Shah Rukh Khan in Tax Trouble

King Khan might have been Bollywood’s highest advance tax payer last year. But the I-T department has not forgotten that the man still owes them money from nearly ten years ago.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday admitted an appeal, by the I-T department, challenging an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), which had ruled in the star’s favour in June 2008.

In the first of its appeals, the I-T department seeks to claim a sum of Rs 19.43 lakh from the actor, out of a total exemption of Rs 72.67 lakh for the assessment year of 1998-1999.

“The appeals for the remainder of the amount will come up for hearing in separate cases over the next few weeks,” a source in the I-T department disclosed.

Shah Rukh had declared his total income for the financial year 1998-99 as Rs 2.01 crore, the appeal filed in the HC states. Out of this, Rs 72.67 lakh was shown as earnings from international advertising and endorsements.

The aforementioned Rs 19.43 lakh was shown in his filings of that year as advance received “towards royalty” from Jeanne Arthes Perfume for fragrances named after him.

For this, SRK had sought deductions under section 80RR of the I-T Act, by claiming it to be professional receipt from a foreign source.

Section 80RR of the Income Tax Act, 1961 covers Indian residents who earn foreign currency, and are subjected to tax deductions. This category includes professionals such as film personalities, sports persons, authors and musicians. These individuals are allowed tax deductions of 75 per cent of the income received in the form of foreign currency, provided they earn it by virtue of their profession.

In this case, however – the I-T department argues – SRK earned the sum by endorsing a brand, and not in his capacity as an actor.

The Assessment Officer studying SRK’s case had concluded that “the said receipts had not been derived from the exercise of his profession – ie, acting – but from a commercial venture in which the actor had commercially exploited his brand equity, popularity and mass appeal”.

The AO therefore restricted the deduction to 5 per cent, whereas Shah Rukh had claimed a deduction (u/s 80RR) of 75 per cent.

The star had then approached the Chief of Income Tax (CIT) against the AO’s order, which – in April, 2002 – partly allowed his appeal.

Both parties then moved to the ITAT, as they were dissatisfied with the CIT’s order.

The ITAT – in June, 2008 – had partly allowed both the appeals. The department has now filed various appeals in HC against the ITAT’s order, which partly ruled in favour of the star.

The Earnings Of A Superstar
In the year 2006-07, King Khan paid Rs 18 crore in tax. The following year – in January 2008 – he paid advance taxes of Rs 27 crore till December 15, 2007, and declared his income for 2007-08 at over Rs 100 crore.

Shahrukh Khan IIFA 2009 'Actor of the Decade'

Superstars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan were declared the 'Actors of the Decade' at the IIFA awards here.

Aishwarya won two honorary awards for her work in Indian and international cinema while Khan was honoured for his work in popular Indian cinema, Bollywood.

The 35-year-old actress who also performed at the awards gala received both the trophies while Shahrukh had to miss the ceremony because he is shooting for his upcoming film 'My Name is Khan'.

The 43-year-old actor, who began his career with the small screen, beat Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan to win the title.

Aishwarya won the 'Golden Decade' award for her memorable performances in the past ten years beating off competition from Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

While Aishwarya shot to global recognition with international projects like 'Pink Panther' and 'Provoked', Khan, too has a global following around the world being the 'Badshah of Bollywood'.

The former Miss World won the'Outstanding Achievement by Indian in International Cinema' award which was won last year by musician AR Rahman who won the 'Golden Decade of Music' award for his contribution to Indian films where music is often as important as the script and actors.

SRK's always game for audacious stunts

Farhan Akhtar says Shah Rukh Khan will be performing daring stunts in Don 2.

"He's always game for the audacious. But the health problems really frustrate him," says the director referring to the SRK's shoulder surgery this year.

But now SRK is all set to bounce back with a full-on actioner in Don 2.

And there's Priyanka Chopra for company again.

Bipasha Basu who has been eased out of Race 2 firmly believes leading ladies don't have a future in sequels.

But here's one to prove her wrong. Though Priyanka has apparently been left out of Dostana 2she's very much a part of Don 2which starts shooting, finally, in May 2010 in Ireland and Berlin.

In fact Don 2 will be the first Indian film to be shot In Dublin.

Says the producer Ritesh Sidhwani, "We're very much going ahead with the original cast Shah Rukh, Priyanka, Boman Irani, Arjun Rampal and Om Puri. Only those who died in the original won't return, obviously."

Also, for obvious reasons, this time there won't be a double role for Shah Rukh. What he will be doing is, some of the most heart-in-the-mouth stunts ever done by any leading man and certainly SRK's most audacious actioner yet.

For this Shah Rukh needs to recover from this year's back surgery.

Says a source, "This is why he allotted dates in 2009 to Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan. It requires very little physical exertion whereas Don 2 is a kick-ass role."

When the proposal to do the sequel first came up Shah Rukh was very sure it would have to go beyond the first part in terms of locales, action and drama.

Says producer Ritesh Sidhwani, "We're shooting Don 2 in Dublin .No Indian film has been shot there. We want to make sure that the sequel goes ahead of the first film. While the first part was a remake the sequel is an original script and would be much tougher to film for Shah Rukh and Farhan."

SRK: Direction is nice but lonely!

There have been a few murmers doing the rounds that Shah Rukh Khan, after having ventured into production, television and cricket has finally decided to take up direction. We all know that King Khan has directed a football sequence in Karan Johar's KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA and also written the concluding 'Japan darshan' scene from Aditya Chopra's RAB NE BANA DI JODI, but is he ready to take the full time plunge into direction? Well, here is the answer from the man himself!

Says SRK, 'I don't know yet. I think it's a very lonely job. It's very nice, but am I ready to be so lonely so early? Not quite. I like the sound, the noise and the people. I want to do television, endorsements, Knight Riders and movies. I want to do so much and when there is nothing left to do, then I will direct...'

With the above statement to a reputed international source, SRK has made his stand clear!

What is Shah Rukh Khan made up of

If someone posed you a question like 'What are you made up of?' you are bound to say 'Flesh and bones'.

But if you were to ask the same to the ever-so-affable Shahrukh Khan, then, he, with all his childish like charm bundled together, will bounce off saying 'Tag Heur'. 'What are you made up of?' incidentally happens to be the catch line of the TAG Heur brand of watches, of which he is the Brand Ambassador!

Recently, the guys from TAG shot for their new global ad campaign aptly titled 'The Knights Of Time' featuring the enigmatic Shahrukh Khan, whose international counterparts for the ad, include the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton and Maria Sharapova! The TAG officials consider them more than just stars. According to them, these celebrities are the 'Knights of Time' and are the conquerors of the 21st Century.

The Indian campaign featuring SRK was shot by ace photographer Atul Kasbekar at Mehboob Studios in Mumbai. For the uninitiated, this is the third ad campaign that TAG has shot with SRK, the first two being in 2003 and 2006.

The recently shot ad exhibits the aura interspersed with class that SRK and TAG enjoys. And it is this class that the ad tries to showcase in a very close connection, highlighting the emotion and sophistication of the association.

Talking about his association with the ultra prestigious TAG Heur and about the latest campaign, the eternally mint-fresh SRK said, "I have said this before and I shall reiterate that when I was young, I always wanted to own a TAG Heuer watch and it is a matter of great pride for me that I am the brand ambassador of TAG Heuer for six years now.

This is my third ad campaign with TAG Heuer. This one is extremely special and different. It's very rich and intense in its look and appeal and makes me feel closer to the watch than ever before.

The attitude has never been to sell more watches. The attitude is to bring to you a different lifestyle, a lifestyle based on precision, perfection and passion."

Man! Here is truly a man who knows what he really knows the altitude of attitude, which is making us feel slightly nostalgic…Bas…itna sa khwaab hai. What say Shahrukh?

'There are no rules for good photographers. There are only good photographers'.

The aforementioned saying was quoted by one of the legendary photographers. And the person who stands true to every inch of this is none other than the ace photographer of all times Atul Kasbekar. And it is this man whose magical hands, doubled by his delightful camera lens, together have made this global dream come alive and how!

On his association with TAG and SRK, a proud Atul said that "I've worked with TAG Heuer from the time it launched in 2002 and it's like family now.

With SRK, I've worked very closely for many years now and so I know what kind of lighting works for his face and what does not. This new campaign reflects a lot of strength and aspiration and my challenge has been to adapt the international brief for India and Shah Rukh Khan."

If you rattle out the common factor that binds together Race, Dhoom 2 amongst others, what you will find is that besides the fact that these films were simply a class apart, it were costumes of these films that commanded the same amount of attention as much as the stars!

And the lady solely responsible for all this 'attention' is none other then Bollywood's very own Anaita Shroff Adajania, who also happens to be the Master-Stylist of the TAG Heur campaign.

Recalling her experience with this prestigious brand, SRK and the lovely shoot, she said "The campaign is extremely smart and elegant. There's a lovely edge which is strong and powerful, which is the character that Shah Rukh is.

We've used beautiful clothes to match the character of this campaign including clothes from Ermenegildo Zegna. There is a strong sensuality between Shah Rukh and the watch that he is wearing."

Way to go lady!

Shahrukh being sought for a public service message

The state government is seeking Shahrukh Khan for an anti-child labour campaign. But will the superstar give his nod?

Initially, Aamir Khan was approached by the government for the campaign. But because Aamir has declined the offer, the labour ministry is thinking of roping in another Khan. And who else better than Shahrukh?

The reason for Aamir’s no is that he doesn’t want to be too preachy with his various public service messages. He has already done a few public service ads for the government. And doing another one can take away the credibility of the previous ones. According to Aamir, as reported by a daily, “I didn’t want to dilute the (message in the) ads that I’ve already done by doing another one.”

Aamir has already done ad for elections and the ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ campaign for Indian tourism. He is face of ‘Incredible India’.

Kavita Gupta, state labour secretary admits that Aamir was the perfect person to launch the campaign, but his denial has disappointed the department. Ad man Prahlad Kakkar who is set to direct the campaign, feels Aamir’s refusal may be because of creative reasons than for the cause.

Now, the ministry plans to knock at Shahrukh’s door. Let’s hope SRK agrees to do this campaign. But the superstar hasn’t said anything on this; he is not in India and is holidaying and shooting in US.

Srk joins a rank of celebs like Leonardo DiCaprio in Tag Heuer's new campaign

Shah Rukh joins hands with Leonardo DiCaprio, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton and Maria Sharapova in a brand new advertising campaign for watch brand Tag Heuer.

The new campaign puts the spotlight on the brand's tag line, "What are you made of?" It is the common thread linking the past campaign to this daring new one.

Christening these celebrities as Knights Of Time, Shah Rukh along with the other brand ambassadors will be seen in this particular campaign. Here's a sneak peek at what happened behind the scenes at the Tag Heuer shoot...

SRK to gift his bodyguard a flat

Shahrukh Khan has decided to gift his bodyguard Yaseen Khan a flat as a wedding gift. Yaseen has been staying at Shahrukh’s Mannat ever since he had started working with him. But now when he is getting married, he is finding little awkward to stay at Shahrukh's house with his newly wedded. Understanding his uneasiness, King Khan has decided to gift Yaseen a falt who hails from Karnataka.

Says a source, "Ever since he began working with SRK over a decade ago, he has been traveling with the actor wherever he goes, including his overseas shoots. But a single guy living under his roof is quite different from someone who has a wife and wants to start a family. And so,when he told SRK that he was tying the knot, it was clear to both that he'd need a new place. That's when SRK decided to present his most trusted guy a wedding gift he would remember."

Shahrukh did like him to stay nearby his house and so he will go for a flat somewhere at Bandra. Yaseen who is on a short visit to his hometown will join Shahrukh in New York where he is shooting for ‘My Name Is Khan’.

No Shah Rukh Khan in Yash Chopra’s TV venture

Reports suggesting that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will feature in a television series being produced by Yash Chopra have been slammed by Yash Raj Films (YRF) as false.
While YRF agrees that Chopra is planning to jump on to the soap bandwagon, reports that Shah Rukh, who had started his career with soaps like “Fauji” and “Circus”, will be acting in them are untrue.

“YRF is in negotiations with a few channels for the soap series but the news of Shah Rukh Khan acting in them is not true,” Rafiq Gangjee, YRF vice president (marketing and communication), told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

Salman and SRK to shake hands

Salman Khan the bad boy of Bollywood, who has launched into his second innings on the small screen wants to forge a new friendship with King Khan.

The naughty birdie, who is a big fan of Salman Khan tells us that Salman Khan is willing to have Shah Rukh Khan as a guest on his TV reality show Dus Ka Dum. The hunk is ready to forget the ugly spat the two had at Katrina's birthday bash last year.

We hope the two actually shake hands!