SRK, Aamir: Berlin face off!

Shah Rukh Khan will walk the red carpet in Berlin with co-star Kajol and film-maker buddy Karan Johar. His My Name is Khan has been invited to the prestigious Berlin Film Festival.

Aamir Khan’s Peepli Live that has been selected for the Sundance Film Festival is also in the competition section of this festival. Quite naturally, Aamir and his wife Kiran will be present in Berlin, too. So the next big face off between the Bollywood giants will be there. Now, don’t get excited, no fireworks of any great magnitude are expected. SRK’s film is not in the competition whereas Aamir’s film is. But just the fact that all eyes will be on these two Khans, because they will be present at the same foreign venue, is enough to generate quite a bit of media fodder.

Will Shahrukh-Kajol repeat the DDLJ magic?

With the promos of My Name is Khan featuring the most-loved onscreen couple Shahrukh and Kajol on air, the question occuring on everybody's mind is wether the golden jodi will be able to repeat the Dilwale Dulahaniya Le Jayenge magic again.

With the songs like Sajda and Tere Naina where one can see the same spark between the golden onscreen couple.

While Sahrukh plays a man suffering from Asperger's Syndrome in the flick, Kajol plays his doting wife.

The couple will also be parents to a son in the flick.

Meanwhile nothing can beat the charisma of Shahrukh and Kajol teaming together for a romantic flick.

At Vienna, a session on Shah-Rukhology - Academics to analyse superstar

Many conferences on Bollywood are held in the West but the one being organised by scholars at the University of Vienna will be different in one crucial respect — it will focus solely on Shah Rukh Khan.

The conference, which is called Shah Rukh Khan and Global Bollywood, recognises that he is not only the undisputed king of the Hindi film industry but probably also has more pulling power than any movie star that can be put up by Hollywood.

“We have invited Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar for the opening ceremony,” said the conference’s principal organiser, Elke Mader, who is professor of anthropology and vice-dean in the faculty of social sciences at Vienna University.

In many ways it seems, while Hindi films are merely enjoyed by some Indians, European scholars consider them worthy of serious scholarship.

Contrary to opinion in America, Europe and some other parts of the world, “Hollywood does not dominate (the global cinema scene),” Mader told The Telegraph.

What she found impressive about Shah Rukh was “his ability to do different types of emotion within one movie. He is the global hero of Hindi cinema. For new European audiences, he is the central figure.”

When Shah Rukh turned up for the unveiling of his wax likeness at the Grevin Museum in Paris in 2006, the majority of the screaming “I love you Shah Rukh” fans outside were young white Europeans.

The conference from September 30-October 2 will bring together anthropologists, sociologists, cultural historians and other scholars from across Europe and seek to analyse what Oscar Wilde would probably have called “the importance of being Shah Rukh Khan”.

Two days of learned papers at the University of Vienna will be preceded by an opening session at the Museum of Ethnology that is located inside the suitably grand Neue Burg (Imperial Palace).

Mader, who has been researching Shah Rukh’s fan base among “new European audiences” — this refers mainly to white Europeans in France, Germany, Austria and East European countries — is familiar with Om Shanti Om, Devdas and other Hindi movies. She will be in Berlin next month to witness the special screening of the new Shah Rukh movie, My Name is Khan.

“The conference will focus on the significance of Shah Rukh Khan for the new dynamics of global Bollywood,” Mader said. “It wants to bring together research scholars and representatives from the film industry dedicated to various aspects of his work, his star power, and his embodiment of values, attitudes or emotions.”

“Moreover,” she went on, “Shah Rukh Khan will be discussed as a mode of representation of a post-colonial and globalised India. SRK has the reputation of holding the largest audience in the contemporary world of cinema comprising people from diverse places and cultural backgrounds.”

Shah Rukh would probably concede he could not improve on Mader’s justification for the conference: “The overarching framework is the relationship of Bollywood with post-colonialism, global flows, and transcultural processes that shape cinema contexts today.”

Another participant, Claus Tieber, who teaches Hindi cinema to students at the Institute of Theatre, Film and Media Studies at the University of Vienna, stressed: “This is not a fans’ convention.”

On why the focus was on Shah Rukh and not, say, Amitabh Bachchan, Tieber said: “In Austria and Germany, Shah Rukh is the one Indian star who has become synonymous with Bollywood. Fans here are mostly Shah Rukh fans.”

“Bollywood has changed the western view of India,” explained Tieber. “Today, Bollywood is almost synonymous with the modern, globalised India. Bollywood has arrived in the West not as a cinematic wave, but as a lifestyle. At the time of the conference, an academic society for research on Indian films will be founded. So there will be further conferences, articles and books — a whole academic programme.”

Among the speakers from Britain will be Rajinder Dudrah, head of drama and senior lecturer in screen studies at the University of Manchester.

His view is that Shah Rukh “can be likened to Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s. There are many other A-listers — Salman, Saif, Aamir — but Shah Rukh Khan is a ‘one-man industry’. He has his finger in a lot of pies, including sports, television, cinema and now blogging. His future western fan base will depend a lot on what happens to My Name is Khan which has been picked up by Fox Searchlight.”

“This conference is very timely,” said Dudrah.

Shahrukh Khan: ‘Alma Mater’ of Hindi Cinema Abroad!

What does Shahrukh Khan have that the other stars are wont of? Well the answer is simple; he is the epitome of bollywood in most of the overseas film market. The name of this bollywood star has made such an impression abroad that bollywood is almost identified with his name and the whole concept of Hindi cinema has turned the world focus in a very different light.

According to recent reports, there is going to be a conference held in Vienna and it is going to be organized by the Scholars of the University of Vienna, which will be one of a kind due to the fact that it will primarily be based on the Star status of this young dynamic actor of Indian cinema who according to many, has the distinction of carrying out different characters and emotions in a single movie itself. It has also been reported that the amazing Khan has more attraction power of bringing the audiences than any other Hollywood star also. This in itself is a very big criterion in proving his star status.

The Conference is to be held from the 30th of September till the 2nd of October. During this period many professors of Sociology, Historians, and Cultural Science Experts etc will be participating from all over Europe and it is reported that this will be the first time that any actor’s fan base study will be done on such a dynamic scale.

Shahrukh King Khan has surely traversed the rough road to success in a slow and steady manner and thus when his popularity amongst the Europeans especially the white population in Germany, France, Austria and also the eastern part of Europe is at such a high parameter it indeed calls for a National Celebration. After all such stalwarts and that too at such a young age are not made in one day! We are proud of you Shahrukh; keep up the good and hard work!

EXCLUSIVE WATCH: I hated Kajol on the first day, says Shah Rukh

In an exclusive show, Shah Rukh Khan talks about his childhood desires and initial days in the film industry.

SRK and KJo at Music ka Maha Muqqabla - Pics

Shahrukh Khan and Karan Johar spiced up the night at the stage of Star Plus’s Music Ka Maha Muqqabla…

SRK does his uber-romantic DDLJ act

Sharukh Khan dances to his popular number Chhaiya Chhaiya

Sharukh Khan and Karan Johar cheering the Captains

Sharukh Khan & Mika dancing on a table!

Sharukh Khan & Karan Johar cheering for Shreya Ghoshal

King Khan shaking a leg with the contestants

Shahrukh shares a joke with Himesh

My son strongest: SRK

Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan is a Taekwondo expert. The superstar's son picked up the trophy in school for the sport.

Papa SRK was beaming from ear to ear when he heard the news. SRK is a keen sports enthusiast and has always wanted his children to excel in all forms of sports. The great news is that SRK's daughter Suhana, too, is learning Taekwondo. Though both his children look wiry and lean, they're actually pretty strong. SRK may be a superman on screen. Off it, it's his children who will win hands down.

NDTV 24x7 partners up with 'My Name Is Khan'

Popular news channel, NDTV 24x7 has teamed up with the makers of soon-to-be-released blockbuster, 'My Name Is Khan' starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.

As part of the tie-up, NDTV 24x7 will show previews of the movie, featuring its starcast and filmmaker. It will also give an insight into the film's making. On Thursday 21st January, Karan Johar will be seen talking to viewers about the making of the film on 'The K Corner' on '(K)Nightout' at 23:30 (IST) / 18:00 (UK).

Apart from this, the channel will show a series of interviews conducted by Prannoy Roy with Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, where the trio will share their trials and tribulations of being together and some moments from the movie.

The series will be aired every Sunday at 19:30 (IST) / 14:00 (UK), starting this Sunday 17th January.

Shahrukh Khan - up close and personal

For the very first time a Bollywood star will allow a TV network to telecast the details of his life on the television screen. Yes Sharukh Khan has allowed Discovery channel to film his personal and professional life and the show will hit the Indian television soon. Moreover Shahrukh’s own production company, Red Chillies Entertainment has jointly produced the television series along with Blue Mango. “I look forward to welcoming you all into my life,” said an excited Sharukh. Not only King Khan but also his family which includes wife Gauri with children Aryan and Suhana will be seen on the show. The show will unveil the so far hidden king size life of the actor.

The TV series which has filmed Sharukh in his day to day life will kick start from February 26. In the first episode you will get to see Shahrukh Khan vacationing in London with his family. During this episode he will be seen riding a rickshaw, cheering a street performer, playing football with his kids in Hyde Park, eating out, smoking and taking tour of Madame Tussaud’s wax museum.

In the following episodes you can see how Sharukh Khan gets along with his family and friends, his style of shooting, his conversations with fans and staff and you will also get to know about his house Mannat.

Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan – how about a movie starring them all?

What if the three Khans of Bollywood come together in a Hindi movie? I know it’s almost impossible to cast them all together, but still no harm to imagine, right?

Let’s see the movie through our mind’s eye…

1. Title of the movie – “Hello Brothers” (derived from Salman’s Hello Brother!)? Or “Bollywood ke 3 Taare Zameen Par” (Aamir’s Taare Zameen Par)? Or the best name…“Our name is Khan”! No better option, I guess!

2. Producer – Keeping in mind that both SRK and Aamir have produced films before, either one of them could be randomly picked as an option.

3. Story writer – This one for Salman Khan please! He couldn’t be the producer so let him be the writer for the movie. Well, he actually wrote for “Veer”.

4. Director – Ashutosh Gawarikar or Sanjay Leela Bhansali…both have worked with either two of the actors.

5. Lead Female – Rani Mukherji, Kareena Kapoor and Kajol. Actors free to choose their ladies! All of them have worked with all the three Khans.

6. Story – Three brothers’ story! SRK aka Rahul is a romantic guy, Aamir aka Sanjay is workaholic and perfectionist, and Salman aka Prem is a fighter in the army. They have their separate approaches towards life but still they have their own share of tiffs. If sometimes Rahul and Sanjay are not into talking terms, then Prem is friends with both of them. And if the spat is between Rahul and Prem, then Sanjay automatically becomes friends with Rahul! Confusing, I know…but can’t help it! (Inspired from a true story, you know!)

7. Dad of the brothers – Amitabh Bachchan…who else! (Rishtey mein to hum tumhare baap lagte hain!)

8. Climax – Nope! Can’t be revealed! (Well, I am not yet sure of that!)

9. Conclusion – Hey, are you sure we can finish the film? With three Khans together, won’t there be disputes between them in the sets too? I don’t think the film will see its end!

10. Genre – Action!!!

Thank God I was making the film in my imaginations only! Do you think it is wise to project all of them together in real?