Shahrukh Khan pays tribute to yesteryear superstars

We were the first to tell you that Shah Rukh Khan will be paying a tribute to five yesteryear superstars in a 12-minute-long special song in Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. And to make the song bigger, Aditya Chopra has decided to include four top actresses to join Shah Rukh in the song.

After Kajol who was the first actress to be finalised to be part of the ambitious song, Aditya Chopra has also signed Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Priyanka Chopra for the song. The actresses will pay a tribute to yesteryear actresses like Nargis, Sharmila Tagore, Waheeda Rehman and others.

A source said, "Aditya had already recorded the song some months ago with Sonu Nigam. In the song, Shah Rukh Khan pays a tribute to actors like Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Rishi Kapoor. And the song will pay not only pay a tribute to the yesteryear actors and actresses but also famous singers. Sonu, who has sung the song, has paid a tribute to legendary singers like Mukesh, Rafi and Jolly Mukherjee."

"Now Yash Raj Films has also signed Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Priyanka Chopra to star with Shah Rukh in the song. These leading ladies will be paying a tribute to some of the most talented actresses like Nargis, Waheeda Rehman and Sharmila Tagore. The song is one the biggest highlights of the film. The song is composed by Salim-Suleiman," added the source.

When contacted, Monica Bhatacharya, the official spokesperson of Yash Raj Films said, "Yes, some of the people you mentioned are doing something in the film. But we would not like to disclose who they are or what exactly are they doing in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi."

Shah Rukh the Hottest Khan!

Who is the hottest Khan? Who has got the hottest body? Who is the sexiest pin-up girl? If these questions have been giving sleepless nights, then it’s time to rest your mind. The latest Filmfare survey gives you the answers.

Shah Rukh Khan takes the trophy of being the sexiest Khan with Salman Khan coming a close second. At number three is Aamir Khan as audiences feel he still needs to work on that sex appeal.

The surprise entry in this list is newcomer Imran Khan who is giving Saif good competition.

While Shah Rukh may have taken the lead being the hottest, the winner of the hottest body is still Salman Khan with cool dude Hrithik Roshan coming a close second and John Abraham lagging behind at a distant third. However, John’s look in Dostana might just change those numbers.

In the ladies department, it’s Katrina Kaif all the way.

Voted as the sexiest pin up girl with Bipasha Basu and Mallika Sherawat taking the second and third position, Katrina also takes the lead as the lady with the hottest figure in Bollywood followed by Bipasha again at second place and size zero Kareena Kapoor at number three.

And if you thought Aishwarya was the biggest contender for being a Bond girl, in the Filmfare poll, Mallika Sherawat has left Ash behind in being the popular choice for 007 with Bipasha Basu and Kareena Kapoor giving her close competition.

And finally Ranbir Kapoor leads the pack in the face of 2008, followed by beau Deepika Padukone at number two and newcomer Imran Khan at third place.

SRK - Kat to perform for Bhutan King

Bhutan's new king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk will be crowned next month at a lavish ceremony in its capital city, Thimpu. It is believed that a large Indian delegation including President Pratibha Patil along with other dignitaries will be attending the event.

Apart from politicians like Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukher-jee and others, B-Town actors Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif will also attend.

It is learnt that the new king is a huge admirer of Katrina and has watched all her movies. A source reveals that Katrina and Shah Rukh are scheduled to perform at a soccer stadium in Thimpu, on the coronation day.

"The event is political in nature and about cementing ties between the two countries; the lighter part of the evening will be the performances by SRK and Katrina. It isn't confirmed if they will perform together or separately."

This would be the first time Shah Rukh and Katrina would perform together at a common event. Katrina has confirmed her participation in Shah Rukh's Temptation Reloaded tour starting soon. The performance at Bhutan could be a warm-up to the same.

"No personal questions please"

Though Salman Khan has hinted about the cause of his fight with Shah Rukh Khan, the other Khan has decide keep mum on the whole issue which has become a major controversy with camps being formed and draggers being drawn.

But King Khan has decided not to speak about their fight in public. And we hear anyone seeking an interview with him are been warned in advance not to ask any personal questions. “He has no comment or clarification to issue on this regard,” says a friend. Point taken, like they say the King always has his way!

Date change for Shah Rukh's 'Temptation Reloaded' Dubai show

Shah Rukh Khan’s Temptation Reloaded concert in Dubai. will now be held on Saturday, October 25, and not October 24 as announced earlier.

Accompanying Shah Rukh at the show at Dubai Festival City arena will be Katrina Kaif, Rani Mukerji, Arjun Rampal, Anushka Dandekar, Ganesh Hegde and Hard Kaur.

Tickets for the show have gone on sale on www.timeouttickets.com.

The prices are: VVIP Seating - Dhs1000, VIP Seating - Dhs500, Family Seating - Dhs250, General Standing - Dhs100.

From October 5 onwards, tickets will also be available at all Choithram outlets, Virgin Megastore, Bombay Chowpatty, Pak Ghazi Restaurant and Karachi Darbar Restaurant.

Kajol - Shah Rukh duo back again!

Aditya Chopra has done what every SRK fan has been waiting for, for a long, long time.

The Kajol-Shah Rukh jodi hasn’t been seen together since Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001). The industry’s fav jodi are committed to Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan due 2009. However, the two will be seen together before that in Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

However, Kajol is not paired with SRK in RNBDJ, she’s only doing a song. It was director Aditya Chopra’s idea to rope in Kajol.

The song will be shot in Mumbai. And Kajol will appear in one of the verses of a song filmed on Shah Rukh and newcomer Anushka Sharma. The setting of the song will be a Punjabi folk event, and Kajol appears seconds before the song ends. A source says, “It will be very similar to her appearance in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. All it took was a phone call from Adi for her to say yes.”

Chopra’s directorial debut Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge starred SRK and Kajol in lead roles, and he was looking forward to having them together in the same frame.

SRK and Kajol have a blazing chemistry on-screen, and it is exciting for the audiences to see them together even for a few seconds. Which explains her presence in SRK starrers Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Om Shanti Om. An insider reveals, “Kajol is sentimental about working with Adi and Shah Rukh in a project after DDLJ.”

Recently, Rani was shooting in Amritsar when Shah Rukh was shooting for RNBDJ, giving rise to speculation that Adi would rope in his favourite actress too for his film. However, now it’s confirmed that it’s Kajol and not Rani who is making a brief appearance in the film.

The cold war between Bachchans and Shah Rukh is over

During a recent interview Abhishek spoke at length about his relationship with Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. About Salman he said, “Salman is my senior. And I have immense respect for him.

I know the media spoke a lot about our bonding at Mehboob Studios where both of us were shooting. But, I honestly don’t see the fuss. I have been taught by my parents that if a senior actor is shooting in the same studio as me, I should go across and say hello. I did exactly that when I was at the studio promoting Drona and Salman was there shooting for his film Veer.”

When asked if he would also extend the same courtesy to Shah Rukh Khan if he was shooting in the same location, Abhishek looked puzzled.

“Why wouldn’t I do that?” he asked. “After all Shah Rukh is like an elder brother. I respect him immensely. We have worked together in Karan Johar’s Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna. My mother and he have worked in Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gum and in Kal Ho Na Ho. So I fail to understand why the media keeps saying that there is a problem between us.”

Shah Rukh Khan was not invited to the Abhishek-Aishwarya wedding; though Karan Johar was. And, one wondered if Jaya was so close to SRK, why Bollywood’s Badshah hadn’t been invited to the wedding. Also it’s a fact that from the time Shah Rukh Khan took on the role of Kaun Banega Crorepati-II, there have been cold vibes between him and Amitabh Bachchan, the host of the first season. There are instances of Bachchan Senior being slightly irked in television and media interviews when asked to talk about Shah Rukh. The camaraderie was surely missing.

However, insiders say that whatever the time or situation in life, Shah Rukh who calls Jaya Bachchan his mother because she played that role in K3G, maintains that even in real life. “Shah Rukh has been in touch with Jayaji all through,” says an insider.

The source also maintains that even after the Drona music function fiasco, when Jaya Bachchan was targetted by the MNS (Maharashtra Navniram Sena) for her, “I will speak in Hindi” remark, a host of industry people called Jaya to pledge their support. Says the source, “Shah Rukh also called Jayaji because he maintains she is like his mother.”

In fact, Amitabh Bachchan was in Paris when the MNS targetted his wife, and Aishwarya is away shooting for Robot and even Abhishek was shooting till late at night for Karan Johar’s Dostana at Film City, that’s when Shah Rukh, Karan Johar and his mother Hiroo Johar were constantly in touch with Jaya Bachchan.

No wonder Abhishek doesn’t even entertain talks of there being cold vibes between the Bachchans and Shah Rukh. When asked about the cold vibes between the Bachchans and Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek turned around and said, “Shah Rukh and Karan are two people who I share a warm rapport with. My mother is also very close to Shah Rukh and calls him her elder son. Shah Rukh will always be there for our family.”

However, Shah Rukh remains tight-lipped about his equation with the Bachchans.

'Billo Barber' pushed back to February 2009

Shah Rukh Khan’s home production Billo Barber, which was locked in for a Diwali release, this year, has now been pushed back to February 2009.

It is believed that Shah Rukh has delayed his film to give breathing space to his two friends Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra. While Karan’s Dostana stars Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham, Aditya’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has SRK himself in the lead.

Since he already has a big release this year-end, it made sense not to compete against his own film. King Khan didn’t want two big releases back to back in a span of two months. Says an insider, “Shah Rukh wants to spread his releases out. Since a lot of films are being pushed forward and backward around Diwali time, he decided not to have Billo Barber clashing with any biggies.” Irrfan Khan plays the protagonist in SRK’s home production, while Khan is playing himself.

It is believed that there are also other reasons for delaying the film. Kuselan (the Tamil version of Billo Barber, satrring Rajikanth) hasn’t done as well at the box office, as expected. A source reveals, “Priyadarshan has watched the audience reaction to Kuselan and has decided to make a few changes. The climax of both the films is the same. Also Kuselan was criticised for being too long, so he’s now fine-tuning the film.”

It is learnt that Subhash Ghai didnt want an SRK-Salman clash at the box-office. Sources reveal the director personally called up Shah Rukh to check when Billo Barber is releasing. Ghai’s Yuvvraj starring Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor and Katrina Kaif releases November 21. However, Ghai was relieved when he found out that Billo Barber has been pushed back to Feb 2009.

SRK to lose his six pack abs

With his six-pack abs and raunchy masculine sex appeal, Shah Rukh Khan gave the actors half his age a run for their money. But now the King Khan has decided to bid adieu to his much raved about abs and just entertain us all with his raw sex appeal as he goes back to basics sporting that guy next look with his lean body frame.

Yes, the actor who once donned a pumped up look and a sweaty appeal for getting that Greek God like build is now just avoiding the gym in his attempt to loose that macho look.

Care to guess what’s making King Khan gym aversive?

Well, the actor is following strict instructions given by good friend and directors Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar. Shah Rukh who is all set to play a leading role in Aditya’s ‘Rab Ne Bana De Jodi’ and Karan’s ‘My Name Is Khan’ has been asked to do away with his sexy looks as both the flicks require him to look lean.

Sticking onto the directions, the actor is now chilling out and working on to put on some flab.

Sadly for the ladies who just could not get enough of King Khan’s alluring abs for now they will have to be content with his lean mean look.

Priyanka teams up with Shah Rukh for item song

After Deepika Padukone and Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra has been chosen as the third heroine to make a special appearance in Priyadarshan's Billoo Barber and shake a leg with Shah Rukh Khan.

And Priyadarshan says it was a cakewalk for the superstar to get the leading ladies to do a cameo in his comedy.

"Since Shah Rukh plays a filmstar in the movie, I needed him to do some big glamorous song and dance numbers with some top heroines. I left the choice to Shah Rukh. I knew all he had to do was to pick up the phone and ask any of his leading ladies," Priyadarshan revealed.

According to sources, it was a tie between Rani Mukerji and Priyanka for the third item song with Shah Rukh Khan in Billoo Barber.

"But after Rani appeared on Salman Khan's game show Dus Ka Dum and knowing there's no love lost between Salman and Priyanka, the scales tilted automatically towards Priyanka," an industry source said.

Though King Khan has done item numbers earlier in Shakti, Kaal and Krazzy 4, this would be Priyanka's first item number.

The song with Kareena was shot at the very start of the shooting.

"At this very moment, I'm shooting a second item song with Deepika and Shah Rukh. That's again a very catchy number and Shah Rukh is having a ball shooting with Deepika," Priyadarshan said.

Interestingly, the director was supposed to launch Deepika two years ago in a film called Pirate.

"But that didn't work out. She made her debut with Shah Rukh (in Om Shanti Om). Now she's working with him again. And I also got a chance to work with her. Don't ask who's the lucky one," he quipped.

Inspired by the story of Lord Krishna and his childhood friend Sudama, a poor Brahmin, Billoo Barber tells the tale of a superstar and his pal Billoo (Irrfan Khan), who is a barber by profession.