Karan Johar is worried about Shah Rukh's health

By Subhash K Jha

If he had his way he'd have got his shoulder operated on Valentine's Day. But Shah Rukh proposes, the marketing law disposes.

Rather than go on the table to cure his acutely painful shoulder, Shah Rukh chose the Valentine week to promote his new film Billu (Barber) vigorously.

Says a friend of the actor, "After attending the special screening of Billu for barbers and hairdressers in Mumbai on Thursday Shah Rukh flew with Lara Dutta and Irrfan Khan to London for the film's premiere. He's expected back on Sunday and prepare for surgery on Monday (Feb 16)."

This time Shah Rukh has chosen Mumbai for the surgery.

Says the friend, "One wouldn't like to call it a politically correct move. But yes, in the past when he got his vital back surgery done in London there was criticism back home about his lack of faith in the desi doctors. Shah Rukh feels some of the finest doctors in the world are in Mumbai. He sees no need to go westward for treatment."

Full security bandobast is being undertaken for the surgery specially now since there has been some unrest regarding Billu.

It is understood that Shah Rukh will need a month-long healing period. A schedule of Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan is affected.

But Karan is not the least bothered. "Films will keep happening. Shah Rukh needs to be well, " he said.

The next schedule of My Name Is Khan will begin on March 14 when Shah Rukh recovers.

SRK has quick surgery after long delay

Put off since November, shoulder operation completed in 1½ hours
For months, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan had been putting off a surgery on his shoulder because of his shooting and promotional schedules. He needn’t have worried; the operation was over and done with in one-and-a-half hours at Breach Candy Hospital.

Once it had been completed successfully, he waved and exchanged smiles with his wife. He will wear a sling around his arm for four to six weeks.

SRK (43) had hurt himself on the sets of a film in November last year. He let the surgery wait for fear that it would upset his schedule, much of which involved promoting Billu.

Dr Sanjay Desai, an arthroscopic shoulder specialist, conducted the operation. “The surgery began at 4.30 pm and ended at 6. It went off as planned,” he said. Apart from Dr Desai, the team attending to SRK included Dr Rajiv Sharma, his personal medical adviser and physician, and Dr Ali Irani, physiotherapist at Breach Candy.

SRK had a supraspinatus tear, a condition where the rotator cuff tears and causes inflammation and pain. This restricts movement of the shoulder. He had suffered a supraspinatus partial tear in 2003; the tear became total after the accident.

“He chose to do physiotherapy to strengthen his muscle. However, when he injured himself again in November last year, the partial tear developed into a complete tear, leaving no option but surgery,” Irani said.

“Shah Rukh had done an MRI and a CT scan in Los Angeles and had the choice of having the surgery there. However, he chose to undergo surgery in Mumbai as he had faith in Indian doctors and also wanted to stay with his family,” said Dr Desai.

“He will require 4 to 6 weeks of physiotherapy. Till then his arm will have to be in a sling. It will take 5 to 6 months to completely recover,” said Dr Desai.

SRK returned from London, halted at his house, then went to the hospital with his wife Gauri and friend Karan Johar.

"They have thrown me out and I'm jobless:" Shahrukh

Shahrukh Khan is no longer the brand ambassador of Pepsi. Shahrukh when asked with regards to the same sarcastically stated, "I am no longer a part of their campaign. They have thrown me out and I am jobless now."

Just days back we had reported about Aamir Khan renewing his Coca Cola contract for a whopping Rs.10 crore deal. SRK's contract with Pepsi had got over in 2008 and he was looking forward to a renewed contract with a much higher price as well.

Sources revealed, "The new Youngistaan campaign focuses completely on targeting the younger generation and Shahrukh doesn't seem to fit in that. Ranbir Kapoor, who has already been on the Pepsi brigade shall be spearheading this upcoming campaign. The company however is still in negotiations for working out a deal for Khan's IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders for the upcoming season but it appears unlikely that he will go in for it."

Pepsi had earlier dropped their cricket star ambassadors Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly. They had very recently shot ads with new entrant Ishant Sharma along with Dhoni and Sehwag.

Dish TV renews contract with Shah Rukh Khan

Dish TV has extended its endorsement contract with Shah Rukh Khan for another 18 months. Dish TV, which leads the DTH category in the country, had signed up with Shah Rukh Khan in '07 to endorse its service. According to Dish TV officials, the service has a base of 4.85 million subscribers. Rival Tata Sky too uses Aamir Khan extensively in its advertising.

As reported by ET last week, Shah Rukh tops the list of celebrity endorsements on TV according to a new Tam AdEx report.

The economic slowdown seems to have had a positive rub-off on the DTH industry, as people have started restricting their entertainment bills and going out less. In the July-September '08 period, the DTH industry was adding six lakh subscribers per month, but the base jumped to one million in the October-December period.


"The DTH sector is witnessing explosive growth and Dish TV is fully equipped with key resources to maintain its leadership position in this growth phase. We have posted robust numbers in Q3 FY09 and are set to garner 8 million subscribers in next fiscal," Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor said.

Dish TV has added 7.89 lakh subscribers in the Q3 FY '09 compared to 5.29 lakh new subscribers in the previous quarter, registering an increase of 49%.

'It’s not great to be Shah Rukh Khan’

Shah Rukh Khan, inspite of nursing an injured shoulder lacked no energy as he answered every question shot at him by journalists about Aamir Khan with aplomb. We present you few of SRK’s most smashing quotes targeted towards Aamir.

Clad in a cool worn out jeans and tee was Shah Rukh Khan, the darling of millions of his fans who thronged his house Mannat in Bandra and even Taj Lands End where he was supposed to be present for this event. Once SRK entered, one couldn’t help but wonder how does a 43-year-old star who is suffering from an injured shoulder gather this humungous amount of energy! The silver shoes and silver stole he sported made for a sexy style statement and soon came the time for the Baadshah to break his prolonged silence on Aamir and the not so flattering comments he had made on SRK.

We present you SRK at his naughtiest best!

When asked about Aamir calling SRK manipulative and only good with PR but not marketing, the Baadshah retorted, “This statement doesn’t require any explanation of me. I do what I do and I don’t need to get anybody else’s suggestions on what I do. I don’t take it too seriously when people compliment me and same goes for criticism. People who work with me know who I am and what I do, people like me and that’s why you see me everywhere. I don’t make films to prove to anyone. I’ve been working for the past 22 years and never have I felt the need to answer to anyone. The comments that Aamir made were out of context and I will talk to him personally about it.”

Talking about blogs he again taunted Aamir by saying, “People anyways think I am a narcissist so if I start a blog or a website it will reinforce their opinion. Jokes apart, after my shoulder operation, I am thinking of starting a website where I will not promote my films or write what food I ate but write about zindagi (life). Also I don’t really feel the need to have a blog as the media conveys all my messages to my fans anyways. I was in fact the first to start a blog but since it was ahead of its time, it didn’t click with the readers.”

SRK’s final reaction to Aamir’s statement was the most entertaining. He said, “It’s not great to be SRK, anyone can be great provided they retain their identity. My films are also ordinary but people have made them extra-ordinary. I am not a good PR person, neither a good media person; I am just a fantastic person.”

Now that’s the SRK we love.

Shah Rukh Khan’s ladies!

The ‘Billu’ release is in many ways a landmark for Shah Rukh Khan, who plays a movie superstar in the movie. ‘Billu’ depends heavily on the famed SRK charisma and star appeal, to make it big at the box office.

SRK movie posters, costumes and other artifacts are reportedly been used extensively, to add to the sheen. And the content is all about reconnecting with your old friends! So, in more ways than one, ‘Billu’ reflects on SRK’s life and times as a superstar.

If a man’s greatness can be measured by his enemies, a movie star’s glory can definitely be gauged from the glint on the eyes of his leading ladies. Here is a parade of SRK’s heroines, right from the ‘Deewana’ days to ‘Billu’.





Divya Bharathi

With due respect to Manjula Avtar (‘Fauji’) and Renuka Shahane (‘Circus’), we crown Divya Bharathi as SRK’s first on-screen lover. The pair looked awesome together, in ‘Deewana’ (1992). Remember the song, “Aisi Deewangee…”!




Deepa Sahi

SRK fans remember Deepa Sahi for that steamy bed-room scene with Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Maya Memsaab’ (1992).




Urmila Matondkar

Urmila played Shah Rukh’s girl on screen for ‘Chamatkar’ (1992). The reunion happened in ‘Om Shanti Om’ (2007), in which Urmila did a guest appearance.




Kajol

Kajol is considered by most SRK fans as one who complimented the Khan’s ebullience with her bubbly charm. Together, they weaved magic in films such as ‘Baazigar’, ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ (1995), ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ (1998), and ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham’ (2001).



Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa shared screen with the Khan in his first blockbuster, ‘Baazigar’ (1992). Though the pair looked electrifying on-screen, they were never seen together again, until Shilpa’s guest cameo in ‘Om Shanti Om’ (2007).




Juhi Chawla

One of Shah Rukh Khan’s personal favourites, Juhi Chawla shared screen space with SRK in ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’ (1992), ‘Kabhie Haan Kabhie Na’ (which also starred Suchitra Krishnamoorthy), ‘Darr’ (1993), ‘Ram Jaane’ (1995), ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ (2000), ‘One 2 ka 4’ (2001), ‘Paheli’ (2005) and ‘Bhootnath’ (2007). She is also SRK’s partner in film production.




Raveena Tandon

Raveena and SRK did a Romeo-and-Juliet in Ramesh Sippy’s ‘Zamaana Deewana’ (1995). The pair never met again, on screen!




Sonali Bendre

‘Duplicate’ was the film that had Sonali Bendre opposite Shah Rukh. The song, ‘Mere Meh**** Mere Sanam’ became a super hit. Sonali also did a guest appearance in the SRK starrer, ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’.




Karishma Kapoor

Karishma had her day with SRK in ‘Dil To Paagal Hai’ (1997); she landed the Filmfare award for the Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the movie.




Madhuri Dixit

A superstar in her own right, Madhuri Dixit hit it off well with SRK, right from ‘Koyla’ (1996). They came together again for ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (1997) and ‘Devdas’ (2002).




Manisha Koirala

Manisha was Shah Rukh’s leading lady in Mani Ratnam’s 1998 take on NE terrorism, ‘Dil Se’.




Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shared some quality screen space with the King Khan in three super hits: Mansoor Khan’s ‘Josh’ (1999), Aditya Chopra’s ‘Mohabbatein’ (2000) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Devdas’ (2002).



Kareena Kapoor

Kareena’s first on-screen date with SRK was in Santosh Sivan’s ‘Asoka’ (2001). She also did Karan Johar’s multi-starrer ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham’, the same year. She reprised Helen’s item song in the ‘Don’ remake of 2007. Kareena will be seen dancing with SRK in ‘Billu’.



Sushmita Sen

Sushmita played ‘Chandni’, SRK’s love interest in Farah Khan’s ‘Main Hoon Na’ (2004).



Rani Mukherji

Rani began her “SRK run” with ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' (1998). She went on to star in super hits such as ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham’, ‘Chalte Chalte’ (2002), ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ (2003), ‘Veer Zaara’ (2004, ‘Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna (2005), ‘Paheli (2005) and ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ (guest appearance).



Preity Zinta

Preity debuted with the SRK starrer, ‘Dil Se’ (1998), and went on to star in SRK super hits such as ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ (2003), ‘Veer-Zaara’ (2004), ‘Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna’ (2006), ‘Om Shanti Om’ (guest appearance) and ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ (guest appearance).



Priyanka Chopra

Another of SRK’s fav heroines, Priyanka reprised Zeenat Aman’s Roma act in Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Don’ remake of 2007. The performance was received well by fans and critics. Priyanka will also be seen doing an item number in ‘Billu’.




Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone made her debut with the SRK starrer, ‘Om Shanti Om’ (2007); she will be seen with SRK next in ‘Billu’.




Anushka Sharma

Anushka is the latest of SRK's girls. In 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', the Punjabi lass romances a 40+ SRK, only to find out that he is younger than her. In heart, that is!

Barbers are creative people: SRK

When Shah Rukh Khan wants his hair cut, trimmed, styled, dyed, streaked or whatever, he does not go to a barber’s shop, hair-dresser’s salon or beauty parlour... he has the stylist come home!



And why not — he’s the Bollywood Badshah, after all. In this case it is Dilshad Pastakia, hair-stylist to celebrities, and God’s gift to Bollywood. At Mannat, in his dressing room on the third floor, Dishad cuts and styles SRK’s hair.

She’s being doing this for years. “Ever since Mohabbatein and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani,” she revealed. Gauri Khan was her client. And one day Gauri brought Shah Rukh into Dilshad’s salon at Bandra. “I was damn nervous and dropped the scissors thrice,” said Dilshad. SRK was himself, and went, “Cut like this, cut like that.” Gauri interrupted and told Dilshad, “Don’t listen to him, do what you want.”

The hair-stylist and the actor have been friends ever since. Now she attends to him at home. On the eve of his new release Billu (the Salon & Beauty Parlours Association of Maharashtra got the Barber snipped from the title on the grounds that the word was casteist), BT sneaked into Mannat where Dilshad was working on King Khan’s hair. The conversation went like this...

SRK: I don’t understand how the word barber is casteist... but I understand the emotions of the association. Hair dressers and stylists, they are creative people...
Dilshad: Yes, we create hairstyles for you...

SRK: But the film is not about the barber’s profession, the profession is incidental, Billu is about love and friendship, it’s about environment, so much fun... it’s the least controversial film.
Dilshad: I have no problem being called a barber. We’re cutting hair, that’s what the profession is about. If you call a barber a hair-stylist, you’re just changing the term, not giving him a different profession.

SRK: The associations issue is that the Hindi word nai, when translated into English, becomes barber. And nai is a caste. Which makes barber a caste. But then so is hair-dresser!
Dilshad: Hajam would have been closer... I’ve been called a hajam for years. Actually, the profession ought to be happy to be acknowledged in a Shah Rukh Khan film...

SRK: Aren’t barbers only for men? And stylists for women?
Dilshad: Barbering is a male technique in which the barber works with clippers and employs the scissors over comb. All over England, you have barber shops... there is dignity in labour there.

SRK: But people do use words to demean professions. It’s like calling Manish Malhotra a tailor.
Dilshad: That mindset should be curtailed.
SRK: Maybe after the film, it would have been... because Billu (Barber) has such a simple message. Whichever world you belong to, as long as you’re true to your emotions and your goodness, you’re a better person already. Your profession does not make you a special person. Your ordinariness is special.
Dilshad: It’s a fab profession, and people are proud to be barbers.

SRK: Are you a real barber?
Dilshad: I am a real barber!
SRK: ... Unless you’ve been lying to me for 15 years and are really a choreographer and cutting my hair!

Shah Rukh's next is a super-hero film

By Taran Adarsh

The excruciating pain on his shoulder notwithstanding, Shah Rukh Khan is going all out to promote his new film BILLU (the word 'Barber' has been removed from all posters/billboards).

Tell him that he's the best marketing brain in the industry thanks to the kind of promotion he did for OM SHANTI OM, he just smiles, "Not OM SHANTI OM, but YES BOSS was the film that started it all," he recalls.

Although BILLU is an SRK production, with Irrfan Khan enacting the title role, SRK hasn't forced himself in the story. On the contrary, he has removed two of his scenes from the film.

Not many are aware that Priyadarshan had offered SRK two choices - a film on heist and the other, a story on friends. "I chose the second," SRK tells me. And the actor is extremely happy with the way BILLU has shaped up.

"We had a screening recently for family and friends. I wasn't expecting people to get emotional, but a lot of people did. The last 20 minutes did make me moist-eyed as well. I think the film will connect with the audiences," the Numero Uno star states.

Financially too, SRK will make a neat profit on the film. Reportedly, he has sold the film for a fantastic price (Rs. 50 cr.) to Eros. "The rumours just don't stop. Sometime back I was told I was charging Rs. 100 crores for a film.

I've never over-charged any of my producers. Now this one! The truth is, we've spent quite a bit on the making of the film. Coming to the point, the price is not Rs. 50 cr., but Rs. 35 cr.," he sets the record straight.

Next on the cards is a film with Anubhav Sinha. "It's a super-hero film. I want it to be the best super-hero film made in India. We're hiring technicians from abroad. Am really looking forward to this one," he reveals.

SRK’s going the reality show way

Idiot Box, the television division of Shah Rukh Khan’s production house Red Chilies, is to launch their first ever reality show titled Knight And Angles . Shah Rukh also promises to come up with many more new and innovative shows.



About the reality show, Samir Nair, the CEO of NDTV Imagine, says, “Knight and Angles will have various cheerleaders competing with each other. The winners will be selected on the basis of public voting and they will get a chance to perform at the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches which will commence soon.”


Talking about his small screen plans, SRK says, “I’d like to do comedy shows. Action and thrillers are also good options, but stand up comedy has become part and parcel of every show, even on news channels. I enjoy the genre a lot. Apart from fiction, we will be working on realities too - though these will be different from the usual kind. For instance, Knight and Angles is all about cheerleaders. I am interested in doing quiz shows that the youth can relate to. After all, young audiences are coming back to TV.”

As far as SRK’s contribution goes, Nair adds, “We are grateful to Shah Rukh for working with us. He has agreed to do, not just his first situational comedy, but also his first ever reality show with us.”

Promos for Knight and Angles are currently airing. Featured in them are SRK and Juhi Chawla, the co-owner of his IPL team, Knight Riders. The show is expected to start by end of this month on NDTV Imagine. It will air on weekends. The IPL’s second season will start in April.


Sonali Joshi, Hill Road Media

SRK drops 'Barber' from the title of his forthcoming film Billu Barber

These days it's become a trend of sorts for films to face some opposition or the other at the time of release. The latest to face such rough weather is the SRK - Irrfan Khan starrer Billu Barber.

The film's title was found derogatory by members of the Salon and Beauty Parlour Association. The President of the Association, Mr Uday Takke, had requested SRK to change the name of the film and remove the word 'Barber' from the title. His explanation was that the term 'Barber' not just denotes an occupation but is also a caste.

After much deliberation and talks between the parties involved at SRK's residence Mannat over the weekend, Shah Rukh Khan has decided to drop the word 'Barber' from the title of the film with immediate effect. The film is now called Billu and posters of the film have also made the necessary change.

Shah Rukh didn't want his film to run into any unnecessary trouble nor did her want to hurt the sentiments of a certain section of the society and hence the change.

Hope audiences are as excited to see Billu as they were to see Billu Barber.

SRK's bakbak

There are promotions and there are promotions dearies, but when it comes to promoting their own movies, no one does it better than the dosts

After Karan’s coffee-style grilling of his Dostana stars, now Shah Rukh has done the same for his forthcoming Billu. He has sat down Irrfan Khan, Lara Dutta and Priyadarshan and made them go Bak Bak Bak for a very special TV episode to be aired on Zoom.

The episode is so hilarious — in keeping with SRK’s razor sharp humour — that it had everyone in splits. So much so that when King Khan requested everyone to get up and dance, Lara and Irrfan burst into a jig but the only ‘spoil sport’ was Priyan who refused to get coaxed.

Don’t miss this exciting encounter on Zoom as an SRK special called ‘Billu Ke Bak Bak’. Wonder what hair dressers’ association will have to say about this one.

Thank You Priyanka, with love from SRK

By Subhash K Jha

Shah Rukh has been taking more than a passing interest in the music for the films he produces. And Priyanka Chopra would vouch for that.

If she declares from rooftops that she is Shah Rukh Khan's biggest fan then it with reason. The man just floors his ladies, without trying to be be charming.

What he did for Priyanka Chopra in Billu Barbar would certify as pure magnanimity and generosity, both as a considerate co-star and producer.

Shah Rukh decided to give away a large portion of his duet in Billu Barbar to Priyanka.

Says the film's excited music composer Pritam Chakraborty, "Shah Rukh took very close interest in each one of the songs. He isn't a musician. But he has an instinctive ear for music. It takes him just a few seconds to approve or cut down a track."

With the songs meant for Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, Pritam faced no problems. "Shah Rukh loved his songs with Kareena Marjana and Deepika Love mera hit hit. They were straightforward dance songs with shared grooves between Shah Rukh and Kareena/Deepika."

The Priyanka song needed special treatment. And Shah Rukh made Pritam re-work and re-record the song.

Divulges Pritam, "Shah Rukh's song with Priyanka Khuda-ae-kher is not an item song. It's a love ballad that the pair playing Bollywood superstars, emote to in front of the camera.

Being a love song Shah Rukh felt there wasn't enough of the female presemce in the vocals. He made me re-record the song with more for the female vocalist (Dominique) to do since he wanted Priyanka to have an equal number of lines."

Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutta who play a rustic couple will later be seen enacting the same Shah Rukh-Priyanka ballad exactly the way the village couple had seen the stars do the song.

From sharing Akshay Kumar on screen in Andaaz to sharing the same love song, the Priyanka-Lara Dutta rivalry sure has come a long way.

Laughs Pritam, "It was entirely Shah Rukh's idea to give Priyanka more lines in the song. He's a very generous entertainer. If you see him on screen he never tries to steal the limelight from his heroines. Even Khai ke paan banaras wala had a lot of Priyanka in Don although it was entirely Shah Rukh's song."

When told about Shah Rukh's gesture, Priyanka stays silent for a while. She then sighs and says, "What do I say? Now do you know why he's my favourite?"