Articles: Shahrukh Khan - Page 66

BOLLYWOOD AT WAR!

Posted On Tuesday, April 24, 2007

TLike all good Indian-style weddings the Ash-Abhi shaadi has exposed the sham of Bollywood as one big happy family. Though a wedding is indeed a private affair the Bachchans were also aware that every move of theirs during the wedding celebrations would be under intense media scrutiny, starting with the guest list.

Though the Big B claimed that the wedding would be a 'low-key'affair, it turned out half of Bollywood made it to Pratiksha. It's the other half which didn't that has clearly divided tinsel town and brought the camp war right out in the open. Here we look at how a simple guest list exposed Bollywood's secret wars.

The big fight:

Shah Rukh Khan: Jaya Bachchan recently claimed on Koffee with Karan that she loves Shah Rukh, well clearly it's not a sentiment that is widespread in her family. While the Bachchan-SRK war is old by now, the usually politically correct Big B opted to make his stand clear by not extending any olive branch. SRK's closest buddy and one of Abhishek's favourite directors Karan Johar was instead not only invited by also given the task of choreographing the sangeet ceremony.

Khan't come:

The Khans: The Bachchans invited Dimple, Twinkle and Rinke but left out Rajesh Khanna and Twinkle's husband Akshay Kumar from the guest list. "It's about personal equation that the Bachchans share with the star, we can't hold a gun to their head for not inviting people whom they are not close to," says a source. But this clear demarcation of inviting one person from the family and not inviting others didn't go down well with Akshay. Twinkle and Akshay preferred to stay out of the country and attend the World Cup instead.

And while it is perfectly clear why Salman Khan was not invited, Bollywood insiders are wondering about the absence of all the Khans. "He wanted to keep the Khans away because Ash had professional issues with Aamir Khan during The Rising. Now it seems that the Khans (Salman, Saif and SRK) are bonding and having their own party," says our source.

Even Fardeen Khan, who shared a great chemistry with Abhishek during Om Jai Jagadish, was not invited. And Zayed Khan, who shared a great bond with Jr B during the making of Dus, was also kept away from the do.

Past, imperfect:

Rani, Priyanka, Esha, Vidya, Bipasha, Sushmita, John: While Rani's cousin Kajol was invited for all the ceremonies, Rani and her family were not. This is after Bachchans have openly admitted that Rani is just like family for them. Incidentally, Abhishek's biggest hits have been with Rani and she too gave her best performance with Senior B in Black. Even Priyanka Chopra (who Abhishek fondly calls Piggy Chops) was not invited for the grand event. "Amitabh made it a point to not invite any of the actors who has been linked with Abhishek in past," says our source. John and Bipasha were also not invited because nobody in the family is particularly enamoured of John's new star status.

The family even ignored Sushmita Sen, who Abhishek often calls 'didi'. Wonder if it had anything to do with the one-time Ash-Sush rivalry?

Bachchpan Ke Dost

Farhan Akhtar: Abhishek made sure that all his longtime buddies like Rohan Sippy, Apoorva Lakhiya, Chirag Doshi and Sikander Kher were there but he conveniently ignored Farhan Akhtar and his family. "Farhan is close to SRK's camp, so it was natural that he wouldn't be invited for the wedding. This despite the fact that Farhan shares a brilliant rapport with Abhishek and they have been childhood buddies," says our source.

Divide and fool?

Hema Malini: Dreamgirl Hema Malini was not happy about the fact that the Bachchans had only invited her and Dharmendra, not daughters Esha and Ahana for the wedding. "Hemaji was extremely miffed with the Bachchans, considering the fact that Jaya has always claimed that Esha is like a daughter to her. It was humiliating for a star like Hemaji to attend the wedding after her daughters were snubbed by the family. Esha, who shared screen-space with Abhishek during Dus and Dhoom, was also upset with their behaviour. Just to protest, even Dharmendra decided to not attend the wedding," says our source.

The big fight Doom macha de!

Not calling the shots:

The prominent filmmakers: If anyone wanted to know who AB and Baby would be working with in the near-future all they needed to do was to see the roster of directors invited and those left out. Amongst the latter were Ravi Chopra, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Was Bhansali kept out because of his avowed fondness for Salman? Your guess is as good as ours.

While most of the Yashraj camp directors were on the guest list, the Bachchans didn't invite Sanjay Gadhvi. No prizes for guessing why. "They had fallen through after the Dhoom 2 controversy. Abhishek is miffed with Sanjay for not letting him know about the kissing scene between Hrithik and Ash in Dhoom 2," says our source.

Dus bahane... Divide and fool?

Dost Dost na raha

Hrithik Roshan: Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan have been childhood friends and have always shared a warm relationship. Unfortunately, the relationship soured when the Bachchans disapproved of the Ash-Hrithik lip lock in Dhoom 2. Abhishek and his family were not happy that Ash and Hrithik shared a hot passionate kiss on-screen. Also, Hrithik walking away with all the plaudits in Dhoom 2 did not go down well with Bollywood's first family.

The hostilities went further when Hrithik replaced Abhishek in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Dilli 6. The film is apparently based on Mehra's own life during his childhood in Delhi. According our source "Bachchan's production house AB Corp wanted to co-produce the film with UTV. However, things didn't plan out like that and hence Abhishek backed out of the film."

Recently, Hrithik decided to back out from an international tour he was planning to with the Bachchans, because the organisers were promoting it as 'The Bachchan Show', and it didn't go well with Duggu. After giving two big blockbusters like Krrish and Dhoom 2, Hrithik is no doubt a bigger star than AB Jr.

Not just that, Hrithik is also upset with Ash. Apparently they both were shooting for Ashutosh's magnum opus Jodha Akbar, and it was during the same time Ash started distributing her wedding cards. Insiders reveal that Ash wanted to invite Hrithik, but she couldn't because Bachchans were not too keen on inviting the Roshans. "Bachchans kept friends like Salman and Rani out from the wedding because of Ash, so she had to return the favour," says our source.
Past, Imperfect Khan't come


Guest list, the Bachchans didn't invite Sanjay Gadhvi. No prizes for guessing why. "They had fallen through after the Dhoom 2 controversy. Abhishek is miffed with Sanjay for not letting him know about the kissing scene between Hrithik and Ash in Dhoom 2," says our source.

Dost Dost na raha

Hrithik Roshan: Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan have been childhood friends and have always shared a warm relationship. Unfortunately, the relationship soured when the Bachchans disapproved of the Ash-Hrithik lip lock in Dhoom 2. Abhishek and his family were not happy that Ash and Hrithik shared a hot passionate kiss on-screen. Also, Hrithik walking away with all the plaudits in Dhoom 2 did not go down well with Bollywood's first family.

The hostilities went further when Hrithik replaced Abhishek in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Dilli 6. The film is apparently based on Mehra's own life during his childhood in Delhi. According our source "Bachchan's production house AB Corp wanted to co-produce the film with UTV. However, things didn't plan out like that and hence Abhishek backed out of the film."

Not calling the shots Did someone say didi?

Recently, Hrithik decided to back out from an international tour he was planning to with the Bachchans, because the organisers were promoting it as 'The Bachchan Show', and it didn't go well with Duggu. After giving two big blockbusters like Krrish and Dhoom 2, Hrithik is no doubt a bigger star than AB Jr.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&se ctid=30&contentid=2007042402570793743771264

Shah Rukh Khan exists in purest form as an entertainer

By Enkayaar, Bollywood Trade News Network

In the din and scramble to cover the wedding of Abhishek and Aishwarya one epochal event on which the curtains were put down last evening has literally gone unnoticed. After a spattering start, and odious comparisons, KBC with Shah Rukh Khan as its anchor came to an end. The last episode in this series was grand as it had two pair of celebrity guests Priyanka Chopra and Karishma Kapoor, and Salman Khan along with Katrina Kaif.

From the very first episode, when Shah Rukh Khan appeared as the anchor replacing Amitabh Bachchan odious comparisons were being drawn and every action and move of Shah Rukh Khan was dissected and bisected with a microscopic eye. Probably as a result of this only, and to convey to the public that this show had a different timber and texture, a spoof on AB's error proof deliverance of dialogue in Hindi was spoofed at, but subsequently with baptism by fire Shah Rukh Khan himself was able to communicate with the audience in a literate Hindi.

One of the most redeeming feature of this version of KBC was the impromptu showering of gifts to the participants by Shah Rukh Khan which had prompted Bomman Irani, when he had appeared on the show to display his empty wrist to Shah Rukh to convey that he was also waiting for the watch. It was also for the first time that the contestants were awarded with the cars, which had not been done earlier. Shah Rukh in his own manner therefore gave a new direction to the programme and was able to develop warmth with the participants in a youthful manner.

Jury may still be out, as to whether the TRP ratings increased or decreased between the two anchors, but this has to be viewed from the perspective that when Shah Rukh was anchoring the programme there had been mushrooming of the TV channels as compared to the times when AB was doing it. With such a premise, if he was able to attain the same level of TRPs, with a fluctuation of +- 6-7% then he has attained the objective.

This series also brought into relief the hidden talents of our stars, for example who would have known that Sanjay Dutt is an accomplished guitar player, who can groove to the beats without guitar in the hand, or that Bomman Irani can sing in multiple voices and that is why he never bathes alone, or that Salman is an accomplished Nan Chaco player whose timing for comedy is still to be explored by the directors and that Katrina Kaif is an accomplished and knowledgeable lady, who so far has been projected as one who is at sea in Hindi. The effeminate charm with which the duo of Salman and Katrina gave performance on the last show of KBC may not be an opportunity that could be provided to the average moviegoer, if the fans have missed this episode as it would be a difficult choice to cast both of them together. Their performance on the show however eloquently pointed out that Salman and Katrina are indeed made for each other, and she is a lady who also has a terrific sense and timing for comedy.

The best parting gift that Shah Rukh has given is to the participants by nominating some of the participants for their talents and performances and awarding one of them as being number one. It is coincidental that probably for the first time a performance from North East has been given the first prize, and Shah Rukh being the catalytic agent, would have accumulated for himself additional fan following in the North East. This has also opened a new platform for the participants, to show their prowess, other than the quizzing prowess, which brings them to the hot seat.

He may not have been able to freeze his performance in the initial stages, and they would have melted away, but his subsequent performances have been frozen in the hearts of the fans till the time he begins the new innings, and the image would not suffer a frost bite, but whenever it is visited it would convey the purest emotion, as frozen ice is the purest form in which water exists, and so would Shah Rukh exist in purest form as an entertainer.

Rs. 88 crores?

By Taran Adarsh, April 24, 2007 - 02:50 IST

That Shah Rukh Khan is the undisputed badshaah has been proved yet again. Extremely passionate about movies, every film starring the King Khan automatically makes news. The latest development pertains to his home-production OM SHANTI OM, being directed by choreographer-director Farah Khan.

Reportedly, Adlabs has bought the worldwide rights of the film for a staggering amount -- Rs. 88 crores. Although everyone is tightlipped about the deal, a source from Adlabs denies that the company has offered that price to the producers of OM SHANTI OM.

"We have evinced interest in acquiring the rights of this film. But you can't state that the negotiations are on since there's no move to that effect. Besides, the pricing [Rs. 88 crores] is not realistic," the source states.

With films being sold for astronomical amounts, a film starring SRK would only fetch a premium price as and when SRK decides to sell the rights. Let's await an official statement from the actor!

http://indiafm.com/news/2007/04/24/9303/index.html

Salman Khan: Charity begins at home!

For Salman, charity begins at home and he is doing exactly that. He has opened a charitable trust under the name of Salman Khan Foundation and has decided to donate the entire prize money of 50 lakhs that he and Katrina won on SRK's game show. "I have been thinking of opening a foundation like this for long and when I was approached for the game show I decided it's the right opportunity to announce my foundation, because for me charity begins at home," says Salman. Now this calls for a huge round of applause for Salman's noble cause!

http://movies.indiatimes.com/quickies/1947452.cms

Om Shanti Om Worth Rs.88 ?

By Krishna Jewel, AllBollywood.com Staff
April 24, 2007

Rs. 88 crores?

If there wasn't enough proof that Shah Rukh Khan deserves the title King Khan, has been proved once again.

Good, Bad or Indifferent, every film starring the SRK automatically makes news. On that vien, here is the latest development regarding his home-production Om Shanti Om, directed by choreographer-director Farah Khan.

Reportedly, Adlabs has bought the worldwide rights of the film for a jaw drpping Rs. 88 crores.

Although everyone is beening tightlipped about the deal, a source from Adlabs, however, denies that the company has offered that price to the producers of Om Shanti Om.

"We have evinced interest in acquiring the rights of this film. But you can't state that the negotiations are on since there's no move to that effect. Besides, the pricing [Rs. 88 crores] is not realistic," the source states.

Considering films are being sold for astronomical amounts, it stands to reason that a film starring SRK would certain bring a top price - as and when SRK decides to sell the rights.

Nonetheless...its all speculation until we here an official statement from the actor/producer.

http://www.allbollywood.com/v2/bd/stc/nws/2007/4/24/23531.sh tml

DVD ka badshah

Shah Rukh Khan is planning to get DVDs of his entire stint on Kaun Banega Crorepati 3 and watch the shows during his vacation in June.

The actor lets us in on a little secret by saying that whenever someone used to ask him to perform on the show, he was ready for it.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't prepared. As an actor, the contestants expect me to do such things.

Also Siddharth Basu (producer) had all my songs on a hard disk, including some famous dialogues, kept ready for such occasions. It was a necessary preparation for the show," says SRK.

For the next season of KBC, SRK is planning to make the show bigger and better and rope in more friends like Hrithik Roshan, John Abraham and Bipasha Basu. We just can't wait!

http://www.mid-day.com/hitlist/2007/april/156099.htm

SRK's OSO in a bidding record

By: Upala KBR
April 25, 2007

Distribution rights for Shah Rukh Khan's films seem to be selling hotter than video rights for the AbhiAsh wedding.

The bid for the distribution rights of his home production, Om Shanti Om, directed by Farah Khan, has touched Rs 55 crore, an unprecedented amount in B-Town.

Now, it's a triangular contest between Studio18, Sony and Adlabs, who are doing their best to top this amount.

'Double' benefit

Says film trade analyst Amod Mehra, "These corporate bodies have approached Shah Rukh for all rights to OSO, including India and overseas distribution along with satellite, audio and home video rights for 10 years.

The amount they are offering him is higher than what Nikhil Advani's Salaam-E-Ishq was paid last year. That was a first of its kind deal at Rs 42 crore."

Though Mehra is unwilling to disclose the current bidding amount, an industry source says, "The bid has already touched Rs 55 crore.

So even if OSO has been made on a budget of Rs 15 crore, Shah Rukh will make a cool profit of Rs 40 crore. Everybody has been bidding obscene amounts for months.

It will be interesting to see whether SRK will choose price over credibility or vice versa."

Brand value

Pooja Shetty of Adlabs is unwilling to comment on whether her company is part of the bidding war or not, but then unwittingly says, "It's not true that we offered Rs 55 crore."

So why is OSO such hot property? Says Mehra, "Other than Yash Raj (Chopras) and Dharma (Karan Johar), none of the other production houses have the power or the moolah to sign Shah Rukh Khan, which is why he rarely works for other banners.

But when a corporate entity that can't sign Shah Rukh gets a readymade SRK film with everything in place, it's like a dream come true. Hence they're more than willing to cough up such extravagant amounts.

A Shah Rukh Khan film gives them terrific branding and also makes their stock soar."

For his part, Shah Rukh says, "I haven't sold the film yet and I will look into it only after I finish shooting later this month. None of the film's rights, including music and overseas, have been sold.

Adlabs has shown interest, so has Sony and Studio18, but nothing has been discussed yet."

http://www.mid-day.com/hitlist/2007/april/156119.htm

Khan bonding!

Looks like the three Khans, Shah Rukh, Salman and Saif are bonding big time. Ever since the Bachchans hogged the limelight with their much hyped and talked about marriage in the family, the three Khans (none of them were invited for the wedding) have been bonding with each other. "The trio have virtually formed a new Khan camp in Bollywood and it will be a major force to reckon with. Of late the three Khans, SRK, Salman and Saif are often seen spending time and chilling out together," says a source in the industry. So after the Bachchans, it's celebration time for the Khans on their newly formed alliance and friendship!

http://movies.indiatimes.com/quickies/1953276.cms

Bold habits die hard

Everyone has nervous tics, stars included. We catch some stars resorting to their trademark gestures

I'm the best!

Shah Rukh Khan is simply obsessed with his collar. The proud actor seems to have taken the proverbial 'collar up' attitude a little too seriously. If sources are to be believed, he hates drooping collars. Needless to say, he keeps pulling up his collar to keep it flying high at all times. We saw him doing it ever so often on his show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Backspace

What's Salman Khan trying to hide? Well, nothing really. The actor prefers to stand with his legs apart and hands firmly placed behind. We closely observed the actor at various events and found that he's most comfortable with his palms tucked into his denims' back pockets.

Ace up his sleeve?

You just can't miss John Abraham fidgeting with his shirt sleeves, all the time. Be it a half sleeve tee or a long-sleeved shirt, he keeps folding and unfolding them, or simply tugging at them. Psychiatrists reveal that nervousness often leads to such restlessness. So, what's ailing Johny boy?

The purr-fect pout

Read my lips seems to be Kareena Kapoor's mantra. Ever since she joined the Bolly gang, she has been working on her pout. And she has mastered the pouting act over the years. Now it's just purr-fect.

To the manner born

Anjali Chabria

"Individuals form such mannerisms only to do away with anxiety," says psychiatrist Anjali Chabria. Here she takes a closer look at the mannerisms of these actors.

Shah Rukh Khan: Probably he is trying to make sure that he is the best. He is assuring his identity by pulling up his collar.

Kareena Kapoor: She is known for her pout and it sets her apart from the rest. Her mannerism is a seductive way of showing her sexuality to the world.

Salman Khan: This signifies that he has a firm grip of himself. Also, his gesture has a sexual overtone to it. It suggests that sexually nobody can compete with him.

John Abraham: He is best known for his physique. Rolling sleeves signifies that he wants to rough it out with the world. Also, it's an indication that he is getting comfortable with the people he is with.

(As told to Sandipan Dalal)

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&se ctid=30&contentid=20070426021809500d0144e

Deepika Padukone or Harman Baweja?

It's time to launch some new faces in Hindi cinema, and directors Farah Khan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Harry Baweja are busy with just that.

When we visited Film City last week, what struck us is the number of newcomers to be launched this year – Farah Khan will launch Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya will see the debut of Ranbir and Sonam Kapoor while Harry Baweja will launch son Harman Baweja in Love Story 2050. All three films are being shot at the same time, and all are scheduled to hit the screens sometime in November this year. What's to be seen is which newbie will make the most impact!

http://movies.indiatimes.com/quickies/1957281.cms