February 11, 200817 yr Being ShahRukh KhanWhat’s it like being the country’s biggest movie star, the biggest brand, India’s heartthrob No 1? If you’re Shah Rukh Khan, the answer is unpredictable. There are no platitudes about “it’s the people’s love and affection and the grace of God and my hard work etc etc.”Instead, he reflects on the question briefly and then replies: “I don’t know why I’m popular. I don’t know what I’m doing right. That’s why I’m mostly insecure. If I’m not popular some years down the line, I won’t know why. I’ll still be doing the same shit but it won’t work any more. So I don’t know what’s responsible for my stardom right now. Is it luck? Being in the right place at the right time? I have no idea. Is film ki kahani koi aur likh raha hai. I’m just an employee of the Shah Rukh Khan myth and I don’t even know who the boss is. It’s a scary place to be in.”It is late evening. We are in Mumbai’s Mehboob Studio where Shah Rukh is doing a photo shoot for a Hyundai ad. The interview takes place over many hours, but not for a moment does Shah Rukh’s concentration or energy flag.As Anupama Chopra, who has written a book on the superstar, says, “His energy is astounding. I remember doing an interview with him in Chandigarh when he was shooting for Veer Zara. It was three in the morning and I was wilting, but Shah Rukh was all there. He’s also fabulously funny and entertaining, even if there’s only one other person in the room. He always makes sure that the person sitting across him has a good time.”I certainly did.Just before our interview, a young girl, who has been a passionate fan of Shah Rukh’s for over ten years, comes to meet him. She gives him a handwritten letter and two small gifts for his son Aryan and daughter Suhana. Shah Rukh, in turn, gives her a warm hug, poses for pictures and chats with her. She must have returned home ecstatic.“I thought about it,” says Shah Rukh “I thought about her going home in a train, developing the pictures, showing them to her friends…”This was just one fan. There are thousands more where she came from, desperate to get an autograph, a photograph, to talk to him, somehow get his attention. Is it a big power trip for him?“Far from it,” says Shah Rukh. “I feel a great sense of sadness, that I affect so many people and I don’t even know them. I can’t feel the adulation. The insanity that gets created by my work doesn’t touch me. I think I could only be loved so much by my mother, who thought that I was like Dilip Kumar.”But doesn’t he enjoy the trappings of stardom? “Where are the trappings?” asks Shah Rukh. “Yes, maybe I have an amazing amount of shoes and jeans. When I walk into a shop and see two things I like and can’t decide which one to buy, I take both. But otherwise… my family gets screwed up every Friday when my film releases – through no fault of theirs.”This coming Friday, another Shah Rukh Khan film, his home production Om Shanti Om will hit the theatres. Shah Rukh has been in overdrive, promoting the Farah Khan-directed reincarnation drama with a vengeance. He must have given interviews to every single TV channel, magazine, newspaper and radio station in the country. He’ll stop at nothing to push his film – whether it’s showing off his newly acquired six pack abs, promoting his brand new heroine Deepika Padukone, or his own Seventies look in the film. And no, he doesn’t think there’s anything such as too much hype for a big commercial movie like Om Shanti Om.“These days, one banks a lot on a great opening, on getting the maximum eyeballs,” he reasons. “This is a film everyone should see. No one should miss out on it. And let’s face it, it’s not just me creating the hype, the media is doing it too. Earlier, I would have to beg TV news channels to say something about my film, now you have to beg them to give news. Earlier I had to win an award to be on page one of a newspaper; today I just have to watch a Twenty20 match. But should we look down on it? Not at all. You have to move with the times.”
February 11, 200817 yr Shah Rukh Khan as popular as Pope: German mediaBerlin, Feb 11 (IANS) As German fans drooled over Shah Rukh Khan, the national media shed its perceptions of 'bullock cart India' and trained its attention on the Bollywood superstar when he landed here, with one journalist even saying 'he is as popular as the Pope'.Shah Rukh was here for the screening of 'Om Shanti Om' at the Berlin Film Festival. Some German television channels suddenly turned their cameras from the Hollywood glitterati to Khan as excited fans let out loud shrieks to greet him at the Berlinale Friday night.Some channels narrated details of Khan's personal life, his wife Gauri and their two children.The German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which was highly critical about India and Indians until the mid-1990s, when the world began to notice the South Asian country's economic and technological prowess, said that many people from all over Europe had descended on Berlin to see their favourite star.'He is as popular as the Pope, but he (Khan) has more sex appeal,' wrote Ekkehard Knoerer in the Berlin tabloid Die Tageszeitung, while trying to capture the mood at the Berlinale.Many Germany-based Indians and their German friends agree that two factors have gradually changed perceptions about 'bullock cart India', as it was contemptuously referred to in the past by the German media which often resorted to cliches of beggars with maimed bodies on the streets, the sacred cows, the corrupt politicians and the catastrophes.'The IT revolution and Bollywood have together contributed to a vastly improved image of India's prowess,' said Rudolf Schweizer, a German businessman who frequently visits Bangalore and Hyderabad to oversee work contracted to Indian companies.'India, along with China, is seen as an economic powerhouse and one of the two fastest growing economies of the world,' he added.Shah Rukh Friday also announced that he had plans to direct a film in Berlin, but admitted that he had no concrete dates for the shooting.A spokesman of Eros Entertainment, a film distribution company which has handled many Bollywood blockbusters in Germany, said that 50 prints of 'Om Shanti Om' or OSO, as it is popularly known, would be distributed all over Germany.'We hope this film will also open the entire European market for us,' he added.Aside from the film's star-studded cast, particularly Shah Rukh, the theme of reincarnation as depicted in OSO fascinates Germans, many of whom are drawn to Hindu philosophy and the teachings of Indian gurus.'It's a different and very interesting perspective for many Germans. We may not entirely understand the nuances of Indian culture, but rebirth and reincarnation appeal to many of us,' Ursula Roth, who works as a teacher near Berlin, told IANS.Perhaps it is the 'illogical and supernatural aspect of the subject which appeals to an otherwise logical-minded people', Roth tried to explain the phenomenal German interest in OSO.Bollywood has also created a greater interest in Indian cuisine and it is not uncommon to find many Germans frequently shopping for spices in Indian grocery stores that are sprouting in many German cities.In capital Berlin alone, the number of Indian restaurants has risen sharply from 150 in 2001 to 250 now, according to the Berlin Economic Development Agency.'This increase augurs well for our business,' says an employee of Choudry Food Traders, which supplies all kinds of products to Indian restaurants and also sells them in its own store.
February 12, 200817 yr Shah Rukh Khan to host yet another game show on TVNew Delhi, Feb 12 (PTI) After Kaun Banega Crorepati, Shah Rukh Khan will be back on television hosting what is being dubbed as India's biggest reality game show.The Bollywood superstar will be back on Star Plus to host 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?' a show that will have adult contestants testing their wits with a group of sprightly 10-year-olds.The prize money this time is Rs 5 crore, a Star Group press release said here. Khan had earlier hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati, with a Rs 2 crore prize money, on Star Plus.The release, however, did not mention the start date of the new game show that will be beamed once a week.Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? is a television game show based on the international Mark Burnett format 'Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?' where grade-school level questions are put to adults from all walks of life, well heeled and confident, who attempt to relive their student days with success.The release said the essence of the show is the test that adults will be put to -- answer primary school questions, the pressure of going back to school and keeping their reputations intact.
February 12, 200817 yr I owe my life to television: Shah Rukh KhanNew Delhi, Feb 12 : Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, who started his career as an actor with TV serial "Fauji", says that whatever he has achieved in life is all because of television."I started my career with television. I am what I am today because of TV. I owe my life to the small screen and stage," 'King' Khan told IANS."It is a welcome change to see the way television has evolved over two decades. There is an amazing change in TV programmes both quality-wise and technically. In fact, films and media (print and electronic), everything has changed," he said."Earlier, when we used to go for press conferences there used to be hardly five cameras. Today the count is more than the fingers on your hands," reminisced the star.He was in the capital Tuesday to promote a new quiz show, "Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain", to be telecast on STAR Plus, which he will host.The show, based on international TV show "Are you Smarter than a Fifth grader?", will have adult participants contesting to win a whopping Rs.50 million.Asked if he himself is smarter than a fifth grader, SRK quipped: "I am not as smart as a fifth class student, otherwise I wouldn't have been an actor."So how was Shah Rukh as a student? "I was very naughty and was nearly suspended once from school but my parents never pushed me very hard. They always said that I must do enough (in studies) so that they are not ashamed. And I did fair in life!""I remember my teachers said that I have a devil's smile. Every time I played a prank, I used to smile with dimples on my cheeks and they would let me go. But I was punished many, many times."Commenting on whether he would like his son Aryan and daughter Suhana to take part in any reality show, he said: "I don't want that for my children, being Shah Rukh Khan's son and daughter should not become an achievement.""I prey to god and hope when they grow up they achieve something on their own."
February 13, 200817 yr Shah Rukh Khan to host reality showNew Delhi, Feb 13 : Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will once again don the quizmaster's role in what could be India's biggest reality game show on television.Earlier, Khan's youthful charm impressed many as he took over as quizmaster on a hit TV show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" or KBC, an Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", produced by the Indian arm of Rupert Murdoch's Star network.The same network is now coming up with the show 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass SeTez Hain?' on the lines of Mark Burnett format "Are you smarter that a 5th grader?"The show will have adult contestants testing their wits with a group of sprightly ten-year-olds.Forty-two-year-old actor said putting school-level questions to adults would indeed be a challenging job."USP of the show would be that an adult asking a nine-year-old kid to answer the question maybe of standard one or two. That would be funnily embarrassing for an adult to do it. I think that interaction will really make the show go well. My job would be to ensure that this interaction comes out to fore in the show and people enjoy it," Khan said.While the earlier show KBC on which Khan replaced superstar Amitabh Bachchan as the quizmaster had a prize money of two crore rupees, this time around the kitty has been increased to five crore rupees.When Khan hosted KBC some Indian newspapers said the highest paid actor in Bollywood managed to win the hearts of viewers with his boyish enthusiasm and funny remarks, much in contrast to the serious air adopted by Bachchan.
February 14, 200817 yr Ajay Devgan and I are the two ugliest heroes around : SRKDeepika Padukone said to the media that she wanted to touch my body? Why? She should have talked to me! Do you want to touch my body?Mansoor Khan once told me, ‘Finally, we have some ugly faces becoming heroes.’ I told him, ‘Are you talking about Ajay Devgan?’ Jokes apart, I think Ajay and I are the two ugliest heroes around.You want to see my muscles? Let me tell you, I have muscles in all the right places.I want to start an academy; I don’t want to sit on my money. I am not saying that I am doing social work. It’s just that I have principles in life. If that can change anything, I’ll feel as if I fulfilled the purpose of my life. Hopefully, by the end of it, I will be able to change many youngsters’ lives.T20 is not a gamble – it is sheer passion. I wanted to start from the sport that is popular – cricket – and use the profits to help develop other sports as well. If I go to a cricket match, it is because I like to watch sports. I also enjoy badminton, tennis, or for that matter, kanche. Main kanche bahut acche khelta tha!Why should I have tried for the Delhi team? In any case, I would not have been able to afford them. But then, don’t regionalise the game. It is, after all, about India. I am not a businessman. I have reached that juncture in my life where I can give something back to the youth. I would like to provide the best infrastructure to the youth. I wanted to go to hockey matches, football matches. I don’t think I need any medium to promote my films. If not an actor, I would surely have been a sportsman. I used to play hockey and football in school and college. It was when I realised that I couldn’t be a sportsman that I came to Mumbai to be an actor.It’s strange that I am considered a youth icon. I believe that the youth likes me for the kind of person I am and not because I dance well or act well or look good. It’s been a 17-year-long career and they have seen the hard work I have put in. They see me and get motivated to go for the gold. Make your dreams come true, go to a town where nobody knows you and make a name for yourself there.(On smoking) Actually, people have more intelligence than you credit them with. I have also watched movies as a kid, but they never motivated me to copy them. Finally, what we do is what our heart tells us to do. There are very few people whom on screen characters can sway. Even in Don, I tell Kareena, ‘Don cigarette chodne ki koshish kar raha hai. It kills you…’ We want to convey the message subtly. Whenever I come to Delhi, people don’t say that he is drunk, vulgar and a smoker. Instead, they say that he is an educated, articulate and well-bred guy.
February 14, 200817 yr V-Day is beyond me:SRKHe is the eternal Rahul of Indian cinema, the lover who always gets the heroine in the end.But call him that and Shah Rukh Khan just throws up his hands and says resignedly, “People call me a lot of names; I don’t mind being called any!Then on a serious note, the King of Romance adds, “I have reached the giving stage of my Bollywood love affair. I want to give more and more love to my audience through my work. If you want to call it love... please go ahead!”But SRK is not the kind to straitjacket love in the confines of Valentine’s Day. “I have never really understood this day. According to me, love has so many facets. For instance, if you asked Don Juan, he would have said that loving 1700 women was the nicest thing in his life.And I think I would respect that also.The beauty of love is that it has no boundaries. For me, love means my children. I am in love with the undiplomatic and innocent stage of life that they are in,” he says.And isn’t it a little kid, Darsheel Safary, who is competing with Mr Khan for the Filmfare best actor award too? “Every year the competition keeps getting younger. Very soon, I will be nominated with an unborn baby,” he smiles.
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