SRK puts BIg B on the hotseat
JYOTHI PRABHAKAR
[ 31 Mar, 2007 2040hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK >
KBC's present and ex star anchors have decided to put rumours about a rift between them to rest by appearing on the show together.
Now this is a story worth telling – in fact, it's a scoop! It's not an unknown fact that there was a slight, though unspoken, tussle of egos between the two kings of Bollywood – one who goes by the title of Badshah (that's Shah Rukh Khan) and the other, the Shahenshah, Amitabh Bachchan.
Well, seems like they've decided to bury the hatchet, and set to rest all the rumours that were doing the rounds by teaming up for... hold your breath... the final episode of this season's Kaun Banega Crorepati!
"We're thrilled with this development. Can you imagine what a coup it's going to be when Amitabh finally sits on the hotseat? And the two had a blast while shooting for the episode,"says a Star representative.
So, what happened to their 'war'? Laughs SRK, "Even I don't know. In fact, when I returned from NY after shooting for KANK and went to see Amitji, who was in hospital at that time, he laughed and greeted me with, 'oh, now what will everyone write?' I was glad to know that all that had appeared in the media did not affect him in the least."
Adds a mutual friend, "Differences? Not at all! In fact, at that time, Shah Rukh was keeping close tabs on Amitabh's health from NY.
He was in a hurry to return so he could personally visit Amitji ASAP. Shah Rukh was very sweet."Ask the same question to Bachchan senior and he responds in his usual cryptic manner, "You tell me. You guys seem to know all about it better than I do."
So, how did the channel manage to persuade both of them? The mutual friend tells us as it is, "It happened when both SRK and Amitji met on the sets of Yash Raj's next, titled Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Both are to do a guest appearance in the film, which is to be directed by Shaad Ali and will have Abhishek Bachchan and Preity Zinta in the lead. One evening, when we were all waiting for the rain to stop, Shah Rukh jokingly told Amitji that he would like to quiz Big B on the hotseat, to which AB replied, 'Theek hai. Aap questions taiyyar kariye, mein jawab dhoondne lagta hoon.' I guess this got around and in no time, the Star guys approached them."
And that's how the ball got rolling. Enthuses Shailaja Kejriwal, Star's programming head, "The two shared a great camaraderie on the sets of KBC. Both of them knew the format well, and would joke around like two old college buddies."Reveals SRK, "Now, will everyone believe that we're friends?
We've even discussed doing a sequel to my Don. Impatient as I am, I just can't wait to finalise Don II. Just wait and watch, we'll rock the world together!"
Members Lounge
CID
