OSO vs. Saawariya: Round 2

 

It seems the embers of the fireworks of last Diwali have not died down, just yet. Even as one thought enough newsprint had been dedicated to the coverage of the ‘clash’ between Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, it seems the next round of the duel is about to begin.

The makers of both mega-budget movies have decided to release the home video versions of the two films around the same time.

Slated to hit the shelves this week, the DVDs and VCDs of both these films will relive the hype and hoopla that reverberated beyond Tinseltown.

So although there isn’t any real need to bring on the story about the eventual winner, all this while it seemed that the dust had settled on it.

And like SRK’s character says in Om Shanti Om, “picture abhi baaqi hai dost”.

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Shoaib Akhtar On SRK’s Team?

 

The Rawalpindi Express is gearing up to thunder over the Indian cricket scene in a big way. Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is in Mumbai to meet Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is also the owner of the Kolkata IPL team.

On Monday night, Shoaib met King Khan at his Bandstand bungalow, Mannat and another meeting is scheduled for later. Shoaib is currently staying at the Hilton Towers and will be in the city for eight days.

A well-placed source in the industry, who is close to Shoaib, says, “Shah Rukh will definitely offer Shoaib a bomb of a price to be on his team. However, both are unlikely to disagree over money as they go back a long way. Shoaib and Shah Rukh are very friendly and have interacted with each other on more than one occasion.”

The source adds, “Shah Rukh has made it clear to all his associates that he wants very fiery players on his team; players who will only play to win.”

Shoaib has already met with Shah Rukh’s associates and team members. Sources say that Shoaib is also eager to meet with Sanjay Dutt while he is in Mumbai. He apparently called Dutt as soon as he landed on Monday morning and Dutt has agreed to meet him.

Meanwhile, prospective Kolkata IPL skipper Sourav Ganguly said on Sunday that there was no question of IPL games moving out of Eden Garden. Ganguly capped the controversy regarding IPL matches in Kolkata, saying, “There is no question of the matches being played anywhere else.” Asked about the demands made by the members for tickets, he said, “The Cricket Association of Bengal will get Rs 10 crore. If the members don’t agree, buy them tickets with that money.”

Indian Premier League commissioner and Chairman Lalit Modi threatened CAB that the Kolkata team would be withdrawn and brought to Ahmedabad if CAB does not adhere to the rules and regulations of the glitzy event set to roll out in April this year. Modi’s terse four-line reply was in response to a number of queries raised by CAB president Prasoon Mukherjee. One of the key points raised was allotment of tickets.

Spinner Mohammad Rafique, who will retire when Bangladesh’s home series against South Africa ends in March, has evinced interest in playing for Kolkata, but has said he will wait before making a final decision.

Ganguly is apparently in talks with hard-hitting Australian batsman Adam Gilchrist on Shah Rukh’s behalf to rope him in for the team.

Before reaching his hotel on Monday morning, Shoaib Akhtar headed straight for Haji Ali Dargah where he offered a chadar of Rs 5,000.

Shah Rukh has made it clear to all his associates that he wants very fiery players on his team; players who will only play to win, says source close to Shoaib Akhtar.

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SRK’s Small Role

 

Reason? This latest cola commercial features Shahrukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone and surprisingly has King Khan with shortest screen presence amongst the three.

Now if this wasn’t enough, even his characterization in the promo is also that of a weak personality, which lets Ranbir and Deepika walk away with the best lines and shots.

The advertisement features Ranbir and Deepika as lovers. Shahrukh plays Deepika’s geeky elder brother who has a fascination for the world of space and extra terrestrial happenings. The scenes, which follow show how Ranbir comes in the dead of the night to meet Deepika and pretends to be an extra terrestrial creature in front of Khan.

Now one just looks forward to check out if the promo shown so far has something more to offer in the form of a sequel. If that’s the case and Shahrukh has a meaty part to enact then there still seems sense for him to have given a nod to the commercial.

Otherwise one wonders what made him sign on the dotted line to a script that had precious little to offer him?

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Shah Rukh’s Acting Styles

In Delhi for the promotion of his new TV show, Shah Rukh Khan talks to Madhur Tankha about his association with the small screen.

For someone who has kept the cash registers at the box-office ringing for over a decade and a half, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan asserts that there is no formula that guarantees a hit.

The charismatic actor, who came calling to the Capital this past week to promote his show “Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?” on Star Plus, says he has evolved as an actor over the years. “Having acted in so many movies, I have come to realise that forceful acting is not necessary. So I am taking it easy like I did in ‘Chak De India’ that became such a huge hit.”

Entertaining the masses is the actor’s primary objective, whether on the big screen or the small one. “I started my innings on television. While I have given a nod to television shows like ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ and ‘Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?’ I will not appear in soap operas as they are too time consuming. Even television shows are very exhausting as you have to do them all in one take.”

Shah Rukh is unfazed by criticism of his style of acting. “I have passed the age when you start to get angry. You can call me King Khan or an idiotic actor but I won’t mind. There are certain scenes of mine in which I would award myself 11 marks out of 10, but overall I would give myself 4 or 5 points..”

As the race for the Filmfare awards enters the home stretch with child actor Darsheel Safary of “Taare Zameen Par” being nominated along with Shah Rukh, the superstar is not unduly bothered. “I cannot comment on Darsheel’s performance as I haven’t seen the film. Aamir has told me to watch it and whenever I get time I will.”

Dismissing speculation that he is one of the main actors along with Amitabh Bachchan in Ravi Chopra’s “Bhootnath”, Shah Rukh says he only has a five-minute role. “I’ve done the role for director Vivek Sharma, who is employed in my company, and producer Ravi Chopra, who is like family to me. I have two other films lined up besides an animation. I will be doing Aditya Chopra’s film in May.”

Shah Rukh feels that children should not be encouraged to host television shows. “I don’t think it is reasonable to expect them to work round-the-clock and then catch up on sleep in the early hours of morning and also attend school. It would be a type of child labour, and personally I don’t think such things should be tried.”

The 42-year-old actor says he wants to focus only on core competence in his company: “Initially we wanted to make films that we believed in and not just for the money. Then films like ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ and now ‘Om Shanti Om’ became hits. In Red Chillies Entertainment, my employee strength has swelled. So it is self-sustaining. As I don’t want to share my creativity, I will not be collaborating with an international company in making films.”

Giving his take on the war of words between the Bachchans and Raj Thackeray, the superstar says: “Well, both Raj and Amitji are friends. I think the trouble being witnessed on the streets of Mumbai has to do with the fact that there are certain people who have their own political agendas.

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SRK’s ZEE Carnival Apearance

 

Shah Rukh Khan gave proof of his crowd-pulling ability in London when his presence at the Zee Carnival caused a stampede and police prevented entry into the venue sending thousands of ticket-holding fans home.

Fans of the Bollywood star converged on Olympia to catch a glimpse of their idol from early Saturday morning and by 4 pm the hall was heaving, forcing security to shut the gates preventing any more fans from coming in.

Van loads of Metropolitan police formed a ring round the venue to hold the crowds back. Amid pushing and shoving, irate fans who had bought tickets in advance fought and jostled with the police in the hope that they would be allowed in to see the star. Inside the hall, security guards closed the main doors as fans pushed and argued with them to open the gates.

Zee holds its annual three-day extravaganza at the capital’s largest and most prestigious exhibition hall, Olympia in upmarket Kensington pulling crowds of more than 30,000 daily from all over the UK and Europe. The mela-like atmosphere with 100 odd stalls selling everything from Indian food, clothes, jewellery, property, hair care, etc. all under one roof, is peppered with stage appearances by Indian TV stars and Bollywood personalities. In the past Rani Mukherjee, Priyanka Chopra and Arjun Rampal have appeared at the Zee Carnival but have not caused such scenes. “Shah Rukh is certainly the biggest star we have had at the Carnival since we began three year’s ago and advance tickets have been selling faster than we can get them to our agents,” a Zee official told DNA.

Olympia has a total capacity of 12,000 at any given time and Zee sells around 30,000 tickets per day with the expectation that there is a steady flow of patrons. However, this year because of Shah Rukh’s appearance, all 30,000 ticket holders wanted to be in the hall at the same time.

“The queues were going all round the outside of Olympia and up Kensington high street. All those who came early, just wouldn’t leave and so we were prevented from entering, even though we have tickets,” said a disappointed fan who had come all the way from Holland.

“There is nothing we can do, this is a health and safety issue and it is the police who closed the venue, we are powerless against them,” explained an apologetic Zee official.

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SRK’s New Pepsi Commercial

 

Pepsi is launching its new campaign for 2008 featuring three

brand ambassadors – Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in a refreshingly new light.

Developed by JWT, the campaign is dubbed “Youngistaan.” This, according to the company, is “but an attitude.”

The mega initiative is being supported by a 360-degree activation across television, radio, outdoor, modern trade, web and wireless.

Clearly targetting the youth, the campaign will begin a dialogue with its consumers by unbottling their imagination of what “Youngistaan” means to them.

An official statement says, “As the name suggests, it represents a world of the youth, where the young generation likes to be in control. It brings forward their never-failing attitude, their desire to take on challenges and the power to turn things around.

“The new campaign attempts to capture not only the youth attitude of today but also the great sense of optimism, success and buzz about India and the Indian youth.”

The first of this zestful campaign will break on 17 February, and is summed up through its catchy tagline – “Yeh Hai Youngistaan Meri Jaan.”

PepsiCo India executive director of marketing Punita Lal said, “The Youngistaan idea captures the energy, excitement and irreverence of the young, confident India. This is a big idea that brand Pepsi will leverage to connect with a whole new generation.”

Lal is confident that the expression “Yeh Hai Youngistaan Meri Jaan” will resonate very well with the Indian youth. “It speaks their emotion, in their language,” she said.

PepsiCo India’s EVP of marketing (cola) Sandeep Singh Arora said, “Only Pepsi as the leader of youth values has the scale and guts to brand this generation, to celebrate their attitude and their achievements, and give them a rallying cry to go out and make things happen.”
JWT VP Hari Krishnan said, “Youngistaan is a feeling that is racing through every youthful nerve in the country today. Brand Pepsi will simply tap this energy and help the youth express this emotion.”

The expression is simple, light hearted and versatile “in true Pepsi style,” added Krishnan.

The new brand ambassador Ranbir Kapoor says, “I am young, I believe in myself. I have dreams and I chase them. This is what Youngistaan means to me; it’s a way of being, it’s an attitude. In Youngistaan, I work really hard, but I party harder! Trust me, in Youngistaan somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known.”

Padukone, the fresh new face of Pepsi, says, “Youngistaan is about making choices and where life has endless possibilities. As a part of being a Youngistaani, it’s not about where I am but about thinking fun, thinking big! It’s about just being yourself and being confident.”

Long-time Pepsi brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan said, “Youngistaan to me is a state of feeling young at heart. The first aspect of being a part of Youngistaan or having that state of heart is to believe that the best gift in life is life itself. I think you need to be successful, work hard, spread happiness and live life to the fullest. Yeh hai Youngistaan meri jaan.”

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OSO A Hit In Berlin!

 

The premiere of Hindi blockbuster “Om Shanti Om” was one of the most popular events of the 58th Berlin International Film Festival, which concludes here tonight with the awarding of the golden and silver bears for the best films in the competition section.

Berlinale sources told reporters that in terms of ticket sales, “Om Shanti Om” featuring superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the leading role was the ‘box-office hit’ of the 11-day festival.

No other films in the festival’s 13 main sections had generated so much public interest as the premiere of the Farah Khan-directed film, they said.

Tickets for the four screenings it had in the Berlinale Special Programme were sold out within minutes after their sales were opened on the internet and many film fans spent overnight at the ticket counters to be the first to snatch the most sought-after tickets of the festival.

Some tickets were later offered for sales on the internet for prices exceeding ten to 12 times the original price.

Shah Rukh drew larger crowds than Hollywood celebrities like pop diva Madonna, director Martin Scorsese, film stars Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz or the Rolling Stones band when he visited Berlin to attend the German premiere, participants and festival organisers said.

Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies Entertainment produced the movie for Indian film financing and distribution firm Eros Entertainment.

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SRK: Strict Father

 

His friends might think he has a great sense of humour and is a fun loving chill pill guy, but certainly not his children’s Aryan and Suhana.

“They say, I’m like the strict hockey coach Kabir Khan in real life, especially when they don’t do their homework and I go after them,” laughs Shah Rukh Khan.

Over to Gauri for her take.. or will the real King Khan, please stand up?

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Uncertainty Over Kolkata Team Status

 

Uncertainty has cropped up over the Kolkata team’s participation in the BCCI’s multi-billion dollar Indian Premier League, with the IPL and the Cricket Association of Bengal engaging in a war of words on the rules and regulations of the competition.

After it emerged that the IPL would cut the quota of tickets for the CAB by a drastic 80 per cent compared to what the Assocation keeps for itself during international matches at the Eden Gardens, CAB chief Prasun Mukherjee sent an e-mail to IPL chairman and match commissioner Lalit Modi raising certain points.

According to Mukherjee, the clubs, various categories of members of CAB, and companies who have a contract with the Association for corporate boxes during all major matches at the venue would be affeced by the IPL stand.

“Clubs, who as members were entitled to a certaion quotas of Club House tickets, complimentary tickets and priced tickets; the 31,000 associate members, honorary members and life members, who used to get complimentary tickets as per CAB rules; and companies, with whom CAB has contracts for boxes would be affected,” Mukherjee said in the mail.

In reply, Modi said, “You will only get 20 per cent tickets against all categories.” Adopting a hard line, Modi indicated that Kolkata could be axed from the participants’ list as “we cannot and will not allow one city to derail the entire process”.

“CAB is not organising the event. We are giving Eden on rent for the period of IPL when seven matches will be held spread over 45 days. The IPL has promised us Rs 10 crore from its profits for the first year which we can use for renovating Eden Gardens,” Mukherjee told PTI.

Mukherjee said the clubs could be partially compensated with a grant of Rs one lakh each. He, however, said there was no crisis. “These mails are part of our internal communication which seems to have come into the open.”

CAB sources said it was not clear who would be organsing the matches, Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment (which owns the Kolkata team) or the IPL itself.

“As per the CAB constitution, we can sublease Eden in national interest, for reasons of charity and for holding exhibition matches. But both IPL and RCE are profit-making bodies. And hence they cannot qualify for getting sub-lease,” they said.

Faced with a tight situation, the CAB has convened an emergency working committee meeting on February 18, and a Special Geeneral Meeting on February 26.

“It is now upto the members to decide. They should remember that they at least stand to gain something if IPL is held at the Eden. If IPL is not held here, then they do not get anything,” he said.

The CAB bosses are likely to urge the members to accept an amendment to the CAB rules to make an exception to the rules for the IPL.

But time seems to be running out for the CAB, with Modi saying “If you need to call an SGM, then do it right away”.

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SRK out of Dulha Mil Gaya??

 

LET ME GO!

There seem to be no end to Viveck Vaswani’s woes and the director might not complete Dulha Mil Gaya in time. Shah Rukh hasn’t provided the required dates for the film. He was supposed to shoot for a song on a cruise liner but the shoot was cancelled after rains played havoc with the schedule.

One song only

The latest buzz doing the rounds is that Shah Rukh has conveyed to Viveck that he won’t be able to be part of the project.
Says an insider, “SRK was doing the film as a goodwill gesture for Viveck but after a while, the producer expected him to do more than just one song. While Shah Rukh isn’t keen on doing more than just a song, Viveck wants to use him as one of the major highlights, to give the film more weight and value.”

Shah Rukh and Viveck go back a long way. When the actor had first arrived in Mumbai from Delhi, Vaswani had opened his home to him.

Initially, Shah Rukh had given unavailability of dates as a reason for not being able to do the film.

However, now he has informed the director he isn’t interested in doing it at all. The source continues, “It’s strictly between Viveck and SRK now. No one else has been told about this change (??!).” The next schedule for Dulha Mil Gaya begins in March.

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