SRK: The Whole World Is My Oyster

Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz

He has reportedly charged Rs 12 crore for Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Don’. And that makes him the highest paid actor in Bollywood. Yes, Rs 12 crore is the cost of an overseas territory for a Shahrukh Khan film. And that’s exactly what SRK has been given for re-playing Amitabh Bachchan’s stylish double barreled masala-classic of the late 70s. “I’m working with Karan and Farhan because I love how they work and think,” says King Khan who is confidently looking forward to ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ this August 11th.

SRK dismisses the new wave of smaller thinking films as nothing but a creation of a ‘flippant media’ that has got too much space to fill in with inane news items. He is of the opinion that serious or ‘real’ cinema has always been there. Earlier it was called ‘Art’ or ‘Parallel’ cinema and today maybe it is termed as ‘multiplex cinema’. But that segment of filmmaking had always been there. He points out that even Yash Chopra made a film like ‘Ittefaq’ which had no songs and was serious in nature.

Amongst the new breed of actors, Shahrukh is fond of Shiney Ahuja and Vidya Balan. “It takes just one good film to change a career for almost everyone. Even Abhishek came with the Bachchan baggage but one good film later he just shook it off to settle down.” He remembers how at the beginning of his career Mani Rathnam once told him that he should try and create a niche for himself. And what niche has SRK created for himself? “The Whole World,” says the Badshah

Will Shah Rukh Khan be a better 'Don' than Amitabh Bachchan?

Big comparisons will be made when Shah Rukh Khan will enact the role of Amitabh Bachchan in Don .

And the difficulty will arise when the time will come to choose who is a better ‘Don’ between Bachchan and SRK.

Bachchan was at the pinnacle of fame in his career delivering one hit after another in the late seventies when Chandra Barot’s maiden venture Don (1978) was made.

The film added to Bachchan’s list of super-hits. The ‘Khaike Paan Banaraswala’ and ‘Main Hoon Don’ songs became a rage.

Bachchan made a cool-dude-boss of a syndicate of gangsters. As he feasted on the glorious appeal of Helen (who at that time was 40 years old) in the spellbinding ‘Yeh Mera Dil Pyaar Ka Deewana’, the sinister magnetism of Bachchan left a lasting impact on the viewers asking for more.

Bachchan’s villainous act carried a unique sophistication that didn’t dilute the immense negative energy one associates with someone who being portrayed as a bad man.

And SRK is undoubtedly the biggest superstar of the present generation today and will be an able foil to play the modern day Don.

That is because SRK may now have shifted to romantic roles in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai , Dil To Pagal Hai , Mohabbatein and Veer Zaara but the films that first brought success for SRK were ‘Baazigar’ and ‘Darr’ in which he was at his fierce best in the portrayal of the anti-hero.

SRK’s performances in ‘Baazigar’ and ‘Darr’ are more captivating as compared to the sugar-syrupy lover-boy roles.

So who will the better ‘Don’ will be known only when the film releases in October.

Fans can be fanatics

At the shooting of Don, Shahrukh Khan's fans were hell bent on meeting him and landed up at the same hotel. When they were denied permission to meet him, the desperate fans resorted to a hoax bomb call, creating complete chaos and disorder.

His fans wanted to book a room on the top floor which was reserved for him. They were ultimately asked to leave the place and within no time the hotel received the hoax call. Luckily no damage was done. All this just to see the actor.

SRK becomes the highest paid actor in Bollywood

"I am an overseas actor," says Shahrukh Khan. Karan Johar's 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna' and Farhan Akhtar's 'Don' are the most eagerly awaited films of the year. By staking his claim at the overseas territory for 'Don' (worth Rs 12 crore), he becomes the highest paid actor in Bollywood. SRK and Ram Gopal Verma were coming together for the first time in 'Time Machine'. SRK clears the air by saying that at any given time he receives 10 - 12 offers, out of which he rejects 10 and accepts only two. And 'Time Machine' is one of those ten that he refused as it was not measuring up to the mark. But the diplomat that he is, SRK is still saying that the SMS he sent to Ramu was: "We shall tell another story some other time".

Akshay´s Wish Of Taking On The King Khan On ´Diwali´ Has Already Been Fulfilled

Akshay´s Wish Of Taking On The King Khan On ´Diwali´ Has Already Been Fulfilled
By: Abid
A few propogators of yellow journalism do not even realise what they are saying . But that is understandable , as they belong to a group , the editor of which has already been issued a (bailable) warrant , as a result of a fake tape case filed by a leading actress . Let us see the latest buffoonery . The write up talks about the admirable self made star Akshay Kumar's earnest desire to take on the mighty King Khan and that it will finally be fulfilled during the coming 'Diwali' , as Shah Rukh Khan's 'Don-The Chase Begins Again' releases against 'Jaan-E-Mann' . A fact omitted ( on purpose) is that the movie also stars another top star Salman Khan and is not a solo Akki starrer .

Well , if we talk about Akshay versus Shah Rukh Khan during 'Diwali' , that has already taken place a couple of years back when Akshay's Ghai banner starrer 'Aitraaz' ( directed by Abbas-Mustan) released against Yash Chopra's Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Veer-Zaara' . While both were solo starrers and 'Aitraaz' put up up a creditable performance , what cannot be ignored is that 'Veer-Zaara' ended at about 44 crores and 'Aitraaz' at about 18 crores (from India) . Let us not discuss the Overseas scenario as the outcome is obvious .

Well , nothing more is expected from ill informed so-called journalists , who put up fictitious items like " Scared Shah Rukh Gets 'Khakee' Postponed " , talking about the 'Khakee' versus 'Kal Ho Na Ho' clash , which was not going to take place in the first place !

Once again we will desist from putting up numbers , so as not to embarass people .

We sincerely hope that better sense prevails next time and more fact finding takes place before putting up sensational headings .

First Look: A peek into SRK's Don

First Look: A peek into SRK's Don
Rediff

It's been a while since a Shah Rukh Khan film hit screens, the last being Amol Palekar's Paheli.
This year, we get to see him in two -- Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and Farhan Akhtar's Don.

Here, Shah Rukh takes a break on the sets of Don, to chat with the producer, Ritesh Sidhwani.
A remake of the Amitabh Bachchan classic, Don also stars Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal.

The film is scheduled for a Diwali release.

Shah Rukh, the King Khan

Shah Rukh, the King Khan
Mumbai

Shah Rukh Khan has become the highest paid actor in Bollywood worth Rs 12 crore for his latest film Don. Recently in an interview Shahrukh Khan declared that he is the King Khan .. he is the Ronaldinho of acting. But a recent opinion poll found that Aamir Khan was the real King Khan. He staked his claim as 12 crore at the overseas territory for Don. But ‘Don’ and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna the second half of 2006 is undoubtedly going to belong to the King Khan. Shah Rukh spent most part of this year traveling all over the world for thse two flicks. SRK says that at any given time he receives 10 – 12 offers, out of which he rejects 10 and accepts only two. He has earlier refused Ram Gopal Varma's ‘Time Machine’ as it was not measuring up to the mark. ACV News

How to be a Don, Lesson no.6

How to be a Don, Lesson no.6
Becoming a Don is not an easy task, even if you happen to be a Shah Rukh Khan. To achieve that position one has to undergo special training from learning street fighting to driving expensive cars rashly and of course dressing stylishly to playing it cool all the time. But most important lesson is to learn the gun tricks.

Be it the sleek cowboy style of removing pistol from the hostler and sneaking it back in or using a machine gun like Rambo, a Don must know it all. Our favorite Khan who is set to become the next Don also seems to be training himself in the same. Wearing a shirt resembling to that of his predecessor Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh is toying with a gun on the sets of Farhan Akhtar’s Don with some inputs coming from producer Ritesh Sidwani.

Let’s hope that SRK absorbs the 'gun gyan' properly and applies it well onscreen.

'Don' runs into trouble over music rights

'Don' runs into trouble over music rights

Bollywood is in remake mode. So, there are plans to remake films like 'Umrao Jaan', 'Sholay', 'Guide' and 'Victoria No 203', but is everybody happy with remakes? Well some are not very happy. The music of Farhan Akhtar's remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Don' is hitting unhappy notes with few people.

A silhouette of Shah Rukh Khan against the Petronas Towers in Malaysia - this is the first and the only poster image that's been revealed so far of director Farhan Akhtar's 'Don', a remake of the 1978 Amitabh Bachchan starrer. The film, scheduled for a Diwali release, is already stirring controversy.

The film's makers announced, that they would include two songs from the original film - 'Khaike paan banaraswala' and 'Yeh mera dil pyar ka diwana' - in the new version. The songs were recently re-recorded under the baton of composer-trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. And although the producers have bought the remake rights of the original film, there is no clarity on whether they have obtained the rights to re-record Kalyanji-Anandji's hit tracks, that were written by the late lyricist Anjaan.

Kalyanji Shah's son, Viju Shah told CNBC-TV18, "They should have informed us that they are using the songs because ultimately the music rights lies with the music composer." But Director Farhan Akhtar's father, lyricist Javed Akhtar says, "I'm sure that all the rights and permissons have been taken from Sameer, Anjaan's son." Though Sameer has his own grouse. He explains, "It's like putting old wine in a new bottle and the least they can do is give us credit and the royalty for it."

Sameer, Viju Shah and Anandji are not exploring any legal options right now. They are adopting a wait and watch approach, to see how their songs take shape in the new avtaar.

Dhoom 2 upstages Don

Dhoom 2 upstages Don
Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz

Showbiz is like Politics. No permanent friends or enemies. Shahrukh Khan is realizing exactly the same at this very moment. Apparently Yash Chopra and son Aditya Chopra are taking their animosity with Shah to a different level. Two of the biggest Diwali releases this year will be Yash Raj’s ‘Dhoom 2’ and Shahrukh’s ‘Don’. All the exhibitors of ‘Krrish’ (Yash Raj Films is distributing Hrithik’s super duper saga) have been verbally booked for ‘Dhoom 2’ and this leaves very few exhibitors for ‘Don’. And in the bargain, the fate of King Khan’s big ticket will be affected badly.

The feud between the two parties started when Shahrukh asked for his market price from Yash Raj Films. The ten year association started turning sour as Aditya Chopra had learned by now that he could make successful films even without Shahrukh. Aamir Khan was signed at his market price for ‘Fanaa’ which incensed Shahrukh. His favorite leading lady Kajol was signed opposite Aamir, upsetting King Khan even further. After being chucked out from Shimit Amin’s film produced by Yash Raj Films in favor of Salman Khan, Shahrukh was at a loss of words. The schemer that he is, he just wormed his way back by easing out Salman from Shimit’s film. No wonder Salman is upset with him.

It seems Yash and Aditya Chopra are in a mood to teach a lesson to all the big and small stars of Bollywood. That if they can do it to the biggest of them all, then they can do it with anyone. So beware! IndiaGlitz will keep a close watch on the Diwali fireworks and keep you updated about the same.

Shahrukh or Abhishek?

Shahrukh or Abhishek?
Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz

IndiaGlitz reported yesterday about Yash Chopra’s ‘Dhoom 2’ set to upstage Shahrukh’s ‘Don’ because of the ‘differences’ between the two Bollyood bigwigs. Continuing in the same vein, is another Breaking News: Aditya Chopra, the man with the midas touch who has given two of the biggest hits ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ and ‘Mohabbatein’ (Both starring SRK) has decided to cast Abhishek Bachchan in his next directorial venture. Rani Mukherjee, in all probability will be the female lead.

It is very clear that Yash Chopra camp wish to give a very clear message to Shahrukh Khan that nobody is indispensable. It is being said that Yash Chopra is incensed with SRK for his ‘silent’ opposition of Amitabh Bachchan and that’s why son Abhishek is being cast in Adi’s film. Chopra Senior had strongly defended Shahrukh when Sunny Deol was angry about being shortchanged in ‘Darr’. And since that Hit, SRK has featured in all their films, be it ‘DDLJ’, ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’, ‘Mohabbatein’ and ‘Veer Zaara’. With the ten year bond coming apart, Chopras are bonding with Deols once again by signing Bobby Deol for Shaad Ali’s ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’. Maybe it’s their way of burying the hatchet.

With Bollywood riding on the recent successes, it’s also time for some big-time-animosities. And inflated balloons of ego being burst by ‘mutual compromise’. The next move will be from the depleted SRK camp. IndiaGlitz will be the first to report it to all our loyal patrons the world over.