SRK in ad visibility race

Bollywood and cricket might be the two passions of India, but when it comes to celebrity brands' visibility on TV, the silver screen stars are clearly ahead of sporting heroes.

Only two Indian cricketers - M S Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar - figure in a list of the 10 most visible celebrities featuring in TV ads. There are no other sportspersons in the list.

And while Shah Rukh Khan may be the undisputed badshah of Bollywood, he's been pipped in this particular race by Chhote Nawab Saif Ali Khan.

According to the AdEx Survey, prepared by TAM Media Research, TV ads featuring Saif Ali Khan appeared for as many as 45 lakh seconds through 2007. SRK followed with 42 lakh seconds, while Amitabh Bachchan was third with 32 lakh.

Hrithik Roshan may not be seen too often on the silver screen these days, but he's highly visible in ads, coming in fourth with 31 lakh seconds.

Kajol - another star whose movies are few and far between - was fifth overall and the highest-ranked woman with 22 lakh seconds. Dhoni followed close behind at No. 6, ahead of Tendulkar.

Preity Zinta, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Juhi Chawla rounded off the top 10. With 13.2 lakh seconds, Chawla was ahead of reigning box-office draws like Priyanka Chopra (11 lakh seconds), Bipasha Basu (6.4 lakh) and Kareena Kapoor (6 lakh).

However, SRK and the Big B continue to endorse the largest number of brands. In 2006, Bachchan endorsed 41 brands, SRK had 35. But in 2007, the tables were turned: King Khan endorsed 39 brands with 21 advertisers while Bachchan was brand ambassador for 36 brands with 20 advertisers.

In terms of visibility, Dhoni, Sachin and Dravid (8 lakh seconds) were well ahead of other Indian sportspersons, including Yuvraj Singh (6 lakh) and Irfan Pathan (4 lakh). The highest-ranked non-cricketing sports star was N Karthikeyan (1.5 lakh seconds).
Interestingly, small screen actors fared quite well too. TV star Hussain, with 8.85 lakh seconds, came in ahead of Bollywood hunks Akshay Kumar (8.7 lakh) and Salman Khan (2 lakh),while female stars like Mona ‘Jassi' Singh (3.4 lakh) and Smriti

'Tulsi' Irani (3.35 lakh) made their mark as well.

The Times of India

Shah Rukh Khan is the “Kewlest Dad” at Nick’s Daddy Cool contest

MUMBAI: Nick has announced Shah Rukh Khan as the “Kewlest Dad” of its Daddy Cool contest. In a recent survey conducted amongst kids by Nick as part of the Father’s day special promotion, ShahRukh has topped the charts.

Kids had to choose their favourite celebrity dad from Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan.

According to an official release, around 6000 kids from across India voted for their favorite celebrity dads. Shah Rukh Khan recieved 42.5 per cent votes. Tailing him at second position is Akshay Kumar, with 28.4 per cent of kids’ votes. Hrithik Roshan with 21.7 per cent votes is number three and Saif Ali Khan got 7.3 per cent votes.

IndianTelevision.com Team

“The wait is over, I am coming to your city.”

This famous Bollywood rivalry is going to new shores now. After face-offs over popularity in films and on telly, Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan now seem to going head-to-head on world tours.

While Amitabh Bachchan’s Unforgettables tour – which will also have Abhiash, Preity Zinta, Riteish Deshmukh, Madhuri Dixit and Akshay Kumar – kickstarts on July 18 in Toronto, Shah Rukh has decided to begin his own Temptations Reloaded tour on June 21 at Amsterdam.

This means the rivalry between the two most powerful Bollywood stars will now go global and with big stars from the industry joining either side, it is now to be seen which tour is able to garner more popularity.

Confirms Mohomed Morani about SRK’s show, “Yes we are starting off from Amsterdam on June 21. In the first show, SRK, Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor and Ganesh Hedge will perform.”

And which countries are on their itinerary? Morani reveals, “The Amsterdam show will be the curtain raiser for us. A few months later, we will go for the jugular, touring all parts of the world. The media will be informed of dates, stars and venues then.” Sources say that a promo of the show has already been shot at SRK’s bungalow, Mannat. It has Shah Rukh saying, “The wait is over, I am coming to your city.”

The buzz about rivalry between the stars started after Shah Rukh stepped in as the host on Kaun Banega Crorepati and did the remake of Big B’s ’70 hit, Don. Will the two coinciding world tours add more grist to the rumour mills?

Direct entry to Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass via 'Airtel Skip The Gun Contest'

The Rise and Rise of Shah Rukh Khan

Zoom to air eight-episode special on Shah Rukh Khan

Mumbai: Starting 18 June, Zoom will be airing an eight-part special on Shah Rukh Khan, titled The Rise and Rise of Shah Rukh Khan.

The series recreates the rise of Bollywood's biggest superstar from his ordinary life as a Delhi lad to his extraordinary success as a global icon. The series traces SRK's notorious days at school and college and takes you along on his first trip to Mumbai.

The Rise and Rise of Shah Rukh Khan takes viewers behind the scenes, from SRK's first big break to the time he stunned the industry with his Bad Boy image. Overlooking the risk of being type-caste to negative roles, the unpredictable star slowly charmed his way to the top.

Also, get a taste of the controversy and hype behind Don and Kaun Banega Crorepati and the rumored cold war between SRK and Amitabh Bachchan.

The actor also speaks about his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders and what the success of the mega event means to him. Finally, the series takes a look forward with sneak peeks at what fans can expect from SRK in the months to come, including the film My name is Khan.

Saif and Kareena playing Paanchvi Pass with SRK

The Baadshah of Bollywood has managed to bring one of Bollywood's hottest couples on his game show. Yes we are talking about none other than Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor who will be seen playing Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hai with Shah Rukh Khan and his bunch of kids.

The episode which is going to be telecast this Saturday (June 14th ) at 8 pm IST promises to be a complete riot. To start with Saif Ali Khan opens the game as the host and invites Shah Rukh Khan as a contestant to play. Shah Rukh enters with Kareena Kapoor, hand in hand, and announces that as Saif has taken over his show, he has stolen Saif's girlfriend. Seeing Saif's reaction to this is something which you don't wanna miss!

This star-studded episode of Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hai also reveals for the first time on television certain cute anecdotes like when did Saif first meet Kareena? How they fell in love? Do they fight with each other and what do they do when they are mad at each other? The answers to all the above questions will be revealed on the show.

Despite being warned and tutored by his daughter, Saif Ali Khan was bowled by some of the initial questions; he was found biting his nails all through. Shah Rukh also teases Saif each time he gives a right answer, saying, "Shakal se lagta nahin, par Saif intelligent hain".

The classmates also had a rollicking time with the celebrity couple. Anubhav flaunted his Kareena tattoo which resembled the one on Saif's wrist and even sang a song for her. Shreya gifted a small T-shirt that she had outgrown to Kareena saying that she thought it might just fit Kareena because of her size zero. Milanjeet offered Saif-Kareena a full laddoo. Catch all this fun and action on Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hai?

'Saif-eena', as Saif and Kareena are popularly known as, will be playing for a charitable cause. Saif Ali Khan will donate the winning amount to Naaz organization (Delhi), which takes care of HIV positive kids, while Kareena will use the funds for the aged and lonely parent from St. Anthony's Old Age Home, Bandra.

So don't miss as Saif and Kareena get grilled with some fiery questions on this special episode.

Shah Rukh's High Five

Aditya Chopra is leaving no stone unturned to make his ambitious film Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, Rab ne Bana Di Jodi a grand success.

Aditya Chopra has recorded an 11-minute song in the film for one important sequence in the film that will have Sonu Niggaam paying tribute to five yesteryear stars.

Our source says, "Aditya Chopra has recorded an 11-minute song in the film which show cases the style of five different generations in one single song.

The song tracks the journey from 1950s to the 90's to the present era and will be picturised on Shah Rukh Khan.

Adi had reached a dead end with the song where he had to scrap it when he thought of Sonu.

The specialty of the song is a tribute that SRK gives to stalwarts like Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Rishi Kapoor.

But music composers Salim-Suleiman and Jaideep Saini were asked to compose the song which would have the first line of the most famous numbers with their romantic icons and these involves songs sung by singers ranging from Mukesh, Rafi, Kishore to Jolly Mukherjee. Spanning the '50s to the '90s.

The voice had to encompass the spirit of the old and the new equally, and Sonu was the only option.

Apparently Sonu who was travelling extensively obliged thrice to rehearse and work on the song and then finally sang in less than 45 minutes.

Sonu Niggaam remained unavailable for comment.

Shah Rukh Khan's Performance in Zee Cine Awards 2008

Heavy Rains Destroy SRK's 'RNBDJ' Sets

Aditya Chopra who is back to the director’s seat after eight long years had to go through a heavy loss before the completion of his movie Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi . Chopra commenced shooting from May 16 at Filmcity. A huge set was constructed in film city where Chopra was shooting with Shah Rukh and his new actress recently. Unfortunately the set has been destroyed due to the heavy rains.

It is believed that Rs 4 crores was spent to build the set. When contacted YFR spokesperson Monika confirms, “Yes it’s true that the set which was erected for RNBDJ has been destroyed due to heavy rains. They started shooting on May 16 and finished that shooting schedule long back so the destruction of the set does not matter. They have finished the schedule in film city and they are now shooting in Yash Raj studio.”

Setbacks and losses are not new for big films. Tragedy is a constant companion in the film production business. It can be recalled that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was shooting in Film City when the sets at the studio caught fire and the total gear of the movie was destroyed.

RNBDJ is Shah Rukh’s third film with Aditya Chopra after Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Mohabbatein and film buffs would like to see the magic being recreated on celluloid.

SRK, Chak De! India Steal Accolades at IIFA

It was a golden day for Shah Rukh and Chak De! India as the movie swept nine honours at the glittering ninth IIFA awards.

The Bollowood King Shah Rukh Khan received the best actor award for his inspiring role as a hockey coach in the film.

Khan, who gave a miss to Sunday's star-studded ceremony here, virtually ruled the awards function as his home production Om Shanti Om also won five trophies.

His award was collected by the film's producer Yash Chopra.

Chak De which was adjudged the best film of 2007. The movie is about a coach inspiring the Indian women's hockey team to victory.

The film's director Shimit Amin received the best director's award. Jaideep Sahani received the award for best story for the film.

The awards in the technical section won by the film were: cinematography, Sound recording and sound re-recording, editing.

On the other hand, Kareena Kapoor bagged the best actress award for "Jab We Met." Irrfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma won for supporting roles in "Life in a... Metro".

Jaideep Sahani shared the screenplay award for the film with Anurag Basu (Life in a Metro).

SRK's home production Om Shanti Om bagged awards for art direction, costumes, special effects and make up. Javed Akhtar also won the best lyricist award for the song Main Agar Kahoon.

The awards ceremony was held at the Siam Niramit complex in the heart of Bangkok city. Ritesh Deshmukh and Boman Irani were the hosts of the awards ceremony.

Dia Mirza donned a black halter top for a racy performance to promote her upcoming action thriller "Acid Factory," only to be hit by a technical glitch that cut out the music and forced her to start again.

The stars of thriller Mission Istaanbul , about a terrorist plot centring on a Turkish TV station, shined in silver with Shriya Saran in a glitter top and a hip hop-styled Vivek Oberoi in a white plastic jacket and black trilby.

Akshay Kumar received a special achievement award. Kumar also told the audience that he had once waited tables in the host city Bangkok before setting out to become a movie star.

"I was just a young man when my adventure began here. I was naive, restless and eager to please. This city embraced me with such love and kindness," he said.

At least 500 of Bollywood's biggest names walked down a carpet, which was changed from red to green in a nod to the environmental themes the event is working to promote.

Sahara Samay