SHAH RUKH KHAN WAS WEAK IN HINDI, SAW BOLLYWOOD FILMS TO IMPROVE IT, AND GOT HOOKED ON TO MOVIES

Heart-throb of many a damsel, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as a child was weak in Hindi, dreamt of representing the country in international sports events, and as a young man had to court his love Gauri for six years before he could win her, says a new book.

Shah Rukh was bright, naughty, fond of sports but was weak in Hindi either scoring very low marks or failing in the subject says the book SRK: King Khan by journalist, critic Deepa Gahlot.

Instead of scolding him, his mother once told him that she would take him to a Hindi movie in a cinema hall if he did well in the subject. The bait was attractive enough for young Shah Rukh and his first visit to cinema must have triggered off the acting impulse in him, says the book.

The newly generated interest in Hindi made him understand Hindi films better and gave him a command over the language, a skill that stands him in good stead in his career even today, it says.

In the school he was more interested in sports such as cricket, hockey, football and athletics than in studies and hoped to become a sportsman capable of representing his country in international events.

In Delhi, while performing for both television and theatre, Shah Rukh was also wooing the pretty Gauri Chibba, a Hindu girl. Because of the difference in the religion, Gauri's family disapproved of their relationship. The courtship carried on clandestinely for over six years. Gauri was not too pleased about his choice of career or his decision to move to Mumbai but their love overcame all problems, pretty much like it happens in the movies, the book says.

PAYAL ROHATGI DOESN'T WANT TO GET TYPECAST, SO SHE'S CHANGING HER IMAGE FROM A SEXY GAL TO GLAMOROUS BELLE: WHATEVER THAT MAY MEAN

Actor Payal Rohtagi of Corporate and Dhol fame is working hard to get an image makeover. Also, she has no qualms in accepting that things did go wrong in the past as her earlier films Tauba Tauba and Fun -- can be dangerous were branded as sleaze flicks.

"Yes, I was typecasted. But I am going through an image transformation now. It has taken about three years to get out of my previous image," avers Payal adding that she is moving ahead in her career.

She maintains that the process of transition hasn't been easy. "But, it's my struggle and I am fine with it," she says adding that she had an inkling that something was going wrong in her career.

"I had to face the consequences as nobody forced me into it. It was my decision. But I am happy I made those mistakes so early in her career. What if I had worked with Shah Rukh Khan and then goofed up!" quips the computer engineer-turned-actor adding that the mistakes have made her a mature person.

"I do not come from the industry. But I have realised that it's very important to work with senior directors and good production houses. It makes a lot of difference. Like in Dhol, I have a glamorous introduction, but it's not cheap but beautiful," she shares.

In the Priyadarshan directed film, she plays a a club singer opposite Arbaaz Khan. "It's a good role and has added to my growth as an actor," she avers.

How was the experience of working with the much acclaimed director? "It was great. He's one director I worship right now," exclaims the model who featured with cricketer Virender Sehwag in an ad campaign.

"The role has turned out exactly what he had told me. I am thankful to him for that," adds the actor. Some of her earlier films including Subhash Ghai's 36 China Town which was directed by Abbas-Mustan and Madhur Bhandarkar's Corporate were reasonably successful at the box-office. But she hasn't signed any more films as of now.

"Talks are on some films, but I'll finalise only after seeing the results of Dhol," she says adding that she has great expectation from the film.

So what's her ambition as an actor? "Dhol has me in the second lead. But I wish to upgrade to playing lead roles and want to be in the league of respected actors of the industry.

"At one point of time, I would like to shoulder a film on myself. I am putting my best efforts towards it," says Payal.

"I won't say that I dream of playing etched characters like Meena Kumari's in Pakeezah. Though I have seen the film 20 times but you can't compete with something as classic as that. So my focus is on doing some good work with good directors where I can grow as an actor," she concludes.

SHAH RUKH KHAN GETS A ROYAL RESPONSE TO HIS BOOK 'KING OF BOLLYWOOD'

Actor Shah Rukh Khan shows his biographical book King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan by Anupama Chopra at a function held to celebtrate the book's success, in Mumbai on Monday. Over 10,000 copies in have been sold in a span of two weeks.

SHAH RUKH KHAN ADDS ANOTHER FEATHER TO HIS CAP, TURNS WILDLIFE CONSERVATIONIST

While other celebrities are doing their bit for the environment, talking about global warming or posing as caged animals, Shah Rukh Khan will be doing his bit telling the country about the hardships faced by the forest guard to protect country's wildlife.

"He is our nation's unsung national hero -- the India forest Guard. He is a real life hero because he does this to save the jungle, and the animals that live there. Day in and day out, he is matching with and battling powerful enemies -- wildlife poachers and timber smugglers, and he is willing to lay down his life for this." Shah Rukh Khan, who has been roped in by an NGO will tell his fans.

But why the forest guard? Aneeta (Tykee) Malhotra of Sanskara Trust and Asian Conservation Awareness Programme (ACAP), the NGO which has launched this awareness campaign explains. "Forest guards because they are the ones who put themselves in danger to protect the wildlife and the forest, they deal with poachers, they are the ones reporting the troubles in the jungle. Moreover, forest guards in India are working without proper facilities", she says.

One might question the contribution of an awareness campaign on forest guards in sensitising the public towards their environment. Here is the catch, while Shah Rukh speaks about the forest guard, the campaign asks people to help the forest guards by shunning wildlife products.

Aneeta says, "The general public is the consumer of those products which are manufactured from the depleting resources. There is a demand for ivory products, tiger products putting at risk many endangered species. Less of demand for such products will mean less of poaching, which would aid the forest guards."

WATCH OUT FOR THE RED BAD OF COURAGE, SHAH RUKH!!

Narayanamurthy is back with his 'red' brand of films. And he doesn't care about how small his film is. Nor is ashamed of claiming that his film might get leftover viewers, which means, people who don't get tickets for the superstars' films will come to watch his films.

Narayanamurthy is presently remaking his film Erra Sainyam in Hindi. For most of you who don't know Erra Sainyam did roaring business in Andhra Pradesh when it was released a couple of years back, shocking the wits out of the box-office predictors.

He explains why his film was a big success. "My subject is linked to human emotions. Like Dilip Kumar's Ganga Jamuna, Amitabh Bachchan's Ganga ki Saugandh and Mother India. My subject is how rural innocent people are feeling, how they are exploited by the non-tribals," he says.

Narayanamurthy's film releases on the August 10 and will pit itself against Shah Rukh Khan's Chak de India.

The Hindi version called Yeh Dharti Hamaari is slated for release on August 10, the same day the czar of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan's film Chak De India is releasing. But he is not perturbed. "Shah Rukh Khan is the megastar in India. In Andhra, they call me people's star but I know I am a zero in Hindi. But when thousands of people go to see Shah Rukh Khan's film, there will be many who do not get tickets. I hope that overflow will come to my film," says Narayanamurthy matter-of-factly.

Keep it up Narayanamurthy, your belief will keep your hopes and spirits alive and rake in the moolah. All the best.

LONDONERS TO WARM UP TO INDIAN FILMS AND CULTURE WITH 'INDIA NOW' FESTIVAL

It will be an Indian summer in London this year, with the British capital getting ready to celebrate a three-month India Now festival, showcasing the best of the country's culture, films and fashion.

"This is the biggest festival we have organised so far and this is just to demonstrate how serious London is about doing business with India," Mark Prescott, in-charge of Cultural Affairs at London Unlimited, which is organising the event, said in London.

"We not only want the Indian diaspora to be involved with the festival, but also want Londoners to warm up to Indian culture."

The festival will include more than 1,500 events spread over entire London city, including art exhibitions, film premiers and a fashion show by designer Manish Arora as the concluding event on September 7.
"Our main aim is to promote tourism, and also reflect the fact that the Indian diaspora is the largest in the UK. We are serious about doing business with India, but we are also serious about learning Indian culture, food and their films," Prescott said.

The festival will be kicked off on July 17 by Indian cricket captain, Rahul Dravid.

The Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De India will also see its world premier taking place in London as part of the fest.

The budget for the entire festival runs into "seven figures" Prescott said, but declined to put a figure to it.

SHAH RUKH KHAN GETS READY TO DON THE SUPERHERO ATTIRE, WORK GETS UNDERWAY

Director Shirish Kunder has started work on a Sci Fi film that will feature Shah Rukh Khan in the lead, most probably as a super hero. When asked how it felt to be directing Khan, Kunder said, "He is the coolest star I have worked with so far."

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SHAH RUKH KHAN FIGHTS HIS WAY BACK TO THE TOP: HOGS THE LIMELIGHT ONCE AGAIN

# SRK GETS WALT DISNEY PICTURES TO INVEST #30 MILLION IN VFX PROJECT
Shah Rukh Khan's (SRK) Red Chillies Entertainment, which has been investing heavily in assembling a world class team of VFX professionals in Bombay, is set to get a whopping $30 million investment from entertainment colossus Walt Disney Pictures.

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# KING KHAN'S OM SHANTI OM BID FOR A RECORD RS 75 CR FOR OVERSEAS MARKET
For over two months, big boys of showbiz have been bidding for the worldwide rights of Shah Rukh Khan’s home-production Om Shanti Om. While one of the Bollywood trade papers pitched the deal at Rs 80 crore, sceptics scoffed the speculation because it was an unheard of amount for a Bollywood film. Buzz is the deal — largest for worldwide rights — for Om Shanti Om finally closed in the last couple of days.

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# SRK IS JOCKEYING AROUND TO GIVE HOCKEY ITS PRIDE OF PLACE
Shah Rukh Khan's Chak De India celebrates the spirit of sportsmanship and highlights a game that has long been forgotten -- Hockey.

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BIPASHA BASU GETS READY TO SIZZLE IN RAAZ-2, MAHESH BHATT'S SENSUOUS SEQUEL TO RAAZ

# AAMIR KHAN AND SALMAN KHAN TO COME TOGETHER?

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# WILL SRK's CHAK DE INDIA DO A LAGAAN FOR INDIAN HOCKEY?
Will Shah Rukh Khan revive people's interest in hockey with his new film Chak De India in which he plays a women's team coach? Former hockey greats believe the Bollywood Badshah might just score for the national sport in this regard. Hockey, we all know, lags far behind cricket, football and even tennis in the Indian popularity stakes. Our sportsmen are making their mark internationally in other disciplines, but the national sport is languishing. So there is all round appreciation that Bollywood has decided to do something about it. SRK and Chak De India might just be the shot in the arm that hockey so desperately needs, feel sports people who also follow films. It might encourage youth to take up hockey again.

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# HERE'S BIPASHA'S LATEST RAAZ
Sultry siren Bipasha Basu, who shot to fame with Mahesh Bhatt's Raaz, will sizzle once again in the sequel too.

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RAJNIKANTH IS THE BOSS OF THE INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY, AND NEITHER BIG B NOR ANY OF THE KHANS COME ANYWHERE NEAR

Neither Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood’s highest paid actor, nor anyone in the Khan trio of Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman, gets paid over Rs 15 crore per film as Rajni does.

Bachchan gets up to Rs 6 crore per film. The fees of the Khan trio range between Rs 3 crore and Rs 5 crore per film. But then Bachchan does about half a dozen films every year while Rajni’s average now is about one film every two years.

Even in technological inputs, Rajni’s films are often ahead of their Hindi counterparts. Sivaji: The Boss, for instance, was made in Super 35 cinemascope format with the latest processing and scanning skills, and with a very high-pixel resolution.

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BOLLYWOOD BILLBOARD: NOTABLE QUOTES FROM BOLLYWOOD BADSHAHS

"I don't like it (the term Bollywood). I describe it as the Hindi film industry or the Indian film industry. Why call it something derived from a western name? Somehow I feel it is a little degrading. It has now found its way into the Oxford English Dictionary, so it's going to be there for eternity now."

-- Amitabh Bachchan talking to New Statesman

"Shah Rukh has recently bought an Audi A6 car for Aryan and Suhana (his children). Shah Rukh who already has five foreign-made cars wanted a safe and state-of-the-art car for his kids. The car has been delivered to him yesterday. The car is in the league of the most luxurious cars. Shah Rukh himself uses a BMW, which he is very fond of."

-- A source told Mumbai Mirror

"Hi Guys, this is Aamir. It's been 6 years since Lagaan released in theatres across the world, and while the DVD has been released all over, in India it has only just come out. Reason? My ignorance as a producer resulted in my signing a contract, which restricted me from releasing it for 5 years in India. In a day and age when DVDs release within weeks of the theatrical release, do you'll think people will be interested in Lagaan?"

-- Aamir Khan writes in his blog

"Yes, I really like it (his new film Aap Kaa Surroor, which is releasing today). When I had started shooting, people said I had gone crazy. I have not turned into an actor to merely fulfill my ambition. There was a conviction within me that acting will come naturally to me."

-- Singer Himesh Reshammiya on why he turned actor

"Absolutely. I mean this decision (to take up acting again) was taken after we (my husband and I) discussed the matter at length. We both kind of sat down and made a conscious decision whether I should be doing this or not and he has always supported me. He told me that if I don’t want to, I can sit at home and look after the kids. But, if you feel you want to do something, then I am with you all the way whatever the decision will be."

-- Madhuri Dixit tell Karan Johar on his show Koffee with Karan about how her husband supported her to take up acting

"If they (Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan) had any problems, why would they agree to do the second film together? I don't know what goes on in their heads, I don't know. But they were fine on the sets, sharing biryanis and jokes.

-- Producer Sajid Naidiadwala on the reported differences between Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan

WANNA TAKE A PEEP INTO SHAH RUKH KHAN'S HOUSE MANNAT? THE REIGNING KING KHAN HAS BUILT A VIRTUAL PALACE -- 3

SCROLL DOWN FOR SOME MORE PIX OF THE FABULOUS HOUSE: ALTOGETHER THERE ARE 14 PIX

WANNA TAKE A PEEP INTO SHAH RUKH KHAN'S HOUSE MANNAT? THE REIGNING KING KHAN HAS BUILT A VIRTUAL PALACE -- 2

WANNA TAKE A PEEP INTO SHAH RUKH KHAN'S HOUSE MANNAT? THE REIGNING KING KHAN HAS BUILT A VIRTUAL PALACE -- 1

FREEZE FRAME: ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL IN BOLLYWOOD IN ONE SHOT

OH MY GOD! PIGGY CHOPS HAS LOADS AND LOADS OF OOMPH! WE CAN'T STOP SAYING PHEW! THIS IS IT!

She is one gal who knows how to play her cards well. Otherwise, how would you explain her juggling act with the three groups in Bollywood headed by Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan with perfect elan? She shares an equation with all the three groups that has baffled even her worst opponents. Earlier, it was said that Shah Rukh Khan has been recommending Priyanka Chopra after he did Don with her. And before that Abhishek, who has done Bluffmaster, has been singing praises of her before Aishwarya could walk away with all his attention. And now, the latest is that Hrithik Roshan has been recommending her name to Bollywood producers. And Ms Piggy Chops can't help but sit on cloud nine with all the attention from Bollywood superstars.

As if this is not enough, she has signed a three-film contract for a whopping price unheard of for any heroine in Bollywood. As part of the contract, she will reserve the right to accept or reject the film. Isn't this having the cake and eating it too?