UPDATE: My Name is Khan for Rs 100 crore

There's a reason why they call him King Khan even today and when he teams up with longtime friend and Bollywood's hottest producer-director Karan Johar it's a formula for blockbusters.

And that's reason enough for Fox Studio to put its money in what could arguably be the biggest Bollywood deal ever.

Fox is all set to acquire the worldwide rights of Karan Johar's Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer My Name is Khan for a record Rs 100 crore. That's more than double the budget of the film.

"It will be a very big deal for Fox. It catapults them to the big league. It can't get bigger than KJo, SRK in Bollywood," said Komal Nahata, Film Trade Analyst.

Such a big buyout especially when many producers have failed to seal deals will certainly raise eyebrows and reiterate King Khan's saleability factor in the box office.

Till date Aamir Khan's Ghajini (Rs 90 crore0 has topped the buyout list, Om Shanti Om (Rs75 crore) stood second highest followed by Akshay Kumar's Singh is Kinng (Rs 60 crore) and Welcome (Rs 40 crore).

But for Fox Star Studio that's Fox's Joint Venture with STAR is a high stakes game. After the runaway success of Slumdog Millionaire, Fox clearly leads the pack compared to its global rivals Warner Bros and Sony whose Hindi productions Sawariya and Chandni Chowk To China have all bombed at the box office.

But experts say with SRK's global popularity, My Name is Khan will be one of the highest grossers for the overseas Box Office. No wonder Fox is betting on a 2010 project of SRK despite the rather lukewarm response of his Billu and Rab Ne Bana De Jodi.

Shahrukh Khan in Tamil film

Shahrukh Khan is busy shooting for Karan Johar's My Name is Khan. And we may soon get to see King Khan in a new avataar in a Tamil film.

Well, if reports are to be believed, it might soon happen. What reports? The makers of Ajith starrer Asal are making every effort possible to contact SRK and request his cameo appearance in Asal.

It may be noted that Ajith was earlier a part of SRK's Asoka as his younger brother. And now, King Khan may just decide to return the favour. No confirmation has been received from the SRK camp so far, but it could happen.

Asal has Ajith and Sameera Reddy in the lead and is produced by Sivaji Productions.

Shahrukh Khan: ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' sung at Malaysian PM's b'day bash

‘Badshah' of Bollywood was invited as the guest of honour at the birthday celebrations of Malaysia's Prime Minister Datukshri Najib Tun Razak yesterday.

According to sources, actor doing ‘My Name is Khan' said, “The Prime Minister and his wife Datinshri Rosamah were very kind to me when I shot Don here. As a friend, I was invited to spend an evening with them.''

Earlier in 2008, Shahrukh was awarded the Malaysian title of Datuk which is considered of equal honor of that of a British Knighthood. He is the first overseas artist to have been bestowed with this honour.

“It made me feel special and it also provided me an opportunity to carry on a relationship with a country that is culturally close to ours,'' added Khan.

According to the grapevine, celebration factor mounted over the actor as he sang ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' from one of his superhits for the PM as he was admired for his doings by fans at the gathering.

Fox Studios picks up rights of ‘My Name is Khan’ for Rs 100 cr: Report

Mumbai: No one sells like Shah Rukh Khan in Bollywood. Even before the release of ‘My Name is Khan’, his film is being seen as a hit considering the hype surrounding every little detail of the film.

Latest news has it that Fox Star Studio has reportedly bought the rights of the film for a whopping Rs 100 crores! Added to this, the film is said to be rich on music side as well with songs having chartbusting potential.
Critics, who have seen the rushes of MNIK, were overwhelmed by what they saw and heard. They were all praises for the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, the music composers and director Karan Johar.

‘My Name is Khan’ has been in news for all the right reasons. Super hit onscreen couple SRK and Kajol will be seen together after a long time. Written by Shibani Bathija, the film is about a Muslim (Shah Rukh) who suffers from the Asperger syndrome, a form of autism that impacts social interaction abilities, and he is arrested as a suspected terrorist in post-9/11 Los Angeles after authorities mistake his disability for suspicious behaviour.

After distributing ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in India, Fox Star Studio is hopeful about this much-awaited biggie which has all the potential to be a blockbuster.

Ganguly captain, Wright coach of SRK'S KKR in 2010: Sources

Sourav Ganguly is almost certain to be reinstated as the captain while John Wright is likely to take over as the coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in the third edition of the Indian Premier League in 2010, team sources said on Saturday.

Even as an official announcement is awaited, sources said that there could be a major reshuffle with former India coach Wright likely to replace John Buchanan as Knight Riders coach, while former Australian middle-order batsman Michael Bevan will be in the coaching panel.

Sources said Ganguly would be back at the helm in 2010 when his contract with the Kolkata team ends and the iconic Bengal cricketer had a one-on-one with prinicipal owner Shah Rukh Khan when the duo met in London to receive doctorates by the University of Central Lancashire last week.

"Ganguly and Shah Rukh Khan had a discussion about this when the left-hander was in London last week. They have agreed in priniciple that Ganguly will lead the side," the source said.

"There were also discussions about the possible coaches. Wright and Bevan are the front runners. It is up to Shah Rukh to take the final call."

Ganguly, meanwhile, said that nothing is final as yet and a proper announcement will be made in due time.

"I don't take the decision of KKR alone. There are a number of people involved in the process. But hopefully in due course of time we will get a person who will coach the team. The decision has not been made yet," Ganguly said.

The Knight Riders management was also tightlipped about the development. When contacted, Knight Riders CEO Joy Bhattacharya said, "At the moment, I don't deny this (Ganguly as captain and Wright as the chief coach). However, there has not been any official announcement as yet."

Asked whether he was aware of this development, he said, "I don't want to comment on this. When there is an official announcement, we will let you know." In the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa, Kolkata Knight Riders were plagued awith controversies especially after Ganguly was dethroned just two days before the start of the tournament.

Knight Riders coach John Buchanan, who later had to part ways with the side after their bottom place finish, had floated the idea of multiple captaincy but only to hand over the baton to New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.

IPL III, which was pre-poned to accommodate the ICC World Twenty20, begins in March next year and will overlap with Australia's tour of New Zealand.

Shahrukh Khan becomes a father

Shahrukh Khan is all set to play the role of a father and believe it or not he will play it in two movies My Name Is Khan and Anubhav Sinha's Ra 1. Although most actors shy away from playing such roles Shahrukh had qualms about playing a father on screen. Most stars are apprehensive of loosing their charm once they play an aged character on screen but not Shahrukh.

Shahrukh who plays Rizwan Khan in My Name Is Khan will be the father of a teenager in the movie. The superstar said these things should not bother an actor. He argues that at 30 if he could play a college student Kuch Kuch Hota Hai at 43 he can definitely play a father with his own son Aryan being 11 years old.

Deepika praises Shah Rukh Khan

Om Shanti Om star Deepika Padukone has declared that she was fortunate to debut opposite her idol Shah Rukh Khan.

Padukone, who was last seen in Chandni Chowk To China, praised Khan for putting her at ease when they began shooting.

The 23-year-old actress told CNN: "He is definitely someone who I have idolised; I have grown up watching him. He is so normal, down-to-earth and a great person to start off with."

Padukone also claimed that she was surprised to be so successful at the start of her film career.

She added: "Until today it still hasn't sunken in that so much has happened to me so soon... I'm not from Mumbai. Nobody from my family is from the film industry. I used to be the one buying tickets to watch a film and now suddenly I'm on the other side where people are buying tickets to watch my film."

SRK plays the gentlemen's game!

Okay, the Knight Riders needn’t get insecure already.

First, hear us out, boys. We told you about Shah Rukh Khan holidaying with his bachchas at his favourite hot-spot London. What we didn’t tell you is that he loves London so much that when he’s there, he drops all his starry inhibitions and becomes one of ‘em. Yeah, believe it or not, SRK is often spotted playing cricket in Hyde Park (which is a stone’s throw away from his new plush apartment).

His son loves the sport as much as Daddy, so they join Aryan’s friends in the park to play their favourite game. Obviously they have quite an audience (and self-appointed cheer-leaders, umpires, etc.), but the game goes on. Some fans even hang around the park for autographs and pictures, but no one, not even the paparazzi really bothers him too much. Well, if the English team plans to join him for one of the games (or simply to rub shoulders with the King Khan)... that will be another story. Don’t worry Dada (Sourav); we’ll be the first to tell you, so hang in there...

Fox Studio has acquired the worldwide rights for My Name is Khan

That Fox Studio has acquired the worldwide rights for My Name is Khan for Rs 100 crore supposedly the highest price for a Hindi film.

KJo's Tweet on July 19 "signing an important deal for My Name Is Khan today." Is this what he was referring to?

Shahrukh is King of Kings!

Shahrukh Khan truly was every bit a king when he took his crew shopping recently in San Fransico. The King Khan was in one of his most generous moods after he was through with the shoot of ‘My Name is Khan’.

In the true Baadshah style he told his crew to buy all that they felt like from a mall they visited. And we could bet that the crew loved SRK for his kind gesture and grabbed everything they could lay their hands on.

The light men, dress men and others picked the best branded stuff. And Khan didn’t mind this at all. In fact he urged them to come along and shop as he had panned to shop himself for few hours.

And looks like Bollywood is in a great mood for gifting even in times of recession, while SRK has showed his king size gesture; Priyanka Chopra too had gifted the crew of ‘Kaminey’ gifts after they were through with the shoot.