Hyundai, SRK rewrite brand-celebrity script

There is nothing new about Bollywood ambassadors endorsing car and bikes. Everyone from Aamir Khan to Abhishek Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan to Hrithik Roshan feature in some automobile endorsement or the other. But car maker Hyundai is rewriting the usual brand-celeb script with Shah Rukh Khan.

Khan is actually involved in the scripting, advertising and storyboard brainstorming for the i10 brand which he represents. His company Red Chillies is also making the new i10 commercial which will debut for the Diwali season starting October 8.

Speaking to ET Now , Shah Rukh Khan said: “Many of the companies I represent take feedback from me. I use these products...like the Hyundai cars...so I can give a creative suggestion. In most of the scripting and advertising I do take a very active call.”

The latest commercial for the i10 also included substantial inputs from the King Khan. “Normally for a commercial, the story and script is developed and decided by Hyundai and its advertising agency – Innocean ,” said the Hyundai spokesperson . “Once the story board is decided it is shared with SRK and at times he gives his inputs and suggestions about the production or dialogues so that it adds value to the entire script or story. For this particular ad also the same procedure was followed.”

The new i10 spot featuring SRK will highlight a fresh positioning twist for the car as a chic, urbane, stylish, reliable and desirable product . That positioning has also necessitated a tweak in the branding for Hyundai’s flagship Santro. “We are now positioning the Santro as a more family-oriented mass car which has its advantages like mileage, cost of ownership and trust of over 15 lakh customers,” says the Hyundai executive. Also, it is targeted towards tier 2 and tier 3 towns while the i10 is positioned as the most desirable compact car with primary target being young working couples; small nuclear families and more for urban use.

SRK dubs for Hindi version of Pazhassi Raja

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has dubbed the prologue of the Hindi version of multi-lingual film Pazhassi Raja. When the film’s director T Hariharan approached Shah Rukh for the movie, the actor readily agreed to do the prologue without even charging a penny.

Praveen VC, Executive Producer of the movie says, “Shah Rukh comes from the family of freedom fighters and feels happy to be associated with such project.”

The makers of the movie are keen on taking the best from the industry and in no condition are willing to compromise on the quality. The Tamil prologue of the movie was also given its due worth when superstar Kamal Hassan dubbed the prologue. The Malayalam original has Mohanlal introducing Pazhassi Raja to the audiences through a 45-second prologue, Praveen said.

In Pics: Shahrukh Khan at Style For Smiles Show

SRK Rank Top in Celebtrack Wave II Results

Percept Talent Management and Hansa Research, leading players in the fields of talent management and media research respectively, today unveiled the second wave results of Celebtrack.

Celebtrack is the outcome of comprehensive data gathering from over 12,000 respondents pan-India. The research reveals the position of celebrities on key parameters--media presence, popularity, image attributes, power of persuasion and over-exposure.

The celebrities are from the areas of movies, cricket, other sports, music and television. The Celebtrack model covers 25 image attributes and persuasion power of stars on 6 categories which would help brands to decide on the most appropriate celeb for endorsements.

In the celebrity category, cricketer M S Dhoni holds first rank, Shah Rukh Khan (second), Aishwarya Rai (third), Amitabh Bachchan (4th) and Sachin Tendulkar (fifth).

In the male actors category, Shah Rukh Khan ranks first while in the female category Aishwarya Rai stands first.

In cricket, M S Dhoni ranks first, Sachin Tendulkar (second) and Yuvraj Singh (third) while in other sports, Sania Mirza ranks first followed by Viswanathan Anand (second) and Mahesh Bhupathi (third).

"Wave II results allow clients and talents to study the changes with the earlier data and allows them to combine the results for an even more robust and long-term understanding of changing public perceptions," Hansa Research's Managing Director, Ashok Das, told reporters.

Another addition to SRK's collection of gadgets!

Shah Rukh Khan is the man with the gadgets! His love for technology is not unknown to his fans. He has admitted many times that he has hundreds of gadgets that he doesn't really have any use for, but he still keeps them giving satisfaction to his habit.

The Shahrukh KhanKing Khan is also known for his love for reading and writing. In fact, he's in the middle of writing his autobiography, which surely will be on everyone's bookshelf as soon as it hits the market. More so, SRK has been very proud of his daughter who recently finished her short novella long before her father finished his book. The ruler of hearts, King Khan believes that reading enhances the ability of the mind to work better in some ways, and nevertheless reading always keeps your brain simulated.

The problems comes in when he has to travel a lot for shootings and promotions and he can't take his entire collection of books with him. But it's SRK we are talking about, and he has conveniently found a solution of this problem.

SRK uses a kindle to carry up to 300 novels with him wherever he goes. Wondering what a kindle is? It's an electronic device that can store up to 300 novels at a time, saving a lot of space in the luggage and the extra load. SRK is an avid reader, and thus, whenever he's the in the mood to read, he takes out his kindle and loses himself in his favorite world of imagination and reading.

These days, science is never a step behind. So all of you who've been using the 'hard to carry around' excuse to avoid reading can't escape so easily anymore! Follow SRK's footsteps and give yourself a huge opportunity to read anything at your own time and convenience!

SHAH RUKH MENDS TIES WITH GANGULY

Who says that the relations between actor Shah Rukh Khan and former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly have been strained after the IPL? This isn't so any more as both of them will soon be coming together on Dada's Zee Bangla TV show "Dadagiri". Sourav has already been hosting the quiz show for quite some time now, but the channel is keen on making it national by bringing in Shah Rukh Khan too. Yes, this will be their first public appearance together after the IPL 2009, when both developed cold relations . Since Sourav's show "Dadagiri" has already become very popular in Bengal in such a short time the producers want to make it national by making it in Hindi.

Zee Bangla TV is currently in negotiating with Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji to come on the opening episode when it goes national. Shah Rukh is very eager to come on the show as their appearance together on a national show would go a long way to prove that his relations with Sourav Ganguly are not only friendly but also rocking! Let's hope that the negotiations between the channel and the actor are successful so the national show could begin early next year.

Imran Khan to walk the ramp with Shahrukh!

Gone are the days when the ramp was only meant for saucy models. Now Bollywood celebs strut and sashay the catwalk quite often. But can the ramp become a battleground for ego tussle? The upcoming HDIL Couture Week in Mumbai seems headed that way.

If Aamir Khan will don ‘Being Human’ clothes for Salman Khan, Karan Johar has got Aamir’s bhanja and his Twitter follower Imran Khan to walk with Shahrukh Khan during the couture week. In a ramp-age of sorts, Salman has managed many other celebs for ‘Being Human’ show - they include Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan, Govinda and, not to forget, Katrina Kaif.

However, according to sources, the number of stars walking for Salman’s organisation has nothing to do with Karan-SRK’s show. “Salman is keen that the show is a big success for the sake of Being Human,” the source says.

His only aim is to establish the brand and to create awareness for ‘Being Human’ so that people donate money. His show will mark the beginning of the couture week, that’s on October 11. Salman’s two brothers, Sohail Khan and Arbaaz Khan will also walk the runway with their better halves Seema and Malaika Arora.

Karan is going to launch his own fashion line of men’s clothing along with designer Varun Bahl on 16th October. Gauri Khan will walk the ramp with 20 hot male models, including the cool dude Ranbir Kapoor. She will be the only female model for the show.

That will be something to watch.

Shahrukh Khan flies off to Italy with Gauri

Bollywood Baadshah Shahrukh Khan surely knows what his woman wants. He has left for Rome, Italy, with his wife Gauri Khan to celebrate her birthday, which falls on October 8.

This time, Shahrukh and Gauri want to have good time together with people who are very close to them sans any media glare. Their close friends Kaajal Anand and Karan Johar are likely to join them for Gauri's 40th birthday.

It is said that the couple has chosen Rome over the US, London and Dubai for privacy. Maybe Shahrukh doesn't want to face another humiliation by going to the US.

Bookish Shah Rukh’s cool hobby!

The king of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, is an avid reader. Although, the actor is one of the busiest stars across the world, he turns to books whenever he can take some time out of his busy schedule.

As carrying heavy books on the sets or while traveling had been a problem for SRK, so he has devised a method to enjoy a good read. The star has bought ‘Kindle’ - software and hardware platform for reading e-books and other digital media.

The electronic book can store up to 300 hardbacks at one go, and not only it is easy to carry and manage, it does not require much maintenance. So, whenever Shah Rukh wants he indulges in his favourite pastime, he just turns on the sophisticated gadget.

Who knows, the superstar’s passion may go a step further and he becomes a writer. ‘Kindle’ may kindle the writer in the star performer!

´Wake Up Sid´ Director´s Shah Rukh Khan Moment!

The director of the last Friday release, 'Wake Up Sid', Ayan Mukerjee is certainly very happy with the excellent start that his film has taken across multiplexes. Cousin to none other than queen bee, Kajol and coming from the family of the likes of Tanuja etc., Ayan has cinema in his blood but when it comes to King Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, the director simply turns speechless.

Ayan claims to be SRK's biggest fan, and even though he has worked as an assistant in two Shah Rukh Khan starrers, he still is in awe of the global superstar. He recalls that day when he complimented SRK for a shirt that he was wearing and Shah Rukh promptly removed his shirt and gifted it to him. Ayan reminisces how he slept with the shirt on for many days and that he still has it with him. And he intends to keep it with him throughout his life as it is his prized posssesion.