WATCH: Jaya Prada supports SRK

While most big Bollywood stars have not spoken out in support of Shah Rukh Khan, expelled Samajawadi Party leader and actor Jaya Prada told NDTV she is shocked by the Sena's actions against Khan.

WATCH: SRK - Should I retract that I'm an Indian?

As the Shiv Sena targets him and his new movie, an anguished Shah Rukh Khan refuses to retract his statement on Pakistan players.

SRK: (Very) Little help from his friends

For the premieres of films like Paa, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh, Amitabh have brought their combined star power to the red carpet. At a recent awards show for Bollywood, Shah Rukh did a dance from Paa with Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan on stage, fighting whispers that the Bachchan-Khan rivalry is one of Bollywood's worst-kept secrets.

But now that a different sort of spotlight is on Shah Rukh Khan, he's being forced to get by with very little help from his friends.

As cinema owners receive warning letters from the Shiv Sena asking them not to screen Khan's forthcoming release, virtually every big actor, producer and director is silent.

No comment issued so far by Salman Khan, Aamir Khan or Akshay Kumar; even the usually-outspoken Preity Zinta has not volunteered any public support.

On Twitter, a handful of voices, including Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar and Priyanka Chopra have said they stand by Shah Rukh and Karan Johar, the director of My Name is Khan.

And in the midst of the crisis, Amitabh Bachchan blogged lavish praise for Bal Thackeray, sharing that he is planning a special screening of Rann for him.

In London, Shah Rukh said he will not compromise on his values by apologizing to the Shiv Sena for saying that Pakistani players should participate in the next season of the Indian Premiere League (IPL). ''Can someone tell me what I said was wrong? I have apologised to people in the past but will someone tell me what I said was wrong. I am sad.''

In the past as well, Bollywood has been a Lonely Planet for people caught in political controversies. Nobody spoke for Aamir Khan when his Fanaa was blockaded by the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat. Preity Zinta took girl power to a whole new level when she became the only person to testify in court about the underworld's role in Bollywood. Deepa Mehta fought along for her Water when its shooting was disrupted by saffron parties.

Jaya Bachchan points out that when she was attacked by Raj Thavkeray in 2008 for choosing to speak in Hindi at a public function, it was only her family who stood by her.

The point is lost on nobody: there is business worth crores at stake, so taking on the Sena has to be the job of a Lone Ranger.

And to avoid losses, or controversies, Bollywood has repeatedly sought political patronage from the Sena, vetting the party's status as an extra-constitutional authority. It may be cowardly, but it has worked. Amitabh Bachchan's Sarkaar, loosely based on the lives of the Thackerays, was released without a hitch.

While Bollywood chooses to be seen and not heard, Shah Rukh's status on the streets of India has escalated to a real-life superhero. On the internet, in SMS-es, and in television stories, people are volunteering by the thousand to tell SRK they support him, and they will stand by him. Many comments sent to ndtv.com said the senders would go to see My Name Is Khan repeatedly, as a vote of thanks.

Bandra Muslims to defend SRK, Mannat from Sena

Muslims from Bandra have come out in Shahrukh Khan's support after the actor drew flak from the Shiv Sena for his comment on the non-inclusion of Pakistani players in the IPL.

The 700-member strong Bandra Muslim association, whose membership includes maulanas, political leaders and Muslim youth from Bandra, held a meeting last night and decided to express their support for the star and oppose the Sena's stand. They have also decided to guard the actor's residence, Mannat.

'Stern action required'

Farooq Ghosi, president of the association, said, "Shahrukh and Aamir belong to the Bandra area and they are being targeted because they are Muslim actors. We have been noticing the statements made by the Sena leaders in the last few days and we won't allow this to continue. The government should take stern action and arrest Uddhav or we will come out on the streets. We will guard the homes of these actors and if Sena protestors come to their residence, our youth will protest. We will answer the Sena people using their own methods."

When asked whether this would create further law and order problems, he said, "Shiv Sena has already created the controversy. We are just trying to help the actors as saving the people of Bandra is our responsibility. We are not the actors' followers but we won't allow the Sena to target them unfairly." The association will hold a press conference at the Press Club this afternoon.

Shah Rukh Khan, who is in New York for My Name is Khan's promotion, said he did not regret any of his comments -- be it about the Pakistani cricketers or about Mumbai belonging to all Indians. He said that he was proud to be an Indian and described the Sena's attitude as 'unhealthy' and 'undemocratic'.

Mumbai Police promises protection to SRK's MNIK

After Bollywood showed their support to Shah Rukh and his film My Name is Khan by making it clear that they stand by the actor, BJP spokesperson Shaina NC and Mumbai Police's DGP AN Roy has now assured that too will ensure a peaceful release of SRK's film on FEB 12 in Mumbai as per schedule.

In a press conference on Thursday Vijay Singh, Fox Star CEO, BJP spokesperson Shaina NC and DGP, Mumbai Police AN Roy jointly made a statement that full security from Mumbai Police will be provided to theatres releasing the film in Mumbai.

BJP's this decision goes against their allies Shiv Sena who have made it clear that SRK should apologize for the statements he had made on how Pakistani cricketers should be a part of the IPL. Sena has also threatened to disrupt SRK's forthcoming film on grounds of his pro-Pakistani players stand.

Shahrukh Khan asks fans to book tickets for 'My Name is Khan' on KyaZoonga

Fox Star Studios and Dharma Productions have appointed KyaZoonga.com, India's first and largest entertainment and sports ticketing company as the Official Ticketing Partner for their upcoming Bollywood blockbuster, My Name is Khan, starring one of the most celebrated Bollywood on-screen duos - Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.

Several innovations have been planned as part of this association:

Users will be able to get instant alerts about booking My Name is Khan tickets on KyaZoonga.com for My Name is Khan before the advance booking window opens up

Several exciting prizes from unique consumer engagement activities have also been launched such as: Journey of Love, "Khan" Dive and "Khan" Sail - complete with a trip to the World Premiere, fantastic holidays, scuba dive lessons, navigating the high seas of Mumbai with personal sailing lessons and many more.

Offers and vouchers for frequent ticket buyers redeemable for My Name is Khan on KyaZoonga

In addition to this, the association has also launched a KyaZoonga - My Name is Khan co-branded ad-campaign across television, radio, outdoor, print, online and mobile, in order to reach out to a large audience. A unique feature of this campaign is that for the first time, a Bollywood superstar is personally reaching out to his fans to buy tickets via television.

Neetu Bhatia, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, KyaZoonga.com, said, "We are extremely proud of our association with Shah Rukh, Karan and our continued relationship with Fox Star Studios. We are very excited that for the first time ever, Shah Rukh is personally reaching out to all his fans to buy their tickets on KyaZoonga.com. Another unique concept that we have introduced for this blockbuster is the KyaZoonga TicketAlert system where fans can sign up to receive updates on ticket sales start dates and other important updates related to the film. We have always strived to bring more than just tickets to our customers and our association with My Name is Khan is one more step in that direction."

"Overcoming obstacles to reach the goal, positive morals such as honesty, if you do good deeds good things will happen, we are stronger than our fears and greater than our limits, are the key takeaways from My Name is Khan. The association with Kyazoonga will allow us to reach out to a large audience and make it easy and convenient for them to be a part of this extraordinary journey", added Apoorva Mehta, CEO, Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd.

Commenting on the association, Vivek Krishnani, Head of Distribution, Marketing and Syndication, Fox Star Studios India, said, "My Name is Khan is a film that will appeal to people of all age groups. Our continued partnership with KyaZoonga.com allows us to reach out to all those who prefer to book tickets from the convenience of their homes instead of standing in queues. We believe Kyazoonga will play an important role in bringing significant traffic to theatres and help us engage the users through the various interactive initiatives executed by Kyazoonga.com

The film is slated for global release in theaters on 12 February 2010.

To book your tickets and participate in exciting contests, log on to www.kyazoonga.com/mynameiskhan.

State must act on SRK issue: Benegal

Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal on Thursday said the government in Maharashtra must step in on the matter of a Shiv Sena threat to stop release of actor Shahrukh Khan’s new movie My Name is Khan in Mumbai.

Shahrukh Khan has refused to apologise to Shiv Sena for his comments in support of Pakistani players' induction in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Benegal reacted sharply to the question of a Bollywood disunity on the issue when quizzed by a TV channel, saying: “United to do what? Form a vigilante group? What are you talking about?”

“The state must step into this immediately. The state has enough power,” he said.

“Why is the state not doing anything,” he asked.

While Shiv Sena has vowed to prevent the release of My Name is Khan in Mumbai on the scheduled release date on Feb 12, the King Khan said he did apologise to his business partners because he felt his comments will have an adverse effect on the business of the film.

The Maharashtra government has said it would take action against Sena if they tried to stop screening of the film.

Shah Rukh Khan not scared, MY NAME IS KHAN on time!

Shah Rukh Khan, the King Khan of bollywood who features in Karan Johar’s upcoming flick ‘My Name Is Khan’ opposite gorgeous Kajol and is in New York promoting his flick, has refused to be cowed down by the threats of belligerent political parties in Mumbai.

The gutsy Khan has made it doubly clear that he still stands by his views on Pakistani players becoming part of IPL, and is not willing to budge from his position as he holds a strong opinion on them. As far as his upcoming flick ‘My Name Is Khan’ was concerned it would be released on Valentine Day, February the 12, and he hoped that Mumbai would accept his flick in the same way as earlier.

Shah Rukh Khan also expressed the view that the film’s international performance would not be affected due to controversy in India. The courageous Khan made it clear that he did not want to offer any excuse for his views and still stands by them. He also termed the attitude of certain political parties in Mumbai as ‘undemocratic’ and ‘unhealthy’.

Shah Rukh Khan also made it clear that his security checkup at Newark airport in the US was not a new thing for him and he had already been through such checkups at various airports of different countries like France, Britain and the US.

In fact, Shah Rukh Khan’s episode at Newark had got out of proportion publicity due to him being detained for a longer time. Even, Shah Rukh Khan was not used to such delays and he had made a call to Indian consulate and that caused the media to blow it out of proportion.

Further elaborating on his film ‘My Name Is Khan’, King Khan says that his film offers a completely new view about the whole thing of bombing in New York. It is no secret that there have been several films on 9/11 bombing of New York, but they were all from the view point of west.

While Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘My Name Is Khan’ promises to be the first flick from the viewpoint of eastern people. Shah Rukh Khan’s perception as Rizwan Khan would be from an Asian viewpoint who is residing in the US, and has to go through various hardships due to his surname ‘Khan’.

EXCLUSIVE: My Name is Khan press conference in New York

Karan Johar's latest film My Name is Khan seems set to be the next big Bollywood blockbuster. Reuniting the classic filmi jodi of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, the film was shot on a grand scale all across the United States, as well as in Mumbai and Shahrukh will be tackling one of the most challenging roles of his career—a Muslim man with Asperger's Syndrome who faces extreme challenges after the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Kajol plays his wife Mandira, a Hindu. Although My Name Is Khan does not premiere until February 12th, Shahrukh and Kajol stopped in New York City to give a press conference on February 1st to promote the film and Bollyspice was there!

Shahrukh and Kajol on their roles in the film:

SRK: The film actually works on three levels. We'd like to describe it as a romantic love story so obviously inherent in the story is a love story between two characters—one played by Kajol, she's called Mandira in the film, and I play a character called Rizwan, Rizwan Khan. This [love story] is a little bit different because of the two protagonists. I have what is known as Asperger's Syndrome, a less severe form of autism.

Apart from this love story there is a real life incident which has been planted in this film—September 11th—and the butterfly effect this incident has on the personal lives of the two characters in the film, who are completely unrelated to the incident. It changes their lives and it also comes between their family and love life. Both of them, in a certain sense, go on a journey to pick up the pieces of their love affair and bring it back together.

The final third layer of the film is love conquers all… In a certain sense, I've not said this before, but in a certain sense the film is Buddhist in its approach when you talk about goodness, kindness, all the nice things films from India normally talk about. Faith and hope and kindness but done dramatically, unlike any love story that the both of us have done. It's a bit intense compared to the other fluffy stuff or happy go lucky stuff that we've done and that's it.

I am Rizwan khan and she is Mandira, my wife.

Kajol: Mandira is quite a normal person and I think that's also different about her. She's a little broken; she's a little bruised; she's a little mad; she's a little normal; she's a little bit of everything. And the good thing about her is that she doesn't want to be perfect either.

Kajol on how she chose the film:

Kajol: I don't read scripts—I really don't. I prefer to hear it from the director's mouth itself because I think that gives you a better perspective of what the film is eventually going to be like. I remember when I heard the script of "Khan" that I was quite amazed, actually. I was really amazed. I was a little awestruck at the canvas it had. It was just a huge, huge film and it was seriously amazing how tight it was for a huge film, so, yes, I think I loved the screenplay at the first go.

On the dynamics between the two after all these years:

Kajol: I think we're friends and have been from the first film onwards. As we've done films together, as we've worked together, as we talked together, I think there's an immense comfort level and I think that's where growth comes in. We've been friends for so long that you can't define it and limit it.

SRK: Very simple dynamics. I think Kajol will agree with me that when we ever work together—and we've been working 15-16 years together—there's always been this desire in my heart and hers: I'm always wanting Kajol to be the best thing in the film and Kajol is wanting me to be the best thing in the film. That kind of space and respect I wish I could have with everyone but it's not the same. It only exists with Kajol.

We don't have major discussions of acting or life or how we're going to play the role we just go. She is doing the film with this purpose 'I hope Shahrukh and Karan are the best in the film' and I am doing the film with the hope that Kajol and Karan are the best in the film and Karan feels very responsible, 'I hope this is the best Shahrukh-Kajol starrer ever!'

Kajol: In other words "Khan" will be a very good film and everybody had better go watch it!

On Karan Johar:

SRK: I think Karan now at this stage of his life as a filmmaker and a storyteller has started feeling like, 'You know what? I like the simple things of life!'

When he made his first film, it was about college because he'd just come out of college. His second film was about loving your parents. He had a strange relationship with his dad because he was so much older than him and suddenly when he started joining films his father they started bonding so he made a film about parents. A lot of his friends were going through bad marriages and relationships and he made KANK. So, he's always been making films which have affected him and somewhere now he's started believing all this glamour and life and good things and he works really hard and he does a lot of things

Kajol: And he loves the glamour.

SRK: He loves everything! But he realizes that, bottom line, 'I need to tell people that everything works for me as a successful filmmaker, anchor, director, and XYZ, because actually I'm a simple good guy.'

And he really is! You know he'll be the only guy who'll wish you for every birthday and in times of trouble he can be at your house and not only my house but he goes to every person's house and his father was like that. This film is about simplicity and niceness and that is why even the character has Asperger's. He is not superhuman. The original tagline for this film was actually, 'The only superpower that we need to conquer the world is humanity.'

Their favorite scenes:

Kajol: As for me, I enjoyed each and every day in the film, each and every shot, each and every scene because I was with friends. I was comfortable and I could say what I wanted to say and not mind my words at all, so I had a blast through the entire making of the film. To tell you the truth, to pick a moment would be completely impossible for me.

If you told me to choose my most uncomfortable moment, that I can tell you was on a football field in LA in the middle of the night where they told us, 'Oh it's not really that cold, it's LA after all, it'll be hot' and we've gone completely unprepared and we have just frozen our butts off!

But as I said, it's among friends and we've just had a complete blast making the whole film.

SRK: For me there is a very special scene which even Kajol would not know maybe. People with Asperger's normally don't make eye contact and there's this scene which is kind of romantic and we're talking and I start looking away and not looking at her and I feel her stare at me. And with this look I just turn around and say "Why are you staring—you're staring." And she's kind of caught but she never assumes that she'll be caught and she does this little thingy where she's just 'okay' and I think that's one of the nicest moments in the film and if I hadn't been in the shot, I would have just hugged her and told her how beautiful she was in that shot. That's my favorite scene.

Their favorite songs:

Kajol: As far as songs are concerned, I think "Sajda," "Tere Naina," and "Noor-e-Khuda." All three of them are absolutely beautiful. I think they've been beautifully shot. It was a pleasure to do songs without lipsync for once. My favorite would be "Noo-e-Khuda" from the film.

SRK: There's a lovely song, "Allah Hi Rahem," which comes at the end of the film. It's one of the finest songs of the film but my favorite is "Tere Naina."

On what the younger generation should take away from the film:

Kajol: I think mostly what we're aiming for is making a good film and an entertaining film. So, hopefully, they go and think, 'Hey we're going to watch a good film' but coming out of it—I hope that after they watch "Khan" they at least believe in goodness all around them.

SRK: Karan has this universal appeal for both the youth and everyone. He cuts across all age groups and he's shown that with his previous films. I obviously feel that this film is very important for me though its not a youthful film so to speak. We've tried to portray that this film is about hope, happiness, and humanity. Those are the three things we always try to pay attention to and I think it's very important to teach this to younger kids without preaching. Try to keep it garbed in entertainment, happiness, niceness, coolness, or whatever factor you call it—

Kajol: Entertainment, basically.

SRK: —and still be able to say, "There's hope in humanity, so please be happy."

On rumored similarities to New York and Kurbaan:

SRK: I'd just like to clarify a few things before I go on. The first thing [Fox Searchlight] said was that [America] has never really had, and I don't know how true that is, you've never really had the Asian point of view about September 11th. So, they felt that it's a new approach, with September 11th as just a background an incident. Our couple is very far removed from this incident and their simple small life gets affected. This idea is the heart of the film; it does not deal with terrorism. So, it's not at all like New York, which is a wonderful film.

Of course, the film will deal with Islamic issues—it will deal with one of the characters being Muslim but we've taken a personal story and we haven't gone on a trip trying to explain to the world that terrorism is good, bad, ugly, the western point of view on it is bad, ugly— No, it is just how two people are getting affected by an incident that is not related to them and how they need to survive.

So, that's how we treat it – there is nothing about terrorism because we didn't want to go there.

On the title of the film:

SRK: You know there was a time when we actually thought the film's title would be "Khan" and also because Karan normally names his films with K but we decided to not have it. First because I don't think he should have beliefs like this supersition. He makes fine films without having to name them and the second is that just "Khan" on its own sounds a little action oriented. But [the name Khan] was in the film and he says this again and again because of his wife. Mandira lovingly calls me Khan – so it's a thing that she uses the name so that's why we use it in the title. Sweet, na?

On the tagline of the film:

SRK: "My name is Khan and I'm not a terrorist" in a very strange way is used as an emotional tagline. It has got nothing to do with terrorism -- it's just a surname. It's something [Rizwan] is told by his wife. She is having difficulty understanding his religion and, for her, it becomes important that he explain the religion and its tenets to her. So, if you see it closely in the promos, you might have seen that it's not an anti-terrorist line or it's not someone who is being picked on personally—it's an emotional strain in the film.

On Shahrukh's detention at Newark Airport in August 2009:

SRK: I accept [questioning at the airport] like you accept coming to a different country with different rules and different culture and different customs. If I decide to come to that country, I must follow those rules so I embrace it. Only this time I think it went out of proportion because I called the Indian consulate. I was getting too delayed – longer than regular.

Personally if you ask me it's a bit of a drag. Earlier when I used to come to America you could leave like 30 minutes before a domestic flight and now you have to leave 2 to 2 ½ hours before. And you've got to wear clean socks and everything because they make you take off your shoes.

I didn't draw any parallels, to be completely honest, this film is far deeper than taking a few incidents and saying, 'Wow, this happened to me in real life.' It's not like that at all. Like I've said, I've been detained at least 25 times and not only in America—in France, in England. People are always anxious to take pictures with me, including the ones in America. So, it's a process and they have to do it or maybe they just want to take excellent pictures with me—one of the two, I like to think the latter.

On playing a character with Asperger's Syndrome:

SRK: Actually, I have been very interested in what is known as neruo-atypical behavior. I won't say I enjoy it, but I'm very intrigued about how a different mind thinks. It's very easy for all of us to sit down and say 'Oh this person is abnormal' but I want to know does he think the same about us?

When I was younger, I was in a theatre group and we did a lot of work with autistic children and that's where the interest started. And about four or five years back, a book had come out called "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime" about a little kid who has autism. I was really moved by that novel and I gave it to Karan and I said you should make a film with a small child like it is in the book. Three years later, Karan decided that I'll be the small child! He wrote a script with Asperger's, which is a more functional form of autism.

I like to read, so I read five or six books written by a couple of people who had Asperger's Syndrome and otherwise and I did a lot of research. I got documentaries and a lot of videos.

Kajol: I think you actually met a couple, as well.

SRK: Yes, we met a couple also whose story is similar to this. I took a bit of cinematic liberties. I've taken a couple of different traits from people who have this disorder and amalgamated them into one, but I still made sure that it in no which way disrespects people with Asperger's Syndrome. So, it might be a little different when you see a individual with Asperger's because Rizwan is like a mixture of a couple or three of them.

And then I did a lot of work on my physicality—there's a way I keep the eyes, the leg—and shot a lot of video. I showed it to Karan and, of course, because normally we take films where you're a hero type, everyone was taken aback – the writers, Kajol. This was a little different from what we imagined Shahrukh to be but, I guess, as the days went by, everybody was kind of convinced about it.

Kajol: We kind of fell in love with it a little later

On the potential of a cross-over hit like Slumdog Millionaire:

SRK: Films take a life of their own. You never where a film is going to go once you finish it. And I know Danny and everyone very well and neither did they [know about Slumdog]. So, I think that's the wrong kind of way to think about it. But having said that, I think the film has enough in it to hold the attention of all kinds of audiences because the emotion is quite universal. It is a whole showcase of the nicest talent from India and it has been mounted on that kind of scale.

I specifically believe that this is one of the few films which will touch a lot more people in the eastern and western world than any Hindi film has ever done before. How much—I would love it to be bigger than Slumdog and if you asked me privately, I'd show off and say yes. But on a public platform I'll be humble and say, 'Yeah, it's kind of nice.'

On the American actors in the film:

SRK: They were outstanding, amazing talent, so it was really wonderful to work with them. There's a lady who played Mama Jenny in the film. She told me, "inshallah when this film wins the Oscar you guys have to come to LA to eat ice cream at my house."

On the use of English:

SRK: You know we have a lot of American characters in the film so we just found it a little unreal if they were to speak in Hindi. We thought it sounded odd. What we have been smart about, is that when they are acting, one hundred percent of the time they are interacting with the Indian characters, so we kind of repeat what they are saying in a nice creative way.

There is a scene where somebody asks me, "Who are you going to meet?" And I say "main president se milne jao--I'm going to meet the president of the United States." So, I've already said it in Hindi and things will be understood. I've also kind of repeated what he has said because he can as a character but other times we have voiceover. The film is narrated by me, so you have voiceovers explaining whenever there are few English scenes.

Kajol: And I think in this day and age also you can't have shudh Hindi because it's colloquial Hindi that we're speaking—the Hindi that we speak normally—which has a lot of English in it, yes, but it's English that is generally understood.

On their emotional relationship with the film:

SRK: I'll be honest with you, I was going through a big injury while I was making this film—busted my shoulder—and just doing this film and saying the nice things and being with friends helped me. I've heard other actors turn around and say, 'we did a film and it affected us emotionally changed us as a person.' I don't know if I'm so deep. To be really honest, I would like to believe that normally I do the films that attract me as a person, whether it's Chak De India or Don or whatever kind of film I do.

Kajol: You identify with the character and with the film that you're making—you have to otherwise I don't think you could do it.

SRK: And for all this entertainment and songs and dancing, there are certain essential things that I look for and that Kajol looks for and that most of the actors look for, which I already identify with. The other way around, I don't know. I did a film called Asoka, which was about Buddhism and goodness and kindness and I got to learn a lot from it but did it change me? No, I still get into fights.

Kajol: And still make controversial statements!

SRK: But I'd never like to make a statement like this. A film as yet has not really changed me completely. I have taken films that are like me which I like the things of.

I'm doing a superhero film called Ra.1 next year. Maybe that will change me!

On the potential of a My Name is Khan DVD director's commentary:

SRK: Yeah, I think it's a great idea! We always do wish to do that and if you make a special film and I genuinely – not because we are all here – but I do think "Khan" is a special film. There should be a commentary at the end of it about how we all felt, especially by Karan and [scriptwriter] Shibani Bathija.

We're aware that normally if you have an international distribution you have to give the film to them 6 months in advance. The reason Karan is not here is that he has not been able to deliver it until yesterday but most certainly we hope the film does so well we can get a delayed DVD release and once we delay we'll get Karan to talk about it. I would like to talk about it because I feel very close to it and Kajol should also because it's a special subject with the two delicate issues and otherwise too because of the kinds of love stories and it will interesting, shot in LA, San Francisco, and the kinds of things we've gone through trying to make it.

Specifically I think the commentary this time should include issues we had editing this film you know because, yes, there are certain statements which are strong and we don't want to sound radical because it needs to appeal to all kinds of people but it's a great idea and we all like to speak.

Shahrukh on Twitter:

SRK: I'm very shy, personally. Very few people believe that because most of the time you guys see me on the public platform or in a movie. I'm okay if I'm playing somebody else or when I'm talking about something that is not completely personal. So, that's why I've shied away from being on any social networking site. One night Karan and I were sitting and he said "Bhai, just do it." And I said "Okay."

I didn't want to, but when I came on the laptop and suddenly I had like 900 or a thousand people joining in I was very touched. The only thing that humbles me in life is 'How can people like me so much?' You know, it's very humbling.

Once people started writing, I'm like 'Now I cannot stop replying!' I have to be with them.

I'm like an owl—I keep awake at nights—and for half an hour I use Twitter wrongly. I use it as a chat. I don't put down my thoughts and let people go away and talk about it, I sit half an hour and people ask me. I've never answered so many questions at the interrogation at the New Jersey airport! I'm just answering and having a good time. Also, one thing I really like about Twitter is that I have this little notion that Internet sites and networking sites get a little rude and so far nobody has, so I find that very nice. Everybody is very kind and I say I'm tired and everybody says, "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep" so I just find that very kind and thank you for following me.

Shahrukh Khan hits back at Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena has warned Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan to apologise for backing the Pakistani cricketers at the IPL and making remark that Mumbai is for all Indians. The party stated that his films would be banned in the city if he doesn’t offer an apology but the Baadshah is not bowing down to their demands.

Shahrukh has hit back at the Shiv Sena by saying that he would stand by his statements and that his take on the issue is very strong. He added that there is no excuse for his statement and believes that he is an Indian.


The actor, who is currently promoting his upcoming release My Name is Khan with co-star Kajol in New York, termed the stance of the Shiv Sena as unhealthy, undemocratic and insensitive. He said that he is confident that their efforts would not affect his film commercially.

My Name is Khan, produced by Karan Johar, is slated for release on February 12. It is about a guy who goes abroad to win back his love.