Karan Johar and Rani Mukherjee on a special episode of 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hai'

"Aamir, apologise to SRK immediately"

Hi Aamir,

I hope you will get to read my post. I woke up this morning and logged into Bollywood Hungama and I could not believe the content of the article posted on that website so I checked your blog for confirmation.

I have been a life long fan of yours and I have always respected you as an actor par excellence and as an intellectual. I have looked up to you for most of my life and your movies have entertained us for decades. I strongly supported you during the Narmada dam controversy and a number of other controversies.

I was truly shocked to read your comments and I am very disappointed. I am not a huge admirer of SRK's acting abilities but he is by far the most charismatic and most popular star representing the east. He has earned the respect of millions of people. The comments you have posted on your blog are extremely offensive to all fans of the Indian cinema and not just SRK and his fans.

I think that you should have considered the cultural sensitivities that surround those comments. There are certain rules that need be followed and certain lines that are not to be crossed when addressing your competitors and adversaries in public.

You might notice that this is my first post on your website and I rarely comment on such issues but those outrageous comments are extremely hard to ignore. According to media reports, SRK's wife and his children are big fans of your work and I would like to know how you would face them after making those comments that are usually attributed to unsavory individuals.

I am sure you are aware of the backlash Michael Richards faced following his racist rant and I am not comparing your comments to his racist remarks, but he made it very difficult for a lot of Seinfeld fans including myself to enjoy that show after that ugly episode. I am sure that you are aware that SRK and you possibly share millions of fans and I hope you will understand that those comments were extremely offensive to a lot of people. I believe that you should immediately apologize to SRK and all fans of Indian Cinema for those appalling comments. I want to be able to respect one of my favorite actors once again.

Thank You

Best,
Ali Hashimi

I am Sorry: Amitabh Bachchan

"There are some amongst you who feel that there has been an attempt on my part to compare myself with other colleagues of mine. This is false and incorrect. I think the whole purpose of my account has been incorrectly interpreted. I have never ever meant that at all. I have never considered myself worthy of such position and have hated such indulgence," he writes in his latest post from Cannes.

"However, if some amongst you have felt otherwise, I wish to sincerely apologize for that and say that I am sorry! It shall not happen again," he adds.

Sawf News

Aamir's crass blog has Shah Rukh smiling

The battle of the blogs just intensified with Aamir Khan proclaiming that he has a dog called Shah Rukh.

The shocking display of insolent humour has the otherwise -unconcerned film industry sit up and take notice.

Says a popular character-actor who has worked with both actors, “I guess the freedom provided by a blog tends to loosen tongues.

Amitabh has never been known to be as undiplomatic as he’s on his blog. Aamir must have thought it’s time to increase the odds, what if Amitabh’s blog gets more eyeballs!”

His nephew, Imran Khan’s film, Jaane Tu... is around the corner. During the release of Taare Zameen Par, Aamir created a controversy by taking on Amitabh and Sanjay Leela Bhansalis’ Black. Now for his nephew’s film, Shah Rukh is being called a dog. All I can say is, life’s a bitch.”

Shah Rukh remains characteristically unfazed and humorous in the face of his colleague’s tasteless remarks. Says SRK, “Earlier, people named their children after famous people.

Somebody naming a dog after a known person is a new beginning in that direction. I don’t have a copyright over my name if used non-commercially.”

A close friend of SRK on condition of anonymity reacted far more aggressively. “Aamir’s megalomania has been brewing for a while. Earlier he declared himself No 1 as compared with SRK, who took it smilingly. Now Aamir is down to street-level provocation.

You know those neighbours who try to get your attention by breaking your windows, by letting their dogs crap on your lawn or just dirtying your car. It’s best for Shah Rukh to ignore these efforts to get his attention.”

Subhash.K.Jha, Mid-Day

Knight Rider's Night Out

Party on the field, off it all night and sit back and relax all of next day. This was Team KKR’s mantra after winning a big match against the Delhi Daredevils at the Eden on Tuesday night.

The Knights headed for Dublin, the Irish pub at ITC The Sonar Calcutta, to celebrate their victory. The song that kicked off the celebration was Paisa fekh, tamasha dekh, and no prizes for guessing on whom everyone showered their paisa’s worth of attention.

Shoaib Akhtar, fresh from winning the Man of the Match award on his IPL debut, was quite the star of the show, with every member of Team KKR and some from the Delhi Daredevils cheering him as he entered Dublin a little after 2am. Pop went the champagne bottles — four of them — to uncork what was to be a night-to-morn round of revelry.

There were Ajit Agarkar, Ishant Sharma, Umar Gul and Salman Butt, joined by Virender Sehwag and Farveez Maharoof from the Delhi Daredevils. Sourav Ganguly, who usually slips away from parties post-dinner, decided to stay back and join in the fun.

The DJ for the first half of the night was actor Arjun Rampal, sporting glares and playing tracks from his laptop.

Shah Rukh Khan, who came later, tried his hand at deejaying, as did comedian and director Sajid Khan.

At first, the only one shaking a leg to the house music played by Rampal was his wife Meher. When Sharma demanded some Bolly beats, DJ Bosco — Team KKR’s official DJ — took over.

It was not long before everyone got onto the dance floor. Ganguly, too.

“It was the first time Ganguly danced at a team party. His teammates probably held him back; he normally has dinner and slips out. Shoaib was very animated,” said DJ Harish.

Shah Rukh was, as always, in his elements. He danced when his favourite English song, Rise Up, was played, followed by Khaike paan Benaraswalla.

“He was in a fun mood and wore a boat-necked greyish T-shirt, teamed with jeans,” said one of those who were at the party.

The KKR owner left by 4am. The last ones to leave were — guess again — Shoaib and fellow Pakistani Mohammad Asif, who plays for the Delhi Daredevils.

The party, which continued till 6.45am on Wednesday, took its toll on the players. The Knights overslept and chose to stay away from public eye throughout the day.

Karo Christine Kumar - The Telegraph India

We’ve become tougher now: Shah Rukh

Calcutta: Shah Rukh Khan was absolutely overjoyed with the Kolkata Knight Riders’ emphatic performance against the Delhi DareDevils on Tuesday. Later, the Knight Riders’ owner briefly spoke to The Telegraph.

Shah Rukh, incidentally, will be back in Mumbai early on Wednesday to continue with his TV show shoots and prepare for a new film.

The following are excerpts from the one-on-one:

The following are excerpts

On the Knight Riders’ superb win on Tuesday

(Laughs) We’ve been having some tough games and they’re making the team tougher! At the end of the match, John (Buchanan, coach) asked ‘how did we do it?’ Indeed… We bowled beautifully and fielded so well… The two run outs made the difference.

Having got very emotional

Because the boys played so well and because the Eden crowd has been supporting us in such a big way… That’s why I bow to the crowd after each match… It’s my way of thanking them…

His remarkable connect with the fans here

They probably like me because I’m humble… At the Eden, I’m Shah Rukh Khan… I’m not putting on an act.

MoM Shoaib Akhtar’s performance

I’d been very disappointed when Shoaib wasn’t allowed to play till last week… He’d been our first buy at the February 20 IPL auction and was probably the first buy for any team… I don’t want to get into the rules but I’d been extremely disappointed… I’d been very keen to have a photograph taken at the Eden with everybody in it… Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Shoaib… That didn’t work out…

His dream of Shoaib taking three wickets in his first over remaining unfulfilled

But I amended that to three in his first three… Shoaib, in fact, did better… Four in the first three! As I’ve said, I’m very happy as he’s become the most liked player around… People would say he’s a budtameez and so on, but he’s not that… He’s shown what he’s capable of.

Whether Shoaib’s comeback script would match anything from the world of films

Reality is always different…

Shoaib opening with Ishant Sharma

(Smiles) That’s one dream which has been realised… I wanted them to bowl together… That has happened at the Eden.

Finally, whether captain Sourav Ganguly should again be considered for the ODIs

Look, my involvement with cricket starts and ends with the Knight Riders… I really don’t know much about other things and wouldn’t like to comment.

The Telegraph - Calcutta

"I dont have the time to write blogs" : Khan

Its four in the afternoon and Shah Rukh Khan is on the sets of Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? The clock is running. The audiences are in their seats and minutes before “Action,” SRK is playing basketball with the five kids from the show.

Siddharth Basu walks in, with some last- minute instructions for the bacchas, who listen intently.

Shortly after, the group takes their places under the lights. An hour later, they break shoot and we head to SRK’s make-up room.

He tucks into his dabba from home. In between morsels of lunch (at 5 in the evening) he talks about his show, its low ratings, Amitabh Bachchan’s digs and more. Read on.

Do you miss KBC?
I don’t get emotionally attached to my work. I do it to the best of my capability and then, I move on. I am not into nostalgia.

You seem to be enjoying Paanchvi Pass more...
Yes, I am. I like this format. KBC was too restrictive. After a while, it was taxing to make it entertaining. Paanchvi Pass is fun but we don’t shoot more than two episodes a day because the kids get tired. Internationally, Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader was much bigger than Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

You already have your first millionaire on the show!
Yes, a lady has won a crore on the show. Two other guys reached that amount but walked away with 50 lakh.

The questions are hard, no?
You and I may find it hard but the kids know the answers. I get about 60 per cent of the answers on the show right but when I go home and ask the questions to my son Aryan, he gets 80 per cent of them right. And there is a reference point, you know where the questions are coming from — class one to class five, so one can prepare oneself.

Amitabh has commented on the low ratings of Paanchvi Pass. Comment.
Yes, I heard about the blog and later, I read it. Mr Bachchan is a huge superstar and normally he is quite reticent and you don’t get to know the views of such people.

It’s nice that he’s blogging now and one gets to know his thoughts and his views on one’s work. But I did not understand the graph on his blog. I don’t understand graphs. I don’t think most people do. I don’t understand TAM, FAM and MAM. I don’t keep track of these technical things.

Have you ever thought of blogging?
No, for three reasons. One, when I type, I do so in caps and on the net, that’s like screaming. Two, because when I write, I write very long copy. And three, I am a very busy man, I don’t have time to write long blogs… also, my colleagues say that they blog because the media writes a lot of things and they want to put their version out there.

So, in short, you end up doing the journalist’s job. In my mind, it’s very clear I am an actor and not a reporter, so I will do my job, and I will let them do theirs. If they write something that’s wrong, I’ll abuse that person and say they got their facts wrong. If they get it right, then I’ll say ‘great, they represented the facts well’.

Your reaction to comparisons between KBC and PP?
I don’t know why comparisons should be drawn between my shows and shows done by other stars. I don’t compare myself to others’ shows. I will compare my ratings to the ratings of my last show. And if Paanchvi Pass has not done well, I accept responsibility.

I’ll take 60 per cent of the blame. If I take credit for the success of my films and my shows, I also accept the brickbats when things go wrong. I don’t need anyone to tell me that my show is not doing well. I am well aware of the facts.

Any theories on why Paanchvi Pass hasn’t got the desired TRPs?
Yes. I don’t think that it’s possible to get the ratings that the first KBC got, or even what the popular saas-bahu soaps were getting at one time. Firstly, because at the time, there weren’t so many channels. Secondly, the IPL has bitten into a large chunk of the audiences.

The other day, I saw Gauri’s mom watching the match with some of her friends, and I thought, ‘That’s sweet, they are watching it because Kolkata is playing.’ But after a few days, I saw them watching the match again, they had all gathered specifically to see the match and my team wasn’t even playing. And these are not the usual cricket fans.

Even Gauri is now going to see all our matches, even the ones that I cannot go to because of my other commitments. Before this, she used to hate cricket and she would never even watch a match at home. The T20 format has clicked. It’s no longer just a game, it has become a social event.

Your thoughts on barbs about low TRPs?
If someone says that my show is a flop, I will work harder. If someone says my show is a hit, I will still work harder, so it doesn’t matter what anyone says. I will continue to work like I always do.

And finally, do you think the ratings of Paanchvi Pass will pick up after IPL ends?
Absolutely. It will pick up for sure. I will take a break shortly and then come back from my holiday and shoot more episodes. Things will have changed by then. If not, we will work harder and ensure they do.

Sarita Tanwar, Mid-Day

Something brewing between SRK, models & Bangalore

Some time back we had told you about this dream project RAB NE BANA DI JODI which brings SRK-Aditya Chopra association back after a long gap, since MOHABATTEIN. We even informed that Adi was on a look out for a fresh face to cast opposite SRK. There was a lot of excitement around as to who would be the lucky girl opposite SRK.

Now the hunt for that lucky lady has come to an end. As per the latest communique from Yash Raj Films 19-year-young Anushka Sharma has been finalized to star opposite Bollywood's Badshah Shah Rukh Khan. To debut in a prestigious film from India's most respected production house and that too opposite the nation's biggest star is a dream that many eyes pine for. It's a dream every girl treasures. And very few are bestowed with such fate. But luck as it had to be, favoured model Anushka Sharma who has, earlier, done a few commercials and ramp shows with no acting background.

It's a dream for many to get associated with Shah Rukh Khan. Till date most of the girls who coupled with SRK they all achieved a stardom be it Rani Mukherji, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, etc. and the most recent case of Deepika Padukone in OM SHANTI OM. Remember the amount of buzz and hype that was created a few months back when Deepika was to debut opposite King Khan in OSO. Deepika Padukone who was though a supermodel witnessed a 360o change in her life post working with SRK in OSO. And as fate would be, what a coincidence, this time also a no-so-popular model will taste the stardom coming December. Ah! and ditto like Deepika Anushka also hails from Bangalore.

Peace activist Shah Rukh to be kidnapped

With Bangalore model Anushka Sharma having been finalized to play the leading lady opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Aditya Chopra's RAB NE BANA DI JODI, the speculations about imaginary names like Simran etc must have ended. As we have been telling you repeatedly, the film is all set to go on the floors by the middle of this month (May 15/16).

With the shooting of RAB NE BANA DI JODI and SRK's home production BILLU BARBER to be over by October-November, King Khan will move on to his next big project, the Karan Johar directed, KHAN/MY NAME IS KHAN. The Dharma productions' venture is to go on the floors in November-December 2008. Despite the fact that the Shibani Bhatija scripted project is one of the most zealously guarded secret, we have some inside info!

While it's known to most that the film takes a look at Islamic terrorism and the resultant discrimination post 9/11, the buzz is that Shah Rukh plays a peace activist who gets to see the viewpoint of the extremists, once he is kidnapped by them.

Well, we must confess that after SRK's path breaking performance in CHAK DE! INDIA, this may well turn out to be another superb portrayal from SRK, the actor and not the global superstar!

SRK wants to produce TV shows

It's the Badshah of Bollywood who has threatened the queen of Indian Television. Shahrukh Khan is all set to give Soap queen Ekta Kapoor some very tough competiton. The entrepreneur in SRK wants to produce TV shows with an edge to give the audience a break from the ruling Saas- Bahu sagas.

King Khan said, "It has been my wish to make some programmes for television through my production house." SRK is not new to TV, afterall it was his break in' Fauji' that began his rise to stardom- SRK has reappeared in various avtaars, from KBC host to his latest offering Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain. But SRK seems ready for the plunge.

He has requested all his friends from the television industry to help him in his new endeavour. With the King of Bollywood and the Queen of Soaps all set for a battle, one will wonder whose side the audiences will take this time around.

Times Now