Shah Rukh And Chak De Girls

 

At Ekta Kapoor’s grand telly event, Shah Rukh Khan will perform with this new set of Chak De girls, who include TV actresses. They belong to all age groups.

Right from Sakshi Tanwar to Neena Gupta, from Mona Singh to Anita, they are all there. There’s Gautami Kapoor, the current Tulsi, too. And there’s somebody as well… none other than Smriti Iraani herself! Nevermind all the rumours doing the rounds about trouble between Ekta and Smriti, the latter will feature with Shah Rukh Khan.

Now here’s what the act will be all about… SRK enters with a big bang in a fauji look. For those who are not aware, Shah Rukh made his acting debut on TV many years ago. He acted in the popular TV serial Fauji.

Naturally there couldn’t be anybody bigger and better than him for this event,which will be telecast on 9X.

While on stage, SRK will introduce each of the women as Chak1, Chak 2 etc. Of course this team is smaller than the original Chak De team.

The act has been choreographed by Ganesh Hegde. There’s excitement about the performance. Actress Divyanka Tripathi from Dulhann, who’s also part of this Chak De team, says, “I really admire SRK a lot and I’m very happy to be performing with him.” Navniit Nisshan, who’s known even today as Tara after her successful serial a few years ago, is also one of the team mates.

What many people don’t know is that Navniit and SRK have worked together in films a long time ago. They first did a parallel cinema film Ahmak. Navniit also signed a film with Shah Rukh and Raveena Tandon. “I even had a hot scene with him,” she laughs. However, the film was only 40 per cent complete. “After some 14 years the filmmaker approached us to shoot for it again. We couldn’t do that because we had all changed so much over the years! Finally the movie did release in a very distorted manner!” says Navniit.Well, let’s watch Navniit reunite with her former hero on stage!

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SRK Meets London Fans!

 

The three-day exhibition is being held at London Olympia between the 15th and 17th February and Shah Rukh is expected to attend all three days including the ‘autograph stand’.

In the past year, Shah Rukh has had two huge box office successes including ‘Om Shanti Om’ and ‘Chak De! India’.

STAR Plus’ favourite and ZEE TV’s recent addition to ‘Teen Bahuraniyan’ Smriti Irani is leading the woolpack of TV stars, along with regular Sanjeev Kapoor of ‘Khana Khazana’ fame, Roshni Chopra from ‘Kasamh Se’ and Twinkle Bajpai who plays ‘Lakshmi’ in ‘Betiyann’ have all been confirmed too.

Zee Carnival 2008 will also bring to London the best of pulsating music, lifestyle and fashion at its peak, a huge variety shopping and services, multi-cultural food to leave your taste buds tingling and much, much more – providing visitors with a complete entertainment experience for the entire family.

Tickets may be booked by calling 0870 811 2808 or visit http://www.zeecarnival.co.uk for more information.

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Respone to Smoking Criticism

 

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan today said Indian cinema survives on creative freedom, and added that Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss’s criticism of him and Amitabh Bachchan for portraying smoking on screen is great thought, but a little issue.

“I think there is a huge amount of creative freedom that should be allowed in cinema and arts, and one should not go around picking on little things – because that’s just cinema, it’s make believe and we should not have huge censorship on that,” said Shah Rukh Khan at a ceremony where he was awarded the French title of ‘Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters’.

“I saw it in the news that Mr Ramadoss feels that Mr Bachchan and I should not be smoking on screen. I truly agree with that, I think it’s a great thought. More than that, I wish Mr Ramadoss prays that I stop smoking in real life. That’s worse – in movies we just do it for make believe.

Every time I am in front of a television channel I always say children don’t smoke, it kills you. It is the worst habit and I want to give it up as soon as possible,” he added.

Last week, Ramadoss had urged Bachchan and Khan to desist from smoking in their films. He was also critical of Khan for smoking at a cricket match.

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“I Don’t Like Being Told What to Do”

 

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has taken another dig at Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss for the latter’s quit-smoking-on-screen appeal to him, saying he does not like anyone telling him what to do and what not to.

“I do not endorse smoking and I do not like anyone telling me personally what to do and what not to do,” Khan said in an interview to NDTV news channel.

“You cannot tell me how to earn a packet, you cannot tell me what to eat and what to wear, what not to say to my wife, these are personal things. So, I guard that very jealously,” he said.

Ramadoss had, earlier this week, said Khan should not have smoked in the stands while watching a cricket match in Mumbai and that he and Amitabh Bachchan can learn a thing or two from superstar Rajinikant regarding smoking on screen.

But Khan had this piece of advice for everyone. “I tell children all the time, please do not smoke because it is the worst. If I do not smoke, I would be a big movie star for many, many years to come or maybe I won’t be because I smoke that is such a bad thing to do. Do not do it,” he pleaded.

Khan (42) has earned the ire of anti-smoking groups on different occasions for lighting up in public in violation of a 2004 ban.

In October, the National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication slapped a legal notice on him asking him to explain his actions after he was spotted smoking at a cricket match and at a media conference.

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Cricket Team Preps

 

Music composers Vishal-Shekhar, who composed the chartbuster music of SRK’s latest production Om Shanti Om, have been roped in to compose the song’s tune. Reportedly SRK’s favourite, Anahita Shroff, will design the uniform.

Our well-placed source from the industry tells us, “On Monday, Vishal-Shekhar met SRK at his office in Bandra. They had a long meeting and SRK briefed them about the kind of tune he wanted. The brief is that it should set the adrenaline flowing.”

Vishal confirms the news, saying, “Yes, Shekhar and I met Mr Khan on Monday. We have been given about a month’s time to get a tune ready for his IPL team. We’ve been told that the tune should be one that represents a winner. We all know that Mr Khan plays to win.”

Anahita Shroff
So which colour will SRK’s team sport? Our source says, “SRK’s favourite colour is black, but then cricket uniforms can’t be black. So, he’ll have to settle for a colour other than black.” SRK’s favourite designers are Anahita Shroff and Karan Johar. But currently, Karan is very busy with his show Shava Shava. So, Anahita it is. (Anahita is known for her work in Bluffmaster, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Dhoom. Anahita has also designed the look for John Abraham and Vivek Oberoi in Kaal, Sushmita Sen in Zindaggi Rocks.)

When asked whether SRK has asked her to start work on his IPL team’s uniforms, Ananhita simply said, “Please ask Shah Rukh Khan about this. I don’t want to say anything. Yes, I am sure that he is taking a personal interest in the uniforms. He is, after all, a perfectionist.”

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French Fans Surprise SRK

 

“I came to know that people in UK knew me after I travelled there. But I never knew people in France also knew about me,” Shah Rukh Khan said, prior to the function in a suburban hotel where he was awarded the title last night.

“I am proud we have taken our culture and identity to France through the medium of our films,” the superstar said.

The title was conferred to Khan by Jerome Bonnafont, French Ambassador in India, at the inaugural ceremony of a four-day French film festival.

Admitting to having a French connection, Khan said he used to go to the French Cultural Centre in Delhi to watch their movies since he was told it was the best cinema. “But I also used to watch it for the lovemaking scenes,” he quipped.

The star also said he had not thought about acting in foreign films as he had not been offered any yet.

The actor, who had a good year in 2007 with runaway hits ‘Chak De! India’ and his home-production ‘Om Shanti Om’, was conferred the award in recognition of his 15-year-long career in the Hindi film industry.

The ‘Order of Arts et Lettres’ is one of the four Ministerial Honours of the French republic and was established In 1957 to reward artists who gained fame for their works in the field of arts and literature and have promoted these fields.

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SRK-Ranbir Together!

 

First time

Interestingly, this will be the first time that Shah Rukh and Ranbir appear on screen together. The duo, who were seen as rivals last year during the release of Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, are scheduled to shoot for the commercial in the coming weeks.

A source close to the project reveals, “Shah Rukh and Ranbir have bumped into each other at parties and award functions, but never really bonded. The commercial will be the first time that the actors not only share screen space but also get to know each other.”

Before Ranbir, it was John Abraham who appeared in a Pepsi commercial with Shah Rukh. Ranbir who was in Sydney shooting for a Yash Raj film returned home on Sunday night.

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SRK Recieves French Gov’t Honor

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was on Sunday night conferred the prestigious “Insignia of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters” by the French government.

“Entertainment is something where one cannot be selfish, as it is purely for others,” the actor said after receiving the award.

He said he was in this field only to entertain the audience. He jokingly said he loves the manner in which romance is depicted in French movies.

The French ambassador to India, Jerome Bonnafont, conferred the title on Shah Rukh after the inauguration of the first ‘Rendezvous with French Cinema’ festival at Andheri, a northwestern suburb of Mumbai.

The film festival organised by the French Embassy along with Unifrance, an organisation that promotes French cinema worldwide, kicked off with the premiere of Asterix at the Olympic Games.

The Order of Arts et Lettres created in 1957 is one of the four Ministerial Honours of the French Republic. It was established to reward artists who have contributed to promote the field of arts and literature.

Some well-known recipients of the award are Arundhati Roy, David Bowie, George Clooney, Tony Curtis, Celine Dion, Leonardo Di Caprio, Bob Dylan, Clint Eastwood, Jude Law and Bruce Willis.

The late evening function was attended by film personalities from both countries. Jerome Seydoux, chairman of Pathe, the biggest and oldest film studio in the world, was also present.

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Om Shanti Om at Berlin 2/8

The Shah Rukh Khan starrer is being featured in the Berlinale Special section which shows works of contemporary filmmakers that the festival honours.

Om Shanti Om is among 11 films selected this year. The film will have a German premiere at the festival on February 8 and will be attended by Shah Rukh Khan.

Distributors Eros International will be releasing Om Shanti Om theatrically in Germany soon after the Berlin Film Festival. Given that she is on the home stretch for the birth of her triplets, Farah Khan shall have to be satisfied with reports from her friends and crew about the response to her blockbuster hit.

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Pleads for SRK to Stop Smoking

 

Concerned over the impression they leave on youngsters when they smoke on silver screen, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has urged Bollywood mega stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan to desist from smoking in their films.

“The movies are most responsible (for encouraging smoking). When I said movies should not have smoking scenes we have statistics which show that 52 per cent of children have their first puff of a cigarette because of movie celebrities,” he said.

“..I have already made appeals to Shah Rukh Khan…I would like to make an appeal to him and Amitabh Bachchan and all other personalities,” Ramadoss said in an interview to a private news channel. He was also critical of Khan for smoking at a cricket match.

Questioned on his pet theme of pictorial warnings on cigarette and bidi packets, he said, “I am sure they would be very effective. All this time we have been saying things to people. But I believe it is now time to scare them.

“In contrast to developed countries where tobacco incidence is going down, in India, it is going up frighteningly,” the minister said.

Confronted with the fact that the government had agreed to pictorial warnings 18 months ago but was yet to implement it, Ramadoss said the delay was due to “political activity and the judiciary”.

However, the government’s intention was to enforce pictorial warnings and there were no two ways on that, he added.

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