Ramadoss Lashes Out at SRK AGAIN!!!

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has once again trained his guns on Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Earlier, the Health minister criticised Shah Rukh Khan for smoking on screen.

After asking actors to quit smoking on screen, the minister has once again taken on Bollywood, but this time over alcohol. According to Ramadoss, movies at present more often than not use ‘drunken’ scenes as a tool of humour – specifically aiming at Shah Rukh Khan’s rendition of a drunken junior artist in the movie ‘Om Shanti Om’. Ramadoss lashed out at actors potraying scenes of consuming alcohol to drown their sorrow. He expressed pity that these actors have been idolized by the country’s young and old.

Ramadoss on actors enacting such drunken scenes says, “Actors drinking on screen will encourage youngsters to take up the habit. Scenes depicting alcohol consumption in films need to be immediately stopped.”

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“We Knight Riders are positive. We know that we will win some matches and lose some. But ultimately the IPL trophy will be ours”

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, says he is confident that his team will win the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 trophy.

A day after Kolkata Knight Riders faced their second consecutive defeat losing to Mumbai Indians on their home ground Eden Gardens here on Tuesday, Shah Rukh on Wednesday reposed his trust in the team.

“We Knight Riders are positive. We know that we will win some matches and lose some. But ultimately the IPL trophy will be ours,” Shah Rukh said before leaving the city.

After starting their campaign on a high note winning their first two matches – against Bangalore Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers, the Sourav Ganguly-led Knight Riders lost to Kings XI Punjab and then a resurgent Mumbai Indians Tuesday night.

Is the team not at all affected by the defeats?

“The seniors like Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting know that to achieve success you have to understand and accept failure. But the youngsters in the team were feeling a bit low. So I decided to stay back with them here a little longer. We even arranged for a private get-together and danced till 4 am,” said Shah Rukh.

And how does he personally see this defeat at the home ground?

“Kolkatans know that Knight Riders will never let them down. As for me, I have been successful for the last 20 years because I know how to ride over failure. Kabhi kabhi jeetne ke liye haarna bhi parta hai aur haarkar jeetne wale ko baazigar kehte hai. And we are beyond baazigars, we are the Knight Riders,” Shah Rukh said recollecting his famous dialogue from the film “Baazigar”.

Is the team suffering from captain Sourav Ganguly’s off-form?

“You can’t question ace players like Sourav Ganguly. He is aware of his form more than even coach John Buchanan and will sort out things himself.

Will Kolkata see Shah Rukh in all the Knight Riders matches?

“I don’t know about other cities. But I have worked out my calendar in a way that I don’t miss a single match in Kolkata. This city is our hub, it’s like being home.”

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SRK The Host-rider

Shah Rukh Khan seems to be telling many of his near and dear ones: Be my guest. And most of them are more than willing to attend the cricket matches with him.

Apparently, all the actors who’ve gone to cheer his team on, have returned impressed with the host that he is.

“He personally looks into everything from the minute you reach the airport – the flight boarding, getting into the bus, a comfortable drive to the hotel and check-in, commuting to the venue, the food and everything. Also, he is extra protective of the ladies who may be travelling – Gauri’s friends and actresses, if any,” says a close friend of the Khan.

Now, that’s our host-rider!

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SRK Wins Big at Zee Cine

The ‘Bollywood Bafta’ was presented to him by Bollywood’s original diva, Rekha who stunned the sell-out crowd by reciting the rhyme ‘Jack and Jill’ and singing a few lines from the classic Asha Bhosle track, ‘Dil Cheez Kya Hai’ from the film ‘Umrao Jaan’. Khan performed his ‘Om Shanti Om’ number with at least ten other stars on stage. “Why didn’t you call me on stage to dance with you?” Rekha asked Khan. “Oh Rekhaji, we have grown too old for you!” he cheekily replied.

Khan’s win was no surprise: he was nominated twice in the Best Actor’s category for the aforementioned ‘Chak De! India’ and for his blockbuster ‘Om Shanti Om’. Khan also won the first ever ‘Lifestyle Icon’ award, which broke into half when he collected it. The ‘King Khan’ ended by thanking his London fans: “It is the overseas audience who have made me the star I am.”

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More Recognition for Chak De India!

The film has been honored with a Billie Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the portrayal of women in sports be it in entertainment or journalism. The awards, named after champion tennis player Billie Jean King, are presented in four categories: breakthrough and innovation, entertainment, journalism and outstanding journalist.

This year the award for entertainment went to Chak De India. Yash Raj, producer of the film said, “The film continues to pay back the faith we had reposed in the movie even when conventional wisdom would have dictated otherwise. To win accolades like this from around the world, especially from places where depictions of women’s sport has had a long and established tradition is especially heartening.”

Shimit Amin, director of the film was present to get the award and said, “The reaction to the movie was simply fantastic. You would not believe that this was a foreign audience – comprised of professional writers, critics and industry professionals for the most part – the way they reacted. It just reinforced our belief that the message of the movie and the performances of Shah Rukh Khan and the girls cuts across all boundaries.”

Yash Raj added, “It was an honour to be selected by such a distinguished panel of women’s sports historians, journalists and media industry executives. But while we cherish this honour, the greatest reward for the movie was undoubtedly the love and affection that was showered on it by audiences worldwide.”

We congratulate the cast and crew for not only making a wonderful film but also an inspiring film that is being recognized for its positive portrayal of women’s sports.

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SRK Still Similing After Lose

Later, after visiting the Mumbai Indians’ dressing room and spending some ten minutes there, he spoke to The Telegraph.

The following are excerpts

First Knight Riders’ defeat seen by him in person

(Grins) When we won the first two matches in a row, (coach) John Buchanan told everybody that lots of cricket remained to be played… I’m a sportsman at heart and if we didn’t lose any match, then I’d feel odd… Of course, it would’ve been nice to again win in Calcutta, but our batting became unstuck at the beginning… I’m sure we’ll come back hard in the next match (on Thursday, in Jaipur).

The level of disappointment

There’s never a low for me… I can never feel low… There are times when my son (Aryan) runs a race but doesn’t come first… I’ve myself lost races… I’ve made flops but that doesn’t take anything away from life. It’s not that I like losing, though… I don’t and my team doesn’t like losing either… But, in sports, you win and lose… You pray for a miracle… Look for that one slice of luck coming your way… But that doesn’t happen… In fact, I believe that sports is the biggest leveller and sports teaches you to lead life… There’ll be good days and bad days.

Reaction to defeats

I feel happy for whoever wins… My parents taught me that I’ve got to be graceful in defeat and gracious in victory… So, I do the same things when I lose, like going over to the opposition dressing room… I wish them well and wish them from the bottom of my heart. I’m a winner because I’ve got this sportsman’s spirit… If you’re mean and sad about your losses, then you can’t enjoy your victories that much… It’s because of this attitude that I can, when we win, jump on the stadium’s roof and shout ‘we won’…

On Ricky Ponting and Brendon McCullum leaving for home

I’ll miss them… The boys will miss them… The team will miss them… They’ve been terrific in the dressing room and on the field… (After a pause) At the end of each match, I’ve been showing the team a dance-step… I showed two tonight as I wasn’t there in Chennai the other evening… I don’t talk cricket with the boys… That’s done by John and the others… I only bring positivity.

Having flown thousands of miles to make it for Tuesday’s match

Yes, it was difficult yaar… I was in London, then I went to Paris… From there back to London and, then, Mumbai before making it here just in time (on a private aircraft)… While it was difficult, I wouldn’t have missed coming to Calcutta for the world… I’ll be off tomorrow (Wednesday) morning as I’ve got to shoot for my TV show (Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain?)… Nothing stops me from going to all the Knight Riders’ matches… I do have shooting commitments which were finalised a year in advance but I could finish early and hop on to a private aircraft and land up in Jaipur or Mohali for the second half of the match… I was in London when we played in Chennai and I had to go on the stage… I remember becoming anxious and calling Juhi (Mehta, co-owner)… I told her that I wanted to be with the team and not in London… It’s not that I’m the luck factor or something… The reality is that we’ve got a good team and this team will bounce back.

The organisational bit of the second match at home

Like I said after the first match, we’ll be improving with every game… (Adds laughing) Hopefully, we’ll get everything right by the end of the IPL! I’m sure the spectators found it a nicer experience tonight, though the electronic scoreboard was too dim.

Finally, whether he brought traffic to a halt in Paris too the other day

(Laughs) Well, yes… And, you may not believe it, but there was a group of French girls with a banner which read ‘Korbo, lorbo, jeetbo re’… It was absolutely amazing.

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The Devotion of SRK Fans!

Paris has a new tourist attraction: a lifesize wax statue of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has been unveiled at the the Grevin Wax Museum here, indicating the popularity of Indian cinema and the superstar in continental Europe.

As Khan, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black leather jacket, stepped out of a limousine in front of the museum, he was welcomed by African and Indian dancers outside the museum amid cheers from a crowd of fans Monday morning.

Accompanied by wife Gauri and close buddy Karan Johar, a filmmaker, Shah Rukh signed autographs for the fans but when some of them tried to embrace him, the matinee idol was whisked away by security guards.

A ceremony inside the premises was restricted to invitees and tickets to the museum were sold out at least for the day.

This would be the second wax statue of the star, after the one included in the Madame Tussauds’ museum in London.

Mahatma Gandhi is the only other Indian honoured with a statue in this museum established in 1922.

Elke Mader of the Department of Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna, a Bollywood researcher, told IANS she was part of a crowd of about 500 fans who waited outside the museum to catch a glimpse of Shah Rukh.

The Austrian professor heads Bollyglobal, a global research project that studies Indian popular cinema in transcultural contexts. Mader flew to Paris soon after wrapping up a presentation at an international workshop on Reflections on Visual Culture at the University.

In the presentation titled ‘Images of the Imaginary: Shah Rukh Khan Fanart and the Internet’, Mader talked about the growing love for Bollywood across the world and the birth of a range of other activities that go beyond simply viewing films. The professor’s research concentrates on Shah Rukh and the rise of the star and producer as an icon of audiences and fans of diverse cultural backgrounds.

Nasreen Munni Kabir, a British Indian filmmaker who made documentary ‘The Inner/ Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan’ and introduced the star to the Grevin in 2007, is glad to see the French people taking to Indian cinema.

‘As the popularity of films is based on the appeal of stars it is only natural for the Grevin to display (a wax statue of) Shah Rukh,’ Kabir wrote to IANS in an email.

Kabir who studied films in France spoke about many immigrants in France who love Indian cinema.

‘Think of the many people of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria living in Paris who know Shah Rukh and love him. The gesture by Grevin is a recognition of the influence of non-white personalities around the world and their huge fan following. It is a positive sign in Europe to include acknowledge the contribution of non-white cultures,’ Kabir said.

Shah Rukh’s frequent visits to Europe have resulted in a group of ardent fans on this continent that Mader compares to pilgrims who perform rituals similar to devotees of gods and goddesses like waiting for hours often even in discomfort in order to get a glimpse or a touch of their idol.

‘Bollywood and more specifically Shah Rukh fan communities form part of the rapidly growing ‘digitally empowered active audiences’ that have become active and visible on the net during the past decade. Such internet activities are a typically global phenomenon. They are focused on Indian movies and Shah Rukh and are locally or regionally based at German, Japanese or Spanish speaking networks,’ Mader said.

Giving the example of a forum called planet.srk, devoted to the Indian superstar, the professor counted 9,200 members, 9,717 threads, and 459,907 posts on April 20.

And this is only the beginning of Mader’s research on Shah Rukh.

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SRK Causes Chaotic Scene in Paris

Shah Rukh Khan brought happy chaos to Boulevard Montmarte in Paris today when he unveiled his remarkably lookalike waxwork model at the Grevin Museum.

“As soon as the news was out you were coming, our switchboard and email box were jammed — thank you, Mr Khan,” said Veronique Berecz, the museum’s head of public relations.

She recalled there had been big crowds for the American singer Michael Jackson 10 years ago “but nowhere like your fans here today — the numbers today are overwhelming, incredible”.

Gendarmes erected steel barriers to hold back his surprisingly multiracial collection of fans, with a group of middle-aged white women standing behind a poster bearing the legend, Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo and Chak De Shah Rukh.

Music from Om Shanti Om and other Shah Rukh movies poured out into the Paris streets.

In the opulent theatre inside, rose petals were tossed over Shah Rukh as he walked in, with friend Karan Johar by his side. There were emotional tributes from young French fans, including one who attempted Hindi.

Another, Mounia Azibi, an 18-year-old student, who became hooked after watching Devdas, enthused: “You can do wonders with your eyes and your acting — and your body.”

Shah Rukh was casual in jeans, white tee-shirt, leather jacket and trainers, precisely matching the clothes on his waxwork model.

After the welcoming speeches, as he went up on stage formally to pose by his double, his wife, Gauri, was heard to marvel: “From a distance you can’t say which is which.”

This was a generous compliment to the museum’s sculptor, Stephane Barret, which Shah Rukh also endorsed by acknowledging that “it looks more like me than anything I have seen”.

He said: “This is much better looking than I am.” (Which he had also said in London).

He was not really making comparisons with his waxwork at Madame Tussauds in London but Barret’s efforts are distinctly superior to the many other models at the Grevin, among them two others from India, Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, as well as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles de Gaulle and Charles Chaplin.

“I am not some great performer like Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley — of course not even an iota of the greatness of Mahatma Gandhi or the other 2,000 statues that are here in Grevin,” began Shah Rukh, going out of his way to thank fans who had come from Poland, Germany and other countries.

He confided that he still felt the void left by the early death of his parents. “As the years are going by, I am noticing I have been able to gather love from a lot of people around the world. My family has increased to a million and it makes me feel very, very happy that someone who does not deserve all this has got this (waxwork). I promise everyone who is here that till the last breath of my life I will try and entertain you – I will dance, (and) sing as badly as I do. I will jump up and down and take off my shirt…” (loud cheers from the girls).

Turning to his waxwork, he prodded its stomach: “I don’t know if they have made the six pack but it is really, really beautiful, absolutely amazing, it’s very humbling. I would cry, actually, standing here but my kids think I never cry so I don’t want them to know I cry, but it’s a secret I share with the people of France that I do feel like crying with emotion.”

Earlier, Fredric Gouguidis, the museum’s sales and market director, said he had been a frequent visitor to India when the unanimous decision to make a likeness of Shah Rukh was being taken.

One of the sponsors is the travel company, Cox & Kings, which now intends promoting trips by Indians to Paris to see a number of attractions, including Shah Rukh’s model.

There were chaotic scenes as Shah Rukh departure in a white stretch limousine but surrounded by gendarmes and security men he made the effort to meet his fans, blowing a kiss here, giving a hug there.

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Shah Rukh and Gauri Win at Zee Cine Awards

The Zee Cine Awards 2008 ceremony, on Saturday at London’s Docklands, saw Bollywood’s shining talent gracing the red carpet for a starry-glitzy night.

It was one of the most anticipated events of the year, bringing probably the largest number of Bollywood fans under one roof.
Zee Cine Awards 2008: In pics »

The starry night brought the dazzle, the Bollywood stardust to Excel Docklands, London.

And this year, the three Khans, Salman, Shah Rukh and Saif, performing together, set the stage on fire with their antics. Funny man Sajid Khan co-hosted the show with Karan Johar and ever so gorgeous Dia Mirza.

The King Khan and sultry Kareena walked away with the Best Actor awards. Aamir bagged two awards for his directorial debut TZP. YRJ’s Chak De emerged winner in the best film category. The two Khans Salman and Shahrukh won the special Zee Icon and Zee Variety awards respectively.

London’s Docklands witnessed a glitzy Bollywood event and the Londoners were left gasping for more. Zee has been one of the frontrunners in taking the Indian film industry across shores. Zee Cine Awards first went international in 2004, after commemorating 10 years of excellence in the Indian film industry, reaching out to over 500 million viewers globally across 128 countries.

The show observed sizzling performances by Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Vidya Balan, Salman Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Shahrukh Khan. The night witnessed Bollywood’s bigwigs- Shilpa Shetty, SRK, Katrina Kaif , Upen Patel and many more.

Zee Cine is the world’s biggest viewers’ choice awards with more than 3 million votes coming in from 52 countries.

Winners of Zee Cine Awards 2008 are:

Best Film
Chak De! India – Aditya Chopra, Yash Raj Films

Best Director
Aamir Khan – Taare Zameen Par

Best Actor (Male)
Shah Rukh Khan – Chak De! India

Best Actor (Female)
Kareena Kapoor – Jab We Met

Most Popular Track Of The Year
Mauja Hi Mauja – Jab We Met

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male)
Govinda – Partner

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female)
Shilpa Shetty – Life In A.. Metro

Best Actor In A Comic Role (Male/Female)
Vinay Pathak – Bheja Fry

Best Actor In A Negative Role (Male/Female)
Arjun Rampal – Om Shanti Om

Best Playback Singer (Male)
Shaan – Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)

Best Playback Singer (Female)
Shreya Ghosal – Barso Re Megha (Guru)

Best Lyrics
Prasoon Joshi – Maa (Taare Zameen Par)

Best Music
A R Rahman – Guru

Most Promising Debut Director
Aamir Khan – Taare Zameen Par

Most Promising Debut (Male)
Ranbir Kapoor – Saawariya

Most Promising Debut (Female)
Deepika Padukone – Om Shanti Om

Most Promising Debut (Child Artiste)
Darsheel Safary – Taare Zameen Par

Technical Awards

Best Choreographer – Farah Khan – Om Shanti Om

Best Costume – Manish Malhotra & Karan Johar – Om Shanti Om

Best Visual Effects – Red Chilli’s Entertainment – Om Shanti Om

Best Editing – Amitabh Shukla – Chak de India

Best Cinematography – Sandip Chaterjee- Chak de India

Best Action – Parvez Khan – Jhonny Gaddar

Best Film Processing – ADLABS – Namastey London

Best Art Direction – Nitin Desai – Gandhi my Father

Best Sound recording – Baylon Ponseca – Shootout at Lokhandwala

Best Background Music – AR Rahman – Guru

Best Screenplay – Imtiyaz Ali – Jab We Met

Best Dialogue – Jaideep Sahani – Chak De India

Best Story – Amol Gupte – Taare Zammen Par

Zee Icon award – Shah Rukh Khan

Zee Cinema Entertainer of the year – Ritesh Deshmukh

Lifetime Achievement – Zeenat Amaan

Lifetime Achievement – Feroz Khan

British Indian Actor Award – Katrina Kaif

Bollywood Queen Award – Gauri Khan

Critics Awards

Best Film – Gandhi My Father

Best Actress – Shifali Shah – Gandhi my Father

Best Actor – Darsheel Safary – Taare Zameen Par

Critics Special Awards – Neil Nitin Mukesh

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Billo Barber Originally for Akshay??

Priyan initially approached Akki for Billoo Barber; SRK heard the story and wanted to produce and act

The Akshay Kumar-Shah Rukh Khan rivalry appears to have just got hotter. SRK claims that Billoo Barber, his next home production, directed by Priyadarshan, was initially offered to Akshay but the Khiladi refused it. Everyone knows that Akshay is one of Priyan’s favourite actors so he was the first choice. But when Akki declined, SRK grabbed it.

Shah Rukh admits, “Billoo Barber was offered to Akshay Kumar but he turned it down. Priyan was doing another film with me. Then he spoke to me about Billoo Barber and asked me if I would do the 10-day role in the film. I asked him to narrate the story. I told him that I would not only act in it but even produce it.”

Malayalam remake

The actor says he simply loved the script. “It’s a story based on Krishna and his friend Sudama. It’s a very sweet story. The thought is nice. But it’s not fair to call it a Shah Rukh Khan film. It is about Irrfan Khan, his wife and two kids. Billoo Barber is a remake of a Malayalam film (Kadha Parayaumbol) and has been rewritten by the same writer. The Hindi rights are with us while the Tamil rights are with Rajnikanth. In Malayalam it was made with Mammooty.”

About the film’s cast and credits, SRK says, “The film has Irrfan Khan, Lara Dutta, Om Puri, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani Sir besides myself. Kareena has done a guest appearance. Deepika will also do a guest appearance and there might be another heroine. Music is by Pritam and lyrics by Gulzar.”

When asked about Ameesha Patel and Tabu turning down the film, Shah Rukh points out, “I have been reading about all the actresses refusing the project but I would never lie to an actor to get them to do the role. I told Priyan Sir to tell them that it is not the greatest role in the world; but it is not a role that will go unnoticed. I told this to Urmila, Manisha, Juhi… Amisha didn’t do the role because we thought she looks too young to play a mother with Irrfan. It wasn’t like she left it or we threw her out. Tabu refused because she didn’t like the role. Vidya (Balan) said no because she did not want to play a mother to two grown-up children. But the kids are 10 and 12 year olds they are not my age!”
I had it first: Akshay Kumar

Continues Shah Rukh, “When I sat down with Lara, I told her that you do certain roles because of the film and she agreed. Juhi and Rani have often told me ‘I don’t have a great role in the film, I am just doing the film because it’s a very sweet film.’ I believe in that… if the product is really good, everybody shines. I could be great in a film, but if it is not good, then it doesn’t work. I really wanted to make Billoo Barber and Insha Allah we will release it by September.”

However a source close to Akshay denies that he was offered Billoo Barber. “Priyan might have thought of approaching Akshay but he definitely did not offer it to him.”

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