SRK apologises for caricaturing politicians

Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan has described politics as “one of the most self-sacrificing kind of jobs” and apologised on behalf of the film industry for having “caricatured” politicians in movies.

In an interaction at the Hindustan Times leadership summit here, he said: “I think running a country, a state or a small kasbah requires a lot of selflessness. And I am really too business-oriented to be selfless,” Mr. Khan said responding to a question on whether he intended to join politics.

“I apologise on behalf of the whole film industry that over the years we have caricatured politicians to be bad guys. I don’t think that’s true. And especially the younger guys who are joining politics,” he said.

In a lighter vein, he said he was “too selfish, too materialistic and capitalistic kind of a person to join politics. Second, I am too good looking.”

He then promptly added: “Rahul [Gandhi] is amazing looking. But I have a six-pack,” said Mr. Khan.

Asked whether it was true that some actors had been given amounts to the tune of Rs. 15 crore to work in films, he said he has never been offered that much money.
“I sell myself”

“I sell myself in endorsements, dancing, marriages and birthdays. Movies, I do those for free,” he joked.

He dubbed as media exaggeration stories about rivalry between him and superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

“Some of it is exaggerated. Like stories about rivalry between me and Mr. Bachchan,” Mr. Khan said.

PTI

"I want to be a bigger hit than Chak De," - Shah Rukh Khan

And sets higher targets for himself on Eid.

Badshah Khan is on an all time high, the pony tailed Khan whose new fab ab look has been grabbing headlines is all set to rock the screens this Diwali.

In Delhi for a function he was very upbeat. Basking in the success of Chak de India Shah Rukh promises Om Shanti Om will have people begging for more.

"Every Diwali I only compete with myself and I want to be a bigger hit than Chak De," said Shah Rukh Khan.

As for the current controversy over India's nomination in the Oscars Eklavya, the actor had his own take.

"We have a variety of films and it's difficult to select the best. I agree we may disagree with choices but respect the decision. Paheli many not have been the best," said the actor.

With preparations for Eid all around SRK was all geared up for the holiday.

"I will be at home. I am a cheap father. I will only give 'dua' to my kids. Eid is a day of sacrifice and tolerance. May peace reign," said SRK.

NDTV

SRK to Star in Kaun Banega Crorepati's Reincarnation

Apparently, KBC will be back with its fourth season in Jaunary 2008.

And this time around also, the host will be King Khan. Apparently around November, the production house will be talking to Shahrukh Khan for his dates and discuss the details for the next season of the show.

The show has been produced by Siddharth Basu's Synergy Adlabs for all the first three seasons and the first two seasons of the show were hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. The show is based on UK's game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and the last season ended in April this year.

When contacted Anita Kaul Basu, Managing Director of Synergy Adlabs said, " Its too early to talk about it. Shahrukh is contracted for two years for KBC and it was slotted to come back. If Shahrukh can give his time and dates to us for the show, the production work will start thereafter. Nothing has been slated as of now." Says a source, " The format will obviously not change, but they will make it different in terms of having more interactive sessions. Whatever did not work the last time will be worked upon this season."

Adds Anita, "The format can't be changed as it is a celador format, but yes, we can play around with the special episodes. We still need to figure out as to what all changes can be brought about in the show." When contacted Ajay Vidyasagar, President, Content and new media, Star India, denied the news saying, "I haven't heard about this."

Synergy Adlabs is currently producing Jhalak Dikhhla Ja and will be soon coming up with a fiction show.

Sheikh Jelani, IndiaForums

Keep it Short and Sweet, says Shah Rukh

Shah Rukh Khan, who has walked the long road from potboilers like 'Baazigar' to the iconic 'Chak De! India', Saturday said Indian films should be shorter and crisper to draw international audiences.

'I think films need to be shorter because we cannot impose our timings on others. Two hours is long enough. Brevity is the soul of creation. Brevity is the soul of telling a story,' Shah Rukh said at the HT Leadership Summit held here.

'See, I am short and I am entertaining!' he added.

The actor said Indians needed to take some marketing tips from the West.

'The first thing we should understand is that the West has understood how to market their goods. We still are at a nascent stage. We need to understand how they are able to impress upon me their cinema about their history, which I know nothing about and I still go and enjoy that. I think somewhere the marketing aspect needs to be put in place... We should take a cue from the West.'

Shah Rukh said he imagines an Indian entertainment industry that has good infrastructure, sells happiness through their films, and even organises the Oscars.

'I work in the field of imagination, which sells dreams. I feel India can be a global entertainment portal. We have a nearly 100-year-old entertainment industry, different kinds of music, amazing amount of languages, fantastic culture, technology, technicians and an amazing amount of entrepreneurs who are taking India forward.

'I'm tired of going to Cannes, bored of Oscar ceremonies. I'm not deriding anybody but I'm tired of pulling passers by and saying, 'Me too me too. I'm from India, I make Indian films'.

'I'm tired of talking of crossover and globalisation of Indian cinema. I'm tired of the whole idea of trying to make crossover film by selling sadness. I think it's time to sell happiness and celebration.

'We need to create infrastructure for the entertainment industry. We need to create production houses, some nice studios, which are not dusty and not ugly. We need some fantastic post-production units. Like the IT industry, we need to create units for entertainment and call people to use it.'

"I do have the six-pack. I can show it to you," SRK

His new six-pack abs are being hotly discussed, Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan on Saturday almost took his shirt off to prove they were real and not morphed.

Khan, who was interacting at a Leadership Summit here, was flooded with questions on his new, fitter look.

An audience member asked him if the six-pack abs as seen in the trailer of the soon-to-be-released film 'Om Shanti Om' were real or morphed, prompting the actor to get up and almost take his shirt off.

"I do have the six-pack. I can show it to you," said the actor as he moved to unbutton his shirt.

The Bollywood heartthrob told the man who asked him the question that he would have certainly removed the shirt had the query been put by a woman.

"Your moustache gave you away. Otherwise I would have shown it to you," said the actor who was wearing a white shirt and had tied his hair in a ponytail.

Khan also rubbished the idea that his new fitter avatar was a result of any fear of the newcomers in Bollywood.

"I am trying to play a young, 2007 film star who has six pack and long hair. I was under no pressure (from the younger actors)," he said responding to a question on the motivation for building his body.

"If you think I am scared of being dethroned as the King of Bollywood, I would say shut up," Khan said.

Source: DNAIndia

"I am priceless. I don't have a price. I sell myself for everything" - Shah Rukh Khan

Addressing the audience at the summit, Shah Rukh Khan pitched strongly for selling an India in celebration, emphasizing on India as a global entertainment portal.

New Delhi: After political heavyweights held sway on Day one of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, on Day two of the event on Saturday, actor Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar took centrestage.

Addressing the audience at the summit, Shah Rukh Khan pitched strongly for selling an India in celebration, emphasizing on India as a global entertainment portal.

Adding that films should be formatted to suit international taste, in the same breath, Shah Rukh remarked that Indian films should also have the song-and-dance routines because that was the USP of Indian films.

“The time has come to sell the celebration of the country rather than selling sadness. Acting has no language. I have the potential to make cinema from my country for the world to take notice. But the ban on alcohol and cigarette in celluloid is narrow mindedness,” he said at the event.

The actor made a special note of mentioning the importance of respecting the media, admitting that he is dependent hugely on them. “All we need to do is not be savvy about the media. I think we just have to respect it and continue genuinely working together and I am dependent a lot on the media as a star, individually.”

And what's Shah Rukh’s net worth? “I am priceless. I don't have a price. I sell myself for everything. For endorsements, marriages, dances, birthday parties. The only thing I don't sell myself is for movies that's something I love doing for free,” Shah Rukh quipped at the event.

Admitting that he is extremely competitive, the actor clarified that his competition was very positive.

On a lighter vein, Shah Rukh Khan said looks come in the way of his joining politics. “It is commendable that young people are joining politics but I am too good looking and materialistic to join politics,” he said.

Focussing on India’s growth and development, Shah Rukh said he would like a more educated India.

The superstar also put in a word on the Indo-US nuclear deal that has kept Indian politics on the boil in the past few months. "There is no hurry to push the nuclear deal and even a new US Government can be convinced to go ahead with the Deal,” he said.

The biggest newsmakers of the day have gathered under one platform at the summit in the Capital. Later on Saturday, former governor of Florida and brother of US President, Jeb Bush, Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and singer and activist, Bob Geldof, are scheduled to speak at the event.

Source: ibnlive.com

SRK is Balasaheb's favourite!

Balasaheb Thackeray is extremely fond of SRK and he thinks Shah Rukh Khan is not only a good actor, but also a great Indian who has set high standards in life.

King Khan is liked and loved by everyone and that’s what makes him an extremely popular actor.

Guess who has turned out to be his latest admirer? None other than Maharashtra’s strong man, Balasaheb Thackeray. “Saheb is extremely fond of him and he thinks Shah Rukh Khan is not only a good actor, but also a great Indian who has set high standards in life,” says a source.

Now that’s a huge compliment coming from Thackeray, especially after SRK’s Michael Jackson-like makeover.

Source: TNN

SRK walks out of Raju Hirani's next

Raj Kumar Hirani's next film with Shah Rukh Khan (to be produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra) appears to have stopped in its tracks, but it's not because SRK is upset about Chopra's tirade against Paheli.

Says a source, "Shah Rukh is upset because Chopra sent him a nasty letter accusing him of trying to steal 'his director' (Hirani) for his own production house!"

Playing games

Hirani's film, based on Chetan Bhagat's book Five Point Someone, has now been shelved as SRK doesn't want to be part of it any longer. Says a Chopra insider, "Raju is very keen to work with Shah Rukh. In fact, he had offered him both the Munnabhai films as well but it didn't work out then. Shah Rukh liked Hirani's new script and was trying to work his dates before things went wrong."

According to the source, SRK offered to star in and produce another film with Hirani under his banner, which upset Chopra. "SRK's offer was very clear: Red Chillies and Raj Kumar Hirani Productions would do a film together after Chopra's film was complete.

When Vinod came to know about this, he wasn't happy at all. So he dashed off a letter to SRK last week, accusing him of playing games and trying to steal Raju from under his nose. He said it was not right to broker a deal when his own film hadn't even started," says the source.

No deal

SRK, on his part, didn't understand what the fuss was about as his production was slated to start after Chopra's film was through. "He got angry with the tone of Chopra's letter because he has always been straightforward in all his dealings. He didn't like Chopra accusing him of playing games and questioning his integrity. He subsequently called Hirani and told him he couldn't do Chopra's film for him," says the source.

Both Shah Rukh and Vinod Chopra remained unavailable for comment.

Upala KBR, MidDayMumbai

DDLJ to Rewrite Box-Office History Next Week !

12 years forever...

Yash Raj's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, fondly referred to as DDLJ, released way back on 20th October 1995, to rave reviews and tremendous audience appreciation.

The Aditya Chopra debut project, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and late Amrish Puri, re-wrote box-office history and also re-defined the way movies were made.

Its success ushered in an era of filmmaking which catered to the Indian diaspora across the globe and not just India.

The movie was the stepping stone for the then beleaguered Yash Raj banner to the leading production house that it is today.

Coming to the other stats, the movie netted an impressive 58 crores (95 crores at today's rate). Not only that, DDLJ is still running in Bombay and will complete an amazing 12-years at Maratha Mandir, next week The movie has so far collected an amazing 11.73 crores from just Bombay city!

Abid, BollywoodTradeNewsNetwork

SRK's VoiceOver Draws Tourists to Chittorgarh Show

The light and sound show at Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan's historic city of Chittorgarh has become a great attraction for tourists.

With the voiceover done by Bollywood stars Hema Malini and Shah Rukh Khan, the light and sound show at Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan's historic city of Chittorgarh has become a great attraction for tourists.

Besides the two actors, famous singers Lata Mangeshkar and Rehmat Khan have also lent their voices to the show.

The one-hour evening entertainment in the fort, which is spread across a 280-hectare site on the top of a 180-metre-high hill, is proving to be a great draw as about 1,000 to 1,500 visitors come to see the show every day.

Chittorgarh, also called Chittor, was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Mewar under the Rajputs from the 7th to 16th centuries.

Completed at a cost of around Rs.29 million, the light and sound show project is the first of its kind in the state that has been set up on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

Financed by the central tourism ministry and executed by the ITDC, the show is being run by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) and Hindustan Zinc Limited on a partnership basis.

"The department of tourism has been making concerted efforts to improve tourist facilities in Chittorgarh and the sound and light show is a step in this direction," Rajasthan Tourism Minister Usha Punia said in a statement.

The minister added the newly introduced show suitably reflects the pride and glory of Rajasthan. The episodes of romance, valour and chivalry have been creatively displayed.

The show begins with a 6th century king's search for a place to establish his capital. He finds Chittor to be a safe place from invasions.

The story then meanders to the valiant defence of the town by Bappa Rawal from Arab invaders.

Episodes in the show also relate to the beauty of Rani Padmini while Rana Kumbha is portrayed as a versatile and able ruler. The spirituality and devotion of Meera, the treacherous plan to kill young Udai Singh and the supreme sacrifice by Panna Dai are some other gripping features of the show that enthral visitors.

Source: NowRunning.com