi friend of mine who used to stammer on specific words. So I made my character stammer only on Kiran... Kkkkkiran. As an actor my job is to observe, absorb and then take it out when called on to do so.

So how did you research for My Name is Khan?
I had done a play about autism with Barry John where I worked with an autistic kid. So when my writer and director in My Name is Khan sat with me, I gave them 25 more pages of research. I gave them more references... four different physical manifestations of autism. The eyes are very difficult to do. When you see me in the film, you will be shocked. To me it’s very difficult. With 100 people around you, to get those unfocussed, dead eyes is very difficult. Then I am saying dialogues with those eyes without expressing. I had to practise those eyes in my bathroom for 10 days before I got it right. Now I am teaching my children... pushing the eyeballs up, they stay there, then I go cock-eyed and then they go blank. Very difficult, very fulfilling.

The car is waiting at a traffic signal. A boy comes banging at the window. He shouts: “Aye Shah Rukh, aap ka photo aila hai, aap ka photo aila hai.” The star shouts back: “Thank you yaar, kahaan photo aila hai?” The kid smiles and runs away. It’s impossible to see inside the BMW through those dark window glasses. How does the boy at the traffic signal know who is inside? SRK smiles and says: “I think he knows the car.”

While the new heroes in Bollywood are being welcomed with open arms, do you feel that everyone’s being deliberately unkind to your recent films?
To me it doesn’t matter what the critics say. I have passed that stage. God bless them yaar! Hope they are happy. I have a very clear concept about all this. If you know why you are doing something, other people cannot waiver you off with their opinion. So if I know that I have worn white pants with a reason, and people keep telling me that it’s not in fashion, I am happy with my reason.

There have been a lot of ugly remarks from your colleagues in the industry...
I know those people. If I don’t like something, I call them and tell them so. Mostly they are misquoted. Like, if you say that Chidambaram has cancelled the IPL. Now he didn’t say that but that’s how people interpret things. Exactly like that. But we meet each other every evening and trust me there are people who you think don’t even like me or I don’t like them. Like Amitji was the first guy to come and meet me after the shoulder operation. He was in fact going to the hospital. I was like, where are you going sir? He said hospital. I said, main ghar aa gaya hoon. He said, main thak gaya hoon, kal aata hoon. Next evening he was there for four-five hours. People assume I hate him and he hates me. Earlier we used to talk about this — Amitji aisa kyun likh rahe hain?. Now, we don’t even do that. We are now sure that it’s a different world where people think Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan are like this. They have no clue of this real world. We have tried to explain 10-12 times but they don’t want to understand. They don’t like it like that. God bless them. Who they are talking about are the images of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan that people have in their minds. We are different.

But what about Aamir Khan? Why did he go after you?
Aamir... he is my age. I have known him from the day I landed in Mumbai. Me, Ashutosh (Gowariker), Aamir, Makrand Deshpande, Neeraj Vohra... we were friends. If he says something I can call him and say what I feel. And he would be “Arre Shah, aisa nahin bola maine yaar!” Also I prefer talking to people directly rather than through the media. I say something to a journalist, he says something to another journalist... baat ghoomta rehta hai. The other day, in fact, we were sitting and chatting about this. I called him ullu ka pattha. I talk to him like this. People will never understand. That’s okay. Otherwise you are feeding more and more and more to the media. At that time pictures release pe thi, tab theek tha. Dono pictures (Rab Ne and Ghajini) ko publicity mil raha tha (laughs). Sometimes even the media should realise that maybe actors are using you. I don’t. I have a huge relationship with the media. It’s a need-based relationship and I think I am part of the media. Till the day I am an actor. And there’s nothing like a bad journalist. As I said you are a bad person or a good person. Your profession doesn’t make you bad. If you are okay being used, be used. You never know which actor is having the last laugh.

Coming back to KKR, what is your take on cheerleaders, especially after what happened last year with their dress code?
A profession should not be looked down upon. When I look at these young girls who want to be cheerleaders, I think of my daughter. Eight years from now, she could be one and I will be happy. I am a family man. I have a lot of respect for girls. If you think less of women, you will look down on their job. I really can’t do that. When I work with these really young girls in my movies, I really think of my daughter, who could be the same eight years from now. There’s a lot of innocence in all of them. Cheerleading is a profession rather than nangi ladkiyan naach rahi hai. Yeh kya baat hui yaar? Yeh toh wahiyaat baat ho gayi. It’s a very conservative, old-fashioned thought. We understand that but we don’t do much about it... phir koi aake bottle phenkega ghar ke baahar. Their clothes are not cheap. We are not cheap people. My wife, Karan (Johar), Manish (Malhotra)... they design the clothes. When we make people wear bikinis in films, it’s meant to make them look attractive and not vulgar.

Did you watch Dada’s last match?
Of course, I did. I wanted to go but I couldn’t. We sent him a watch. Also it didn’t strike me then but I later thought we should have bought 10,000 tickets and should have had people in Kolkata Knight Riders jerseys cheering for him. For us, Dada has not retired.

Are you as pumped up this time as you were the last time?
I am much more charged after the loss last year (laughs). Everything will be good from now. I felt that when we got (Mashrafe) Mortaza. Before the auction, I told my team that the only team who will go for Mortaza will be Mohali. See we are all friends and when I learnt that Nita bhabhi (Ambani) wanted Dominic (Thornely) I asked my guys to let go. But I instinctively felt that Mohali would try and increase the price of Mortaza. They didn’t tell me even though I meet Preity very often. So I messaged my team at the Goa auction, ‘make sure we get Mortaza’. Whatever it takes... even if it’s for the sake of friendship. We also have to show Bengali spirit at some point of time. We want to win the IPL and we will have it. This year should be played like that.

The car reaches the Yash Raj Studio where Shah Rukh has to crown the six official cheerleaders aka Angels for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He opens the car door with his right hand and stalks out. Like a Royal Bengal tiger, wounded and hungry.

Later in the shoot at Yash Raj Studio: Shah Rukh’s friends at his TV production unit Red Chillies Idiot Box, which is producing the cheerleader show Knights & Angels, wanted the King to give a jharokha darshan during the final episode and crown the winning girls. But Shah Rukh being Shah Rukh stayed for three whole segments and actually danced at the end of it all. Gauri wouldn’t have approved if she was around. But it sure made a certain Sourav Ganguly break his promise of never dancing again (after his terrible footwork in the Hero Honda ad nine years ago). Seeing SRK’s infectious energy, even with the sling just about holding the broken shoulder in place, Dada joined Shah Rukh and did an impromptu jig to Korbo lorbo jeetbo re. All those who thought that the owner and the captain were not on the same page should have seen them on stage. Wanted: An action replay of King and Dada after winning IPL 2.

What five questions would you ask SRK if you were in the car with him? Tell t2@abpmail.com

We are living in an uncertain world: SRK

Underlining that people were living in an "uncertain" world, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan today said that one should abstain from indulging in inhuman activities in the name of God as no religion supported such acts.

The actor said that a lot of uncertainty and hatred around the world was the manifestation of extreme religious viewpoints and misinterpretation of religion.

"If you want to kill please kill each other but stop using His (God's) name do it. God has not sanctioned wars, holy or unholy," he said while speaking at the Indian Today Conclave -- "Can Art Overcome Hatred?" Referring to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and the very recent attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, Khan said, "We are living in a hugely uncertain world. We are riding in the same boat. There is no hiding place for anyone anywhere in the world. We are very vulnerable." The actor said being a Muslim had never come in his way to success and fame.

"Without being pompous I can say that I am one of the leading stars of this country for the last 20 years and I am a Muslim by birth and I practice Isalm as religion. I am supposedly a big star in a supposedly Hindu-dominated nation. That speaks volumes about how art can transcend religion," said Shah Rukh.

Shahrukh Khan as God of love

Much has been speculated about Shahrukh Khan ’s role in director Mudassar Aziz’s film Dulha Mil Gaya .

The latest bit of rumour says the superstar plays the God of love in the Vivek Vaswani-produced film which has been in the making for god knows how long! SRK doesn’t play a naked winged boy with bow and arrow in hands. He rather plays a serene God of love who even indulges in some stunts.

It can be recalled that while shooting one of these stunts, SRK injured his shoulder and had to recently undergo a surgery at a Mumbai hospital.

However, SRK doesn’t play a central role in ‘Dulha Mil Gaya’. He’s not even second fiddle to the lead hero Fardeen Khan .

Sources say SRK has just a guest appearance that’s restricted to a few scenes and a song that’s yet to be shot on SRK, Fardeen and the film’s leading lady, Sushmita Sen .

The film got stuck on floors after producer Vivek Vaswani increased SRK’s role from a cameo to a full-fledged one, much to the dismay of the superstar who’s apparently doing the film for free since Vaswani is, or at least was, his friend.

Don 2 to go on floors April 2010

After releasing Don – The Chase Begins as one of the mega Bollywood Diwali releases in 2006, director Farhan Aktar is planning to release the sequel Don 2 in a Diwali bonanza in 2010.

When asked about the delays in shoot Farhan replied, “Don 2 requires a summer shoot and since in the summer of 2009 both me and Shah Rukh, being both busy with our acting assignments, the shoot for our film will only begin next summer which is of 2010.”

Sources however have revealed that Priyanka Chopra will also be starring in the sequel opposite Shah Rukh Khan when the film goes to floor in April 2010. The director/actor/singer, who has recently led a full diary due to films Rock On!! and Luck By Chance, has no time to sit in the director’s chair until the summer of next year.

Sources added “Direction is Farhan’s first love and he likes to direct films, but only one film in two - three years. He did Dil Chahta Hai in 2001, Lakshya in 2004, Don in 2006 and so in 2010, one will see a film from him, for sure.”

Don 2 which is said to be a continuation of Don has been in the pipeline for a while with the script currently being prepared by Farhan Aktar, who is also handling the pre-production work required for the film.

Salman Khan Walks Away on Seeing Shah Rukh Khan - Video

Salman Khan Walks Away on Seeing Shah Rukh Khan

The animosity between Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan refuses to die to down with the latter making mid-way exit from Amrita Aroras wedding ceremony at sight of SRK at the function recently.

Angered by Shah Rukhs presence at the ceremony, Salman apparently caught a rickshaw and left the place in huff-puff.

The two superstars are at loggerheads since their verbal duel at Salmans actor-girlfriend Katrina Kaifs birthday party in July last year.

The duo had almost resorted fisticuffs before they were intervened by SRKs wife Gauri in the nick of time then.

Salman gets angry on being asked about Shah Rukh

Salman Khan got angry when asked about his equation with Shah Rukh Khan during the marriage ceremony of two Bollywood stars in Mumbai. Shah Rukh Khan too was present on the occasion.

Salman became so angry on being asked about his relations with Shah Rukh Khan that he left the place in a rickshaw without even waiting for his car and his girlfriend Katrina Kaif.

The two superstars are not on talking terms ever since they fought each other in Katrina Kaif’s birthday party.

The two actors are of the same age. Both were born in the year 1965. Though Salman Khan made his debut in Bollywood a few years earlier than Shah Rukh Khan, SRK went on to become a more celebrated star than Salman Khan.

Salman Khan was on his way to become a superstar even before Shah Rukh Khan landed a role in Bollywood.

Sallu made his debut with the film Biwi Ho To Aisi that was released in 1988, he gave a super hit of a new genre with his super duper hit Maine Pyar Kiya in the year 1989.

Shah Rukh Khan who began his acting career from television majored to Bollywood with his debut film Deewana in 1992. the film was a huge success and gave the Khan a place in filmdom where family and kinship play a major role.

Their latest fight may well go on to divide the Indian film fraternity like never before. Shah Rukh Khan has a major influence in Indian film industry not only as an actor, but producer. He has also one of the best production and post production center with state of the art machinery.

But this will not bode well for the Indian film industry and it should come to an end as soon as possible.

Come to the grounds only if you feel safe: SRK

Shah Rukh Khan has a message for Knight Riders supporters: come to the grounds only if you feel safe.

“I appeal to all spectators at Eden Gardens, even it means my business getting hit, to come and watch the matches only if they are sure about the security arrangements,” the KKR co-owner said.

The terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore has cast a cloud on the Indian Premier League, but Shah Rukh said: “I feel bad for the players but you can’t stop life because of this…. For the common man on the street, who needs to go out and work for his daily bread, he cannot think of stopping his daily activities because of terrorism.”

Still, like “I had said during the release of my film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi after 26/11, that only watch the film if you are going out to the theatres”, Shah Rukh is asking the crowds to come to the Eden only if they feel secure.

If the Indian Premier League kicks off on schedule — a big question mark hangs over it after the Centre suggested the matches should be postponed — Shah Rukh will be out in the grounds in his now-familiar role as the KKR twelfth man.

“Is baar baaki teams ke liye mera ek haath hi kaafi hai!” he joked, playing Thakur of Sholay with his left arm in sling after a shoulder surgery two weeks ago.

“I will be there and I will clap with both hands… I just hope they give me reason enough to clap,” Shah Rukh told The Telegraph this afternoon, on way from Mannat to the Yash Raj Studio for his first shoot after the surgery.

The last season, the team failed to make it to the final four. That hurt — “Losing is depressing,” he says — but Shah Rukh hopes to teach the boys a lesson he has learnt in his nearly 20 years in Bollywood: “It’s not about the knockout punch, it’s about lasting the 12 rounds.”

“When I started off I was like Mike Tyson, but now I have realised that you have to be either Mohammad Ali or George Foreman. As Jake LaMotta said, you can’t take me down. You can lose but don’t be a loser. I have had more failures than successes in my career but today people call Shah Rukh Khan a success because I could take all the beatings. I want to instil this feeling in all the Knight Rider kids,” he said.

If all the pep talk doesn’t work, SRK has another strategy up his sleeve. “I plan to get hold of a huge black bell this time which I want to play during the matches at Eden Gardens. It will go dong dong like those huge gongs. When I see the festival of Durga Puja and all the bells everywhere, I want to bring that flavour to the field. You may think I am an outsider but I am not an outsider in Calcutta. I had the option of Jaipur and Delhi but I always wanted Calcutta as my IPL team.”

He hoped the remixed team anthem would be even more popular than Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re was in the inaugural season.

But he won’t be in the Club House stand this time, egging on the Calcutta crowd. “I just have to ask the powers-that-be to allow me to sit near the boundary because I don’t think I will be able to sit with the crowds,” he said. “Out of love, a lot of people might pull my hand and that can hurt.”

His first shoot after the surgery was for KKR — to crown the six lucky girls who’ve won the cheerleader hunt on TV, Knights & Angels. “It’s a brand building exercise for the team because it is only through shows like this that I can tell the rest of the country about the Knight Riders. They wouldn’t react to a Kolkata Knight Riders billboard but shows like this will make our team a household name across the country.”

SRK’s most special “get well” message also has a Calcutta connection.

“The main criterion for our team to win is full fitness and I am messaging the main player of the team to get fit soon,” reads the SMS from Jagmohan Dalmiya, the man in charge at Eden.

Shah Rukh Khan To Speak At The India Today Conclave, This Saturday

Bollywood's global superstar, Shah Rukh Khan, is all set to speak this Saturday at the India Today Conclave in New Delhi.

Reports the reputed magazine "Actor, film producer, TV host, owner of Indian Premier League team, Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan is one of India's greatest all time superstars. The actor, who has made movies as varied as the nihilistic 'Darr' (1994) and the huge diaspora hit 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' (1995), is known for his risk-taking roles. He has most recently played a reincarnated superstar in 'Om Shanti Om' (2007) and an ordinary middle class clerk in 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' (2008). Currently working on My Name is Khan with director Karan Johar, his box office magic spreads far beyond the borders of India. Awarded a Padma Shri by the government, the 43-year-old is a 'Datuk' in Malaysia, a bearer of the French Government's 'Order of the Arts and Literature', and also has a wax lookalike at the Madame Tussauds museum in London."

As per the tentative schedule, Shah Rukh Khan will speak during - Session Bollywood: Can Art Overcome Hate? The time slot will be 17.00 - 18.00 hrs IST on March 7, 2009.

SRK to finalise the IPL anthem

Shah Rukh Khan has asked Vishal-Shekhar as well as Pritam to do the remix version of the IPL anthem 'Karbo, Larbo, Jeetbo Re'. He will finally select the version which he likes best.

Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders’ anthem ‘Karbo, Larbo, Jeetbo Re’ will become a remixed number during the forthcoming IPL season. Our source says that now SRK wants a modified version of the anthem for which music directors Vishal-Shekhar and Pritam are close contenders. Interestingly, SRK will choose whichever of the two versions he will prefer.

While SRK has instructed Vishal-Shekar, who had composed the original anthem last year, to come up with a remixed version for this year’s IPL, he also approached his current favourite music director Pritam who gave music in his recent home production Billu for the same.

Our source said, “Vishal-Shekar and Pritam are both working on the same anthem. Let’s see who comes up with a better composition. The offer to both the music directors was made only recently.”

It may be recalled that last year, Vishal-Shekar were closely associated with SRK since they were working with him on Om Shanti Om even while composing the anthem for Kolkata Knight Riders. However lately, SRK and Pritam have also been working closely because of Billu.

When contacted, Vishal asked, “Who told you this?” and he quickly went on to deny that SRK had approached them to modify ‘Karbo, Larbo, Jeetbo Re’. Vishal added, “I would love to do something like that and give some sort of a spin to the anthem.” Shekar too denied that SRK had approached them for a remixed version but then he quickly added, “That would be really cool.”

Vishal said, “I haven’t heard that SRK has asked Pritam to do the remixed version. SRK is a professional and if such a thing happens, we will be told about it. But, if Pritam goes on to do it, we have no issues as long as the anthem rocks and the team is inspired by it.”

Despite repeated attempts, Pritam remained unavailable for comment. We sent a text message to SRK but he didn’t reply.

As for whose remixed version SRK will finally select, may the best man win.