Shahrukh makes other stars feel jealous?

Shahrukh Khan’s popularity among people is well-known but the actor’s attraction is such that it can overshadow other biggies of b-town even. One such incident happened at the function where lensman Dabboo Ratnani was awarded for being number one and the most influential person in Asian photography.

Some Bollywood celebs had gathered at the function but it was only Shahrukh being seen mobbed by photographers and people. A guest lady witnessing the scene says, “Hrithik Roshan was there. So were Arjun Rampal, Genelia D’Souza, Zayed Khan, Vidya Balan and others. However, it was only SRK who got the people present in raptures.

Both the press and the junta couldn’t have enough of him.”Folks, how other celebs would have felt? Clearly, SRK has made other actors feel jealous. Isn’t it?

Shahrukh Khan turns a software engineer

As Shahrukh Khan gets ready for his forthcoming project Ra 1 we get to hear more about SRK’s role and the movie. Shah Rukh himself is super excited about his role. Grapevine has it that Shah Rukh plays a software engineer who creates a monster that goes out of control and kills people! The film is a science fiction thriller and will have lots of special effects.

Sources close to the production house inform that “SRK plays a techie named Shekhar who’s so obsessed with video games that he creates a monster for one of the games. Trouble begins when the virtual monster takes a real form and begins killing people. To tame the beast, Shekhar transforms himself into a virtual character. Thereby begins the battle between Shekhar and the monster.”

As the film’s producer, SRK is making sure that the production team has the best minds and hands. While Anubhav Sinha has been roped in to direct the flick, Ueli Steiger (cinematographer of ‘10,000 BC’) will handle the camera and David Benullo (of ‘Hallowed Ground’) is the screenplay writer. Shooting is likely to begin in the first quarter of 2010.

Shahrukh makes other stars feel jealous?

Shahrukh Khan’s popularity among people is well-known but the actor’s attraction is such that it can overshadow other biggies of b-town even. One such incident happened at the function where lensman Dabboo Ratnani was awarded for being number one and the most influential person in Asian photography.

Some Bollywood celebs had gathered at the function but it was only Shahrukh being seen mobbed by photographers and people. A guest lady witnessing the scene says, “Hrithik Roshan was there. So were Arjun Rampal, Genelia D’Souza, Zayed Khan, Vidya Balan and others. However, it was only SRK who got the people present in raptures.

Both the press and the junta couldn’t have enough of him.”Folks, how other celebs would have felt? Clearly, SRK has made other actors feel jealous. Isn’t it?

Deepika sheds inhibitions for a celebrity calendar

B-Town photographer Dabboo Ratnani's annual New Year offering is out -- his calendar. This is his 11th year of capturing the top stars for his trademark almanac. The 2010 calendar has only black-and-white snapshots.

DEEPIKA PADUKONE
The picture makes her look as if she is not wearing anything as the parts of the body you see are bare. I wanted to make her look sensual, but aesthetic. Last year, I had shot her in a sari, so this is in total contrast. She strikes a thinking, dreamy pose, and I have used lighting to match her mood.

"Normally, Bollywood is associated with bright colours. Black and white images are for the bygone eras but I opted for a stark B&W as the mood in the snapshots is dark but the styling modern."

Every year, Ratnani begins his preparations in October. Though he interacts with the stars for their shoots for mags, films and portfolios, they take time out every year for his date diary. "The shoot provides the stars a platform to experiment with their looks and styling." The 2010 calendar includes the Big B, Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Kajol, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, John Abraham, Sonam Kapoor and Kangna Ranaut among others. The first-timers on his calendar include Asin, Farhan Akhtar, Genelia D'Souza and Imran Khan this year. Ratnani prefers not to comment which star looks the hottest. "They are all my friends and go out of their way to cooperate. For me they all look hot."

In the last 11 years, Dabboo has featured all the top stars several times in his calendar except for Aamir Khan who has featured only twice in the past years. Though there are many takers, he is not tempted to sell the calendar -- his work is only circulated among B-Town folk.

BIPASHA BASU

Her body looks fab and she looks sexy. I had specially hired the antique bike for the shoot. No, no… it is not a bike from John Abraham's collection! The picture accentuates her curves and the end result is hot.

SHAH RUKH KHAN

I have given him a sporty look as he is so full of energy always. He is quick to shoot and puts his 100 per cent into everything. We finished the shoot in 10 minutes flat.

Shahrukh will realise I was right: Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan is back in Mumbai after travelling the length and breadth of India in various disguises.

How was the experience of moving around the country?

It was the most amazing and enriching experience. Which place was the best experience? Was there a problem in Gujarat due to Narendra Modi's ban on you during Fanaa?

Gujarat is not forbidden for me. The entire experience was enriching, wherever I went – Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. There were three layers to this. One was the marketing angle. The other was to connect with my motherland and see my country very closely. It was a rare opportunityfor me. And the third layer was the issues I wanted to bring to fore.

What kind of issues?

For example in Chanderi, I brought the plight of the weavers to fore. One-and-a-half years ago, someone had told me how are weavers are out of job. So the idea to go to a weaver's house was to help the art form stay alive. Also, in Gujarat, I went to a school to show there was free education up to the seventh standard, and the girl child's schooling is encouraged. I wanted to use my presence to highlight these issues.

Was everything planned?

No, I had not planned anything. For example, Varanasi was an emotional experience for me since I went to the place where my mother grew up. I actually decided to spend the night at Varanasi station to highlight the railways, which are the lifeline of the country. But one thing led to another and I went in search of my mother's house. But yes, we had sent four teams to do a recce of all the places three months ago. So the team helped me all along. I was in disguise so my code name was Phantom.

Is there any particular incident that remains in your mind apart from Varanasi?

In Mahabalipuram, there was this guide, Lakshman. I had a problem revealing myself in front of him. He did not watch Hindi films, and the stars he knew were only Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. He did not know who Aamir Khan or Shah Rukh Khan was, leaving me in a fix. I had to tell him I've been acting for 20 years, and have invited him to the premiere in Mumbai. He will be there.

Shah Rukh Khan has condemned your 'vanishing act'…

Shah Rukh might not agree with what I've done now. But he will realise later that I was right.

Shahrukh-Farah bury the hatchet

Shahrukh Khan and Farah Khan have broken the ice between them and are back on talking terms. In fact, they have decided to work together too. Farah went to Shahrukh’s house last week with her three kids.

Shahrukh was apparently annoyed when Farah announced her decision to cast Akshay Kumar in “Tees Maar Khan’. He had absolutely not expected that.

According to sources, Shahrukh kept delaying Farah’s “Happy New Year’. But Farah couldn’t keep waiting for him. This led to some tension between both of them.

However, they decided to not let one film ruin their friendship. Shahrukh’s company called Farah asking her to direct a TV commercial. She has agreed to do it.

According to Deven Munjal, the Advertising Head of Red Chillies, Farah has always been a part of the commercials made by Red Chillies.Farah has confirmed that she is working on the ad with Red Chillies.

Shahrukh has Asperger's syndrome in ‘MNIK'

Shah Rukh Khan is all geared up for his next film, My Name is Khan. Khan plays the role of Rizvan Khan who has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.

Shh Rukh said, “In Asperger’s syndrome, one half of the brain is more developed than the other. So the person ends up thinking very logically as the emotional side is not completely developed. That’s the reason Rizvan has problems socialising and is afraid of crowds. In fact, people having Asperger’s often find it difficult to show any emotion.”

The film will be releasing in February 2010.

I'm not going to vanish to promote my film: SRK

King Khan was in his elements (like always) during the unveiling of the first exclusive look of his forthcoming film be ‘My Name Is Khan’ before selective media.

Dressed smartly in black suit and red ribbons tucked under his jacket pocket, he declared wittingly, “Please pronounce the name of the film as ‘K’han. You should focus on ‘K’ and those who pronounce it as ‘Kaan’ will get one kaan ke keeche from me,” he reveals amidst laughter and adds, “We will be breaking the first promo of the film across Star network in 70 countries at the same time, but you guys are lucky. You will get to see it 15 minutes before the rest of the world sees it tonight.”

And true to his word the promos broke out on the big screen amidst thunderous applause from the media. And when someone asked him why he has decided to use his surname as the name of this film, pat came the reply, “My name is Bond, James Bond and now, My name is Khan… Shah Rukh Khan, doesn’t it sound cool?” he asks.

Can’t argue with King Khan! And to query about Aamir Khan’s marketing strategy of traveling to different parts of India, promoting his forthcoming film ‘3 Idiots’ he said tongue in cheek, “I’m not going to vanish to promote my film,” taking a potshot at Aamir Khan.

Shahrukh does 'Dadagiri' with Sourav Ganguly

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan breezed in Kolkata recently to participate in the grand finale of 'Dadagiri Unlimited', a quiz show hosted by his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Sourav Ganguly.

"Dada ko pakadna mushkil hi nehin, na mumkin hai," 'new Don' SRK said during the shoot at Mohun Bagan football club. ln his one hour stint, Shah Rukh mouthed dialogues from his films, sang KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI with Sourav and the finalists.

Aamir-Bebo Share a long and passionate kiss for 3 Idiots

Just ahead to the release of the film ‘3 Idiots’ (pictured above), reports doing the rounds are that Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor will share a long and passionate kiss in the film.

Even though Kareena, Aamir and director Raju Hirani are tight-lipped, an insider source confirmed the news.

Aamir generally does not have such kissing scenes in his films and this will be something to watch out for.

Fifteen years back Aamir had done a similar kissing sequence with Kareena’s sister Karisma Kapoor in “Raja Hindustani”, which had made much news at that time.

As for Kareena, didn’t we hear her say sometime back that she will not indulge in such scenes and skin show any more as she is going to be the daughter-in-law of the Royal Pataudi family?

I'm a proud Indian first: SRK

King Khan on being listed as one of 500 most influential Muslims in the world

Georgetown University in USA has come out with a list of 500 of the world's most influential Muslims, including Shah Rukh Khan, former Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam, and composer A R Rahman.
A chat with SRK on how he feels about being in that list:

How do you feel on being the only one from the entertainment world being selected in the top 500 besides A R Rehman?
I don't think a list of this nature is of a competitive type to feel proud about. It's not about a list of awards that I have won. I am a Muslim by birth and because of the kind of cinema I do, I assume must be influencing lives of people across the world. I have been actively working in the film industry for 18 years and my work has gone across the world, my films and done well in many places including Germany, Poland, Dubai, USA, Morocco and South East Asia. People know me well because of my films but I never felt that I was different. I'm in the field of mass communication and am doing my work. That's it.

Why do you feel you were chosen?
I think it could be because of the kind of films I do. I try to do films that have variety and are about goodness and hope. They give a direction to a life. I have done films on romances to patriotic dramas like Chak De! and funny entertainers like Om Shanti Om -- films that try to give a kind of positive message to people. I hope in this I am able to influence the lives of many, especially youngsters and children. It's about giving some kind of direction to their lives. Like I might tell my children to study hard or teach them how to lead a good life.

What do you feel is your contribution as an educated liberal Muslim in the world today?
These are categories I am not comfortable with as I don't think I have done much to justify the tags. Though I am very proud to be a Muslim and an educated and liberal one at that, I am immensely proud to be Indian. I have very strong views on religion and how people should behave but that's about it. I just do my work. I truly believe your work defines you. I am not a social activist. I spend time with my family. At the most, I teach my kids to do namaaz and pray to Allah. Maybe I have given neat and clean hits which has given me money and fame but for me it's been like a good regular job. I have chosen to do cinema which has a very positive impact and that's what influences people and gets me the tags.

Your next film is My Name Is Khan. Do you feel it's a more international film which should be seen by all and will have a far-reaching influence?
I have never been a strong advocate for global cinema because I don't think our films turn the tide around though my directors and distributors feel otherwise. Having said that, I will add that MNIK is a very special topic about humanity in the garb of a Muslim character. The basic tenet of any religion -- be it of Allah, God or Bhagwan -- is that you have to be a good human being and Khan in MNIK is one. The way Karan has handled his love story in a dramatised form is amazing. It's a love story where the character has to overcome obstacles in the path of love and that obstacle is the world view. How he overcomes that to win his love is what MNIK is about. The film is made on a large canvas and made larger with Fox coming on board. The subject material is adapted in terms of humanity in a very entertaining way. And with Karan, the best filmmaker in India today directing the film and Fox distributing it -- the message of love, the way it has been shot internationally and the way of releasing it, might have all the possibilities of an international release. It's going to be released in a way no Hindi film has been released internationally before with mega prints and the trailer releasing with Avatar in a first of its kind.

To you, who's the most influential person in the world?
Like every movie star's influence changes with every B-O release, I think even across the globe people's influence changes. Today, there is not just one global influence but a collective of influences. I don't believe the world can be run by one influential person right now. The world has become too intelligent to be demarcated by one person. It's the good thoughts of many. Like Bill Gates, Mukesh Ambani, Obama are very influential and wonderful in their field of work but collectively, they are fantastic.

To you, what is true power or influence?
For me, in means to be able to affect people in a positive manner and bring a smile on their faces. It should be able to affect young minds in a good sense.

My Name Is Khan promo
The first look of Karan Johar's My Name is Khan will be unveiled on Wednesday night at 10 pm across all Star network channels. The three-minute promo will then be given to news channels and other media outlets to broadcast. The theatrical promo is attached with James Cameron's Avatar which releases this Friday.

Peace prevails between SRK and Amar Singh

After the kidney transplant operation in Singapore, politician Amar Singh has definitely come back a changed person. He does not seem to hold any grudges against anyone now. At the premiere of “Paa” on Dec 3, it was quite evident that he has buried the hatchet with Shah Rukh Khan, with whom he had got embroiled in a war of words after SRK’s Newark airport detention incident.

At the premiere however, he was seen bonding big time with SRK and wife Gauri.In fact, Amar Singh made the first move and personally went to Screen no. 3 where Karan, SRK and family and Yash Birla were seated even though he had his seats with the Bachchans in Screen no. 2.Amar Singh said that he had just come up to say hello as he had not met Shah Rukh for quite some time. On the other hand SRK too was very cordial with him. He asked him to come over to Mannat someday and even let him know when he wants to come.

The pleasantries lasted for a good ten minutes with lot of industry people looking on in shock.The entire industry turned up for the premiere to congratulate the Bachchans. Only people absent or rather not invited were Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Katrina Kaif and Viveik Oberoi – don’t we know the reason for their non appearance? What say Abhi and Ash?

Shahrukh Khan wanted at lingerie show

Shahrukh Khan’s close friend - and some would say almost a family member - Farah Khan is choreographing a lingerie show and she wants him and other Bollywood male stars to attend the event.

The show, to be held in Grand Hyatt on December 10, will have foreign and Indian models walking the ramp in sexy lingerie. The theme of the show is French Circus. It will have scantily-clad models stepping out from cages on to the catwalk. Farah reveals that there would also be acrobats, stilt walkers and clowns to add a circus ambience to the show.

But the question is - how many Bollywood men would show up at the event.

The Triumph lingerie show choreographed by Farah last year saw little attendance from males. SRK was invited but had shied away from attending it because he thought he would be too embarrassed at such a show. Only few males like Vivek Oberoi, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Shirish Kunder, and a few others, were there in the largely female gathering.

This year, Farah is adamant on having a lot of tinselville folks, including SRK and Akshay Kumar (the hero of her next film Tees Maar Khan) at the show.

Meanwhile, her brother Sajid Khan is learnt to have volunteered to be backstage to help the models in costume changes.

Naughty! Naughty!

(The model in the pic is from the show choreographed by Farah last year)

Aamir renames 'Shahrukh'

Many people already know that Aamir Khan has a pet dog named Shahrukh. But now, Aamir is not fond of the name anymore and has decided to change it.

Now it’s Shaaki instead of Shahrukh. Aamir last year got a lot of flak when he blogged, “Shahrukh is licking my feet and I’m feeding him biscuits… He is smelling too much. I think he needs a bath,” and created controversy. Though Aamir clarified that he wrote that piece of blog in good humour, after criticism from many quarters he realized that it was probably way off good banter and even apologized for his blog.

Now his pet has a new name and that sounds cute, however, it was wifey Kiran Rao who suggested, “Kiran suggested me not to call it Shahrukh and we mutually decided to call him Shaaki,” Aamir blogs.

No namesake.

Aamir Khan has a new name for 'SRK'

Many people already know that Aamir Khan has a pet dog named Shahrukh. But now, Aamir is not fond of the name anymore and has decided to change it.

Now it’s Shaaki instead of Shahrukh. Aamir last year got a lot of flak when he blogged, “Shahrukh is licking my feet and I’m feeding him biscuits… He is smelling too much. I think he needs a bath,” and created controversy. Though Aamir clarified that he wrote that piece of blog in good humour, after criticism from many quarters he realized that it was probably way off good banter and even apologized for his blog.

Now his pet has a new name and that sounds cute, however, it was wifey Kiran Rao who suggested, “Kiran suggested me not to call it Shahrukh and we mutually decided to call him Shaaki,” Aamir blogs.

No namesake.

you can be SRK's Dubai neighbour

Prices of super luxury Palm Jumeirah Villas in Dubai fall by 60% after Dubai world crash, attracting Indian investors

It's a 5,000 sq ft super luxury villa with a private beach, garden and a 360-degree view of the sea.

The villas are scattered on the fronds of a palm tree-shaped development and inside are all the fringe benefits that go with paying between Rs 10 crore and Rs 15 crore for the villas, including having neigbours like Shah Rukh Khan, Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and footballer David Beckham.

But that was a few months ago, when Palm Jumeirah, Dubai's palm-shaped island development was at its zenith.

In Bandra

Today, the prices have dropped to between Rs 7 crore and Rs 8 crore. A flat, not a villa, of the same size would cost upwards of Rs 12 crore in Bandra and double that in south Mumbai.

This means, you can now dream of super opulence with a add-on premium of being SRK's neighbour in Dubai.

The area around Mannat, SRK's Bandra bungalow, costs anywhere between Rs 30,000 to 35,000 per sq ft and in some cases goes beyond Rs 40,000 per sq ft.

For a 5,000 sq ft residence (the size of his property in Palm Jumeirah) you would have to pay Rs 20 crore.

The Palm Jumeirah development is in peril, thanks to debt woes plaguing Dubai World, which has an interest in this development.

Property prices have plummeted by up to 60 per cent on the man-made islands, say sources.

The developer, called Nakheel, has $3.5bn worth of debt coming due next month and some analysts question whether it will be able to meet the commitment.

Hamir Asher, a real estate consultant from Dubai said, "There are many villas and flats that are available on the islands. The prices are down and this is the time to get the best deals."

Added Sangeet Kumar a Mumbai-based real estate consultant, "We are now seeing a reverse trend investors calling from Mumbai to invest in Dubai.

I had a client from Dubai a week ago, who wanted to invest in the Mumbai real estate market, but last week when I called him he said, he has already invested in property in Dubai and bought a plot in a prime location at a cheap rate."

Another broker said, "It will take another one or two weeks for the shift in demand to Dubai to register, as the news hasn't spread to everyone.

Did you know?
Shah Rukh Khan's villa was gifted to him

What is Palm Jumeirah?

It's the result of five years of planning and land reclamation.

The Palm Jumeirah lies just off Dubai's coastline and forms part of the Palm Islands, along with The Palm, Jebel Ali and The Palm, Deira, the world's three largest manmade islands.

The Palm Jumeirah measures five square kilometers and has added 78.6 km to the country's 72 km coastline.

At the peak of construction, 40,000 employees were working on the project each day, turning 94 million cubic metres of sand and seven million tons of rock into a leisure and lifestyle resort fit for the 21st century and beyond.

When completed in 2011, it will become home to 32 five-star beachfront hotels with 25,000 guests, 20,000 day visitors and about 60,000 residents in apartments and villas.

Its population will have five beach resorts, four marinas, a monorail and thousands of metres of retail and commercial units at their disposal.

The first phase of 4,000 villas was completed for occupation at the end of 2006 (sold out within 72 hours of release).

When Shahrukh and Hrithik bonded

Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan are known to always be in competition with each other but on Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra's wedding reception they were seen bonding.

At the wedding reception the Khans (Shahrukh, Gauri, Fardeen Khan and Zayed Khan) and the Roshans (Hrithik, Rakesh Roshan and Sussanne Roshan) came in one large group and it was time to bond.

Prior to the reception the Roshans and their family members went to Mannat for a get-together with Shahrukh and Gauri. They came to Grand Hyatt in a large group to wish the newly married couple.

Once they were done with Shilpa and Raj's reception they headed straight back to Mannat to continue with the party. Bollywood stars really are party animals.

Crime time for Shahrukh Khan’s wife

If Bollywood Badshah wants to leave his indelible mark on the small screen, his better half is no different. Shahrukh Khan’s wife Gauri Khan is all set to produce a show based on crime.

The wifey-turned-producer, according to reports, has set her eyes on hit TV show CID and wants to produce a similar show. Gauri’s production house is working on short crime stories that will be shot as part of the serial.

In fact, SRK also plans to produce a couple of shows for small screen, and, as anticipated, will soon start a show like America’s ‘Next Top Model’ hosted by hot supermodel Tyra Banks. He is also in talks with Bipasha Basu to host the show which will be tentatively titled ‘Female Model Hunt’.

After producing hit films together, the powerful husband-wife duo seem ready to rule the television world.

Is Kareena over her love for Shahrukh Khan?

Everyone in the Bollywood industry knows about the growing rivalry between Badshah Khan and Aamir Khan. Bebo Dear put more fuel to the whole thing just to clear her stand that she is equally with Aamir as she is with Shahrukh! She gave Aamit the title of emperor on which Shahrukh has a bigger hand than anyone else.

It’s nothing but demeaning the actor. She went on and said that an actress career is incomplete if she has not worked with Aamir Khan as he is the ultimate icon of the Bollywood clan.Now that’s quite a humble statement Bebo!But someone must have felt very hurt.It is assumed that Shahrukh’s popularity is sinking day by day with actors like Ranbir Kapoor who is almost snatching The Yashraj Productions from Shahrukh.

His magic can be found no more.Shahrukh can be seen in a sinking ship though we expect something good to happen with the actor after the release of My Name Is Khan. We can see that Shahrukh’s near and dear ones turning their face off! Can’t help Shahrukh it’s all part of the game called Bollywood.

Now, a Katrina-Shah Rukh Khan love story?

Rumour has it that Katrina Kaif is set to turn producer and the industry buzz is that the actor (said to have broken up with long-time boyfriend Salman Khan) wants to cast Shah Rukh in the lead opposite herself.An informer reveals: "Katrina is taking keen interest in the finer points of film production and is meeting trade guys to get a better hang of how these things function. She has also spoken with producers she has worked with earlier about the nitty-gritty of producing a movie and it's obvious that she wants to produce her own movie at some point of time."

The source adds: "The industry has been gossiping that Salman and Kat parted ways some time back and though she's still friends with Sallu, her business venture won't include him. It seems she wants to make a romantic movie and cast Shah Rukh Khan in it -- opposite herself. Kat shares a friendly relationship with SRK these days and feels that when it comes to romance, SRK is the man for her. She'd also like to do a movie with Akshay, with whom she has got the most number of hits."