Ex-lovers Shahid and Kareena finally had a conversation

For the first time since they broke up, ex-lovers Shahid and Kareena finally had a conversation in full public view at Shah Rukh’s party.

Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had hugged and patched up, even Kareena ended her cold war with Aishwarya — it all happened at Karan Johar’s birthday party last year. And Karan is now taking his gift of playing Bollywood peacemaker to the next level. Last week he played the catalyst, making Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor not only acknowledge each other’s presence but actually strike up a conversation, and a pretty warm one at that. The venue for this patch up was Shah Rukh Khan’s bungalow, Mannat, where King Khan had hosted a celebration for My Name Is Khan. Says a source, “Shahid and Kareena came face to face and everyone thought they would simply ignore each other like they have on so many occasions in the past. But this time, Karan happened to be present right there and instead of marching past each other, they slowed down for a bit. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

Even after the ice was broken, neither Shahid or Kareena seemed in a rush to get back to more comfortable company. They had a pretty warm exchange and a little later even Saif, who was present at the party, joined them.

“Shahid and Kareena have finally decided to leave their acrimonious past behind them. This was very evident in the manner all three of them — Shahid, Kareena and Saif — interacted with each other at Shah Rukh’s party,” adds our source.

While both Shahid and Kareena could not be reached for comment, Kareena’s official spokesperson said, “Kareena has no problem with anybody, including Shahid.” For the record, Shahid and Kareena, who were in a serious relationship for three years, parted ways in 2007, a few days before Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met hit the theatres.

The controversial R&B singer will make his Bollywood debut in SRK-starrer Ra.One

If Bollywood stars want a foothold in Hollywood, vice versa also holds true. International pop stars doing numbers for desi films started as far back as Samantha Fox in Rock Dancer (1995).

More recently, there was Snoop Dog in Singh is Kingg, followed by Kylie Minogue in Blue and now Akon will be seen in Anubhav Sinha’s Ra.One starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor, which has music by Vishal and Shekhar.

A source reveals, “Ra.One is a SFX movie and director Anubhav Sinha wants to achieve Hollywood standards. Shah Rukh and Anubhav spoke about having an international pop singer in the movie, and Shah Rukh opted for Akon, who is popular with the youth.”

The source continues, “During a recent visit to Los Angeles, Shah Rukh met Akon and they had a long conversation on Indian and Western music. Akon will sing in Ra.One and this will be his debut in Bollywood. He has been signed for a whopping amount. Akon had performed last year at the closing ceremony of the IPL.”

Shah Rukh Khan plays old man!!

IF Shah Rukh Khan’s portrayal of an old man in the movie Veer Zaara left you wanting for more, then here’s something to look out for. In an upcoming ad for Dish TV, SRK has plays a 75-year old man who romances his wife behind closed doors by dancing with her. Anurag Basu, of Kites fame, who’s directed this ad says, “The story is very cute. Tanvi Azmi plays Shah Rukh’s wife. They’re hiding inside their room and are dancing.”

Anurag, together with adman Prasoon Joshi, the brain behind the concept, planned the look and the ad. “We didn’t know if SRK would agree to the idea. I didn’t want to make him Veer Zaara old. It had to be different. So, pehle Shah Rukh ko buddha banaya humne pictures mein, and then showed it to him. He was very sporting and loved the idea,” says Anurag.

Yes, this is Shah Rukh, and this is how he’ll look when he turns 75! The actor plays an old, bald man in an upcoming ad for Dish TV.

While his contemporaries are playing college students in movies, isn’t it a leap of faith for SRK to add 30 years to his real age? Prasoon says, “He liked the script a lot. He probably never got a script like that before. His first reaction was, ‘Well, I love it!’ He probably trusted my work. He didn’t take time to say yes.” Prasoon adds, “Everybody has been going ‘wow’ over the ad. SRK has emoted really well. There is beautiful chemistry between him and Tanvi Azmi.”

The bald look in the ad, says Shah Rukh, was something he was excited about since he’s very sure that he’d never lose hair in real life! When asked how his wife, Gauri Khan, reacted to the way he looked, Anurag responded, “Shah Rukh called his make-up guy and gave him the brief for how to do his look. After the whole get-up was done, he did something very cute. He took a picture of himself and sent it to Gauri on the phone, asking, ‘Will you still love me when I am old and look like this?’ I am sure he will look much more handsome when he is old!”

Bollywood’s Five Musketeers

Bollywood’s 5-year report card brings to light that its five musketeers — Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan and Salman Khan — have netted a business of approximately Rs 1,830 crore from the ticket windows alone. And, if you add the revenue from satellite, home-video and other mediums to this figure, you can easily see why these men are on top. Year 2009 didn’t start auspiciously for the superstar brigade — Shah Rukh had a lukewarm Billu while Akshay had two duds (Chandni Chowk to China and 8 x 10 Tasveer) and one uncertified Kambakht Ishq — but Bollywood continues to rely heavily on these stars.

It’s easy to explain here. Trade sources estimate a total of Rs 500 crore came from Akshay’s 17 releases in the five year-period from 2004 to 2008, Rs 400 crore from Shah Rukh’s nine releases, Rs 365 crore from Aamir’s five releases, Rs 350 crore from from Salman Khan’s 13 releases and Rs 215 crore from Hrithik Roshan’s three films.

Trade analyst Komal Nahata said: “Despite these actors’ ups and downs, Bollywood depends a lot on these five men because they have a fairly high success ratio. You have to go by aggregates; individual films may run or flop but these men net good averages. Akshay leads the pack with his earnings by virtue of the fact that he has done the maximum number of films.’’

This year, too, he has already had three releases; Shah Rukh has had only one release and Aamir is yet to open his account. Hrithik was seen in a cameo in Luck By Chance. However, when it comes to rating the five men, Nahata says: “Aamir and Shah Rukh are neck to neck at number 1 and Hrithik Roshan and Akshay Kumar are neck to neck at number 2. Salman currently occupies a solo place at number three because he hasn’t had a spectacular release after Partner.’’

Trade consultant Amod Mehra, however, disagrees: “Aamir is a clear number 1 because each of his films in the past five years has been different.’’ Mehra pointed out Mangal Panday was the only dud in Aamir’s bouquet of five; all the other four — Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, Taare Zameen Par and Ghajini — made a killing at the box office.

“Shah Rukh is a close second, Hrithik is third, Akshay is fourth and Salman stands at the fifth position. However, a hit or two here and there and these positions could easily change,’’ he added.

Ashok Ahuja of Percept Picture Company feels Shah Rukh and Aamir are tied at number 1. “It was hard to choose between Ghajini and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Both films rocked. Hrithik is number 2, Akshay is number 3 and Salman is number 4. The kind of excitement generated by Three Idiots, My Name Is Khan and Kites is palpable even though their release dates are yet to be set; the euphoria associated with Aamir, Shah Rukh and Hrithik is very high,’’ he said.

Prabhat Choudhury of Spice says these five men, apart from films, have also taken over the endorsement world because each of these is a very big brand in himself. “Aamir leads the pack because he brings to the table qualities of a discerning thinking actor, who is very sincere and sensitive whereas Shah Rukh’s strong point is that he is entertaining and very charming,’’ Choudhury said.

OUR NAME IS KHAN

It doesn’t get bigger or better than this.Last evening, when Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan walked in at the head of, what was finally, a unique gathering of the best creative talent the Indian film industry has today, media persons which covered the gamut of options available (radio, print, electronic, web), newbies and hardened professionals, collectively held their breath and gazed.

It has been many many moons since two of our most charismatic and successful actors have been seen on the same platform. In fact, one almost can’t remember when was the last time.
Suddenly nothing mattered. Not the gross collections of their last films, not any power list, not the number game. If the occasion were not so serious and dignified one would be tempted to stand up and cheer. But since they were here representing the directors and producers collective forum, The United Producers and Distributors Association forum, to explain their stand in the face-off with multiplex owners, it seemed wiser to just listen as each presented a keynote address. Yash Chopra, Sandeep Bhargava of TV 18, Ronnie Screwvala of UTV, Mukesh Bhatt, distributor Ramesh Sippy and Jyoti Deshpande of Eros, shared the stage along with the two Khans. Even the federation and the Mazdoor union representatives were present to show their solidarity to the forum.

Karan Johar was the host of the evening. Aamir went first and like with everything he does he was completely prepared, often referring to the many discussions he had had with the team, including SRK, often deferring to him in fact. Aamir said, “We don’t want to call it a strike but an inability of the two parties to come to a logical conclusion. We are extremely unhappy over the failure to deliver films at the moment and deprive the audience of the cine experience, but the only motive behind this is to ensure that everyone in the film industry make money.” Aamir said that various unfair means were adopted by multiplexes to gather extra money like faulty DCR (daily collection report), pocketing of INR subsidies and even entertainment tax in many cases where films were tax free or in states where multiplexes had a tax holiday. Aamir also stressed that in the past, films have become blockbusters in single screens and if the situation does not improve, they will work towards a system where films will be released in single screens. However, the industry is firm that they would not budge from the fact that they want an equal 50:50 sharing for all the films.

Shah Rukh was more casual in his approach and made his points very clearly joking that all the meetings were held at midnight because that was when Aamir had time usually. SRK, at his charming best, stressed on some important points. He said, “The only reason for all of us to get together should not be misconstrued as a power show and a move to threaten the multiplexes. We are one big family and are open to dialogue.”

SRK also insisted that the multiplex owners were wrong in criticising their films as good or bad and should instead leave this job to the audience. The relation between the producers and the exhibitors is like a wedding and there is no divorce on the cards. “This is like a blockage in the pipeline and once the repair work is done everything will be back on track,” he added.
He emphasised that the fight was for equal terms for all films, big and small and if they were successful everyone would benefit from it.

When Aamir and Shah Rukh were together, the bonhomie and camaraderie was obvious, as they helped each other with answers, often scribbling notes to one another and whispering in each other’s ears when one was at a loss about some fact. Their body language loudly proclaimed ‘friends’. If this was an act, boy, these guys are thespians.

But the defining moment, and perhaps the one that everyone was waiting for, came when the duo were asked if they would have ever come together if it were not for the issue. SRK quipped that there was no reason they could not be on the same dais, in the same car, on the same page or in the same film...
He brought the house down.

King Khan wins hearts in Malaysia

King Khan made his first overseas trip post 26/11. Shah Rukh Khan was in Malaysia to receive the nation’s highest civilian award, Datuk. “It’s an award conferred to him much before the Mumbai tragedy. But SRK was in no mood to celebrate. His heart was in Mumbai and the actor requested a quiet ceremony. He didn’t want the media to highlight this either,” we were told by a good friend of the actor’s. So we’re just mentioning the laurel of this hardy actor, and not quite highlighting it!

HIgh Five

Stars are known to usually have a fascination for particular numbers. In order to enhance their luck stars spell their names differently and also commence new projects on a particular date. Sometimes they even make sure that their car plates and phone numbers are in harmony with their favourite number.

For instance, Shah Rukh Khan has an affinity to the number 555. Even the star's family members, his entire staff at his Bandra residence Mannat and most of those who work in his production house Red Chillies have the number 555 as an integral part of their mobile numbers. One of Shah Rukh's staff members who did not wished to be named said, “We all have the number 555 in our mobile numbers. In fact, the only difference between all our numbers is the last two numbers. All one has to do is change the last two numbers to call anyone who works for Shah Rukh.”

So is Shah Rukh superstitious about the number? “No, SRK is not superstitious about the number. It's just that he has always been particularly fond of the number. That's why he wanted all of us to share his fondness for the number,” added the staff member.

According to the source, more than 30 associates of Shah Rukh have 555 as a part of their mobile numbers. To cite a few examples, Shah Rukh's secretary, Karuna and Bobby Chawla, CEO of Red Chillies Entertainment also have the power of five.

When contacted, Bobby Chawla said, “There is no mystery to it. Shah Rukh is fond of the number, thats it. We had applied for the numbers and have had these for long now.”

Apart from Shah Rukh many other stars too have a fixation for particular numbers. An industry insider said, “Amitabh Bachchan's fond of the number 11 as his birthday is on October 11. A few of Sanjay Dutt's car plates have the number 4545. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan loves to collect currency with the number 786 while filmmaker Firoz Nadiadwala is also particularly fond of the number 786. Singer Sonu Nigam has always been attracted to the number 9.”

Shah Rukh Khan's dates jinx continues

Shah Rukh Khan's dates for Dulha Mil Gaya had to be reworked (for the nth time) after a mishap on the sets yesterday.

Shah Rukh Khan's dates for Viveck Vaswani's film Dulha Mil Gaya seem to be jinxed. Shah Rukh was supposed to shoot for Dulha Mil Gaya today for which a special set was being erected at Hema Ashish Studio (near Vihar Lake) since the past few days.

However, yesterday morning the roof of the studio collapsed and hurt a few unit members. One of them is currently recuperating at Paramount Hospital, Sakinaka.

When contacted, the film's director Mudassar Aziz confirmed that there was an unfortunate incident on the sets but he said that nobody was hurt to an extent that they had to be admitted in the hospital for more than a few hours. “Yes, a few light men were hurt and we took them to Paramount Hospital but only for a check-up,” he said.

We hear that a case has been filed at the Powai Police station. To this Mudassar said, “These are all production issues. I wouldn't know if Viveck has filed the case or my executive producer.”
However, when we called Paramount Hospital, last evening the duty officer-in-charge Dr Manoj had a slightly different story to tell.

Dr Manoj told Mumbai Mirror, “We have a patient Mr Tarun Wagh who was injured on the sets of Dulha Mil Gaya yesterday morning. He is admitted in our hospital. He was brought in around 11.30 am.”

Is he better now? Dr Manoj said, “Mr Tarun is better. He has suffered compression in his spine. I can't say how long he will be with us. Only Dr Utkarsh, who is treating Mr Tarun, can tell you when he will be discharged. But Dr Utkarsh is not present here right now.”

Mudassar Aziz added that he has now taken fresh dates from Shah Rukh. The venue has now been shifted to Mehboob Studios. “SRK will now shoot for the same song on December 4,” he said. All the best, Mudassar and Viveck!

Shah Rukh Khan

No war between SRK and Rajni




There’s no competition between South superstar Rajnikanth’s film Kuselan and Shah Rukh Khan’s home production Billoo Barber. Kuselan is slated to release on August 1, while Billoo Barber is still under production. Both films are an adaptation of the Krishna-Sudama story. Kuselan will release in Japan too.



Says Kandaswamy Bharathan, the executive producer of the film, “Rajni’s previous film Sivaji got stupendous response in Mumbai as well. And in Kuselan, he looks younger than he did in Sivaji. The response last year was quite overwhelming, which’s why we have decided to release it in all the metros.” And because Rajnikanth is immensely popular in Japan, he will be seen interacting with nine Japanese models in a scene in Kuselan. “I can’t reveal anything more,” says Kandaswamy.

Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?

A PRE-SCHOOL TEST

Which way is the bus below traveling?

To the left or to the right?

Can't make up your mind?

Look carefully at the picture again.

Still don't know?

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Primary school children were shown this picture and asked the same question by me.

90% of them gave this answer:

"The bus is travelling to the right.."

When asked, "Why do you think the bus is traveling to the right?"

They answered:

"Because you can't see the door to get on the bus."


How do you feel now???

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English is the official language of India . True or False?

Do all adult kangaroos have pouches? Yes or No?

Which of the following - ligaments, tendons, or marrow, attach muscles to bones?.

After reading the above questions, most of you will feign dyslexia, some of you will promptly want to take help from 10-years olds in the neighborhood and still, many will refuse to say, "I'm not smarter than the Fifth grader."



If you have trouble remembering the formula for the area of a triangle or figures of speech that you learnt in primary school, its definitely time to go back to school with none other than Bollywood Ka Badshah - Shah Rukh Khan.

Shah Rukh Khan is back on TV to host television's biggest entertainer ever, 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?' It is a show, which has adult contestants testing their wits with a group of sprightly 10-year-olds.Excited about hosting 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?', Shah Rukh Khan says, "I was very keen to do this show because of the educational aspect attached to it, which has been an integral part our culture. Once the decision was made, Star Plus was the only television platform I could think, that could take me to every single television home in this country."

Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? is a television game show based on the international Mark Burnett format 'Are you smarter than a 5th grader?' where grade school level questions are put to adults from all walks of life, who are well heeled and confident and who attempt to relive school with success. The format originated in the United States , has launched successfully in 50 countries, and will now hit Indian television, courtesy Bulldog Media & Entertainment.

The essence of the show is the test that adults will be put to answer primary school questions, the pressure of going back to school and keeping their reputations intact. Even the likes of 2008 presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Rudy Guiliani have turned down the offer to be the on show as contestants. Such is the pressure!First time on Indian television, viewers will witness contestants win this whopping sum - Five Crores to answer up to Fifth Standard questions, just imagine…

Speaking on the launch of 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass se Tez Hain?', Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India Pvt Ltd., said, "We are fortunate that the country has always given us the mandate of taking television to the next level. We have done it time and again by launching a show like 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', by introducing a whole new time band in the afternoon and by bringing people back to television on the weekends. With a show like 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?', its time to redefine Indian television yet again."

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R u looking forward for this program?? write u r comments

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Shah Rukh house - Mannat

Shahrukh’s home is a beautiful palatial sea facing house "MANNAT", guarded by a huge high iron gate and tight security.





It has been more than three years since the actor purchased the house and he has still not transferred it onto his own name, in stead the house is in the name of 'Bai Khorshed Bhanu Sanjana Trust'.

Khan purchased the bungalow from Mr. Nariman K Dubash, the trustee for around Rs 13.32 crore. Khan has renovated the entire bungalow and spruced up most of it. However a legal officer who deals in these matters claims that Shahrukh should transfer the home onto his name, because in the future if he would like to carry out any major structural changes in his property then he would face a problem. The legalities for making any changes in the structure would include permission from the owner, the person whose name the house is on.

A close aide of Shahrukh said “Shahrukh is a busy man and does not have the time to check up on all these issues. He had appointed a legal adviser to take care of his property issues.”

Officials confirm that Khan’s home is not yet on his name, but they also claim that it is entirely the responsibility of the owner to arrange for all the documents and submit it to the offices. Officials are waiting for Khan or his legal aid to approach them for the procedure which only takes about 45 days. A tax official maintains “We are not going to insist that Shahrukh Khan transfer the property in his name as we are only concerned with recovering property tax and as of now there is no outstanding tax on the bungalow.”