ShahRukh Khan honored with the 5th degree black belt of Taekwando

King Khan has added a new feather to his cap. The Korean Government conferred upon him an ‘Honorary Black belt of Taekwondo‘ title. However, it may be mentioned here that even as SRK gets a 5th degree black belt of Taekwondo he knows nothing of the sport.

An elated SRK said that he felt like a tough guy despite doing mostly romantic films in his two-decade-old career but he has no plans to switch to the action genre and will stick to his lover-boy image.

“I am just recovering from my shoulder injury and
will take another two months to be fully fit. I plan to stick to romance and utilise both my hands perfectly first,” he said.

“My son Aryan is very angry with me. He has been practicing Taekwondo and will take another two years to earn this title,” joked Shah Rukh.

Meanwhile, on the other front Shah Rukh Khan walked the ramo with wife Gauri to showcase creations by designers Karan Johar and Varun Bhal on the final day of the HDIL India Couture Week in Mumbai.

My show starts with Salman, ends with Shah Rukh: Farah Khan

New Delhi, Bollywood choreographer-director Farah Khan says it was a conscious decision to start her new television chat show with actor Salman Khan and his mother Salma, who has never given an interview before. And interestingly, the “Tere Mere Beach Mein” series ends with none other than Shah Rukh Khan.

“It was a joint decision taken by the channel and me. They felt that the episode turned out to be very candid and since Salman has never come on a chat show before, it could be a nice way to hook on the audience to the show. So we start with Salman and end it with Shah Rukh,” Farah told IANS.

She said it wasn’t difficult at all to convince Salman and his mother to be her first guests on the show that starts Sunday on STAR Plus.

“Salman has never come on a chat show – neither ‘Koffee With Karan’ nor ‘Oye! It’s Friday’ and not even ‘Rendezvous with Simi Garewal’. It’s for the first time he’s come on a chat show. His mother has never in her life come on a TV show or even given a print interview. And I just had to tell them once. It was very easy to convince them to come,” said Farah.

The filmmaker managed to get several celebrities on her debut chat show but couldn’t get her dream guests – former railway minister Lalu Prasad and singer-actor Himesh Reshammiya.

“I really wanted to get Lalu-ji and Himesh together for my show. But he (Lalu) had a cataract operation and so things couldn’t work out. But I really hope these two people come to my show, if I have a second season,” said Farah.

To give her chat show a twist, Farah has a separate theme for each episode. She brought Salman to talk about being a ‘Mamma’s boy’ and Shah Rukh Khan as a henpecked husband. She had Priyanka Chopra talk about her struggle as an actor.

Asked what the theme for the Lalu-Himesh episode would have been, she said: “I wanted to get them in a category of ‘I don’t care people’. And these two people are such that no matter how much people imitate them, ridicule them or mimic them, they just don’t care. They only do their work.”

Other guests on her show will include Hrithik Roshan, Asin Thottumkal, Deepika Padukone, Abhay Deol, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Kareena Kapoor and cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan.

Shah Rukh’s questioning talk of India Day parade in US

New York, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s questioning at Newark Liberty International Airport by immigration officials was the talk of the annual India Day parade here. The parade is held to celebrate India’s independence.

Even before the 29th parade started at Madison Avenue and 41st Street Sunday, Mehal Kadakia, 26, a business analyst, and two friends had spent the drive to the city discussing whether Khan should have been singled out, New York Times reported Monday.

“In my opinion, they were doing their job,” Kadakia was quoted as saying at a festival next to Madison Square Park after the parade.

“I’m sure as an actor travelling, he has a lot of luggage, and if that seemed suspicious, I’d rather have them check and make sure he’s OK.”

Kadakia observed it’s not as if being stopped at the airport in the post-Sep 11 world is new to anyone.

“I’ve been stopped many times,” he said.

Santripti Vellody, 30, a business development manager for a South Asian satellite television channel, said she was disappointed that one of India’s biggest stars had been subjected to such blatant profiling.

“It’s absolutely disrespectful to him,” she said, “and it’s only based on his religion and last name — he has a Muslim name — and I don’t think that’s right.”

Vellody said that her husband, Mohamed Roshman Manoli, also has a Muslim name and that each of the last four times that they had flown out of John F. Kennedy International Airport, he had been stopped for questioning.

“I never get stopped but I have to wait for him for two hours every single time,” she said. “It’s not random.”

Shah Rukh Khan’s latest film “My Name is Khan” — produced by Shah Rukh and director Karan Johar — is set against the Sep 11, 2001 terror attacks and examines their impact on an Indian Muslim living in the US.

Miki Patel, chairwoman of the culture committee of the Federation of Indian Association that held the parade, said that she learned about Khan’s questioning during a meeting of parade organisers Saturday.

“I personally feel that the rules should apply to each and every one who enters this country — the law is the law,” said Patel, 53, a dance instructor from Edison, New Jersey.

Shah Rukh’s detention has Bollywood shocked, disgusted

New Delhi, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s two-hour detention at Newark airport in the US over his surname had members of the Indian film industry fuming. Karan Johar was “shocked”, actress Priyanka said it was “downright disgraceful” and filmmaker Kabir Khan termed it “harassment”.

The 43-year-old actor was detained while he was on his way to Chicago to attend an event related to India’s Independence Day and was freed only after Indian diplomats intervened.

Here’s what King Khan’s friends and colleagues had to say:

Karan Johar: I am shocked and upset…feeling terrible for Shah Rukh.

Priyanka Chopra: Shocking, disturbing and downright disgraceful. It’s such behaviour that fuels hatred and racism. Shah Rukh Khan is a world figure for god’s sake. Get real!

Kabir Khan: When I heard this news, I was so surprised…it has almost become a routine. If you have a Muslim name you are bound to be questioned. It happened with me thrice in the US. I was stopped by immigration officials for three to five hours… they don’t care whether you are a celebrity or whoever.

But when it comes to Shah Rukh, it doesn’t take more than 20 seconds to figure out who he is any search engine (on the Internet) will give more information on him than Hollywood stars Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt and despite that if it took them two hours to figure out, then its harassment.

Post 9/11 it is prejudice to have a person’s name and religion checked and it is very discouraging as well.

Pritish Nandy: This is the problem with law enforcers worldwide…Truly obnoxious. Cops don’t want to recognise anybody. They love to show their power and authority, especially in the US.

Kunal Kohli: It’s really disgusting. Even if they had done a Google search on their mobiles, they would have seen who he is. What were they checking for two hours on their super computers? To detain him for two hours is ridiculous, disgusting and an insult to us Indians.

Arindam Chaudhari: Shah Rukh has just finished his film “My Name Is Khan” in which his character tries to prove to the Americans that he is not a terrorist. I’m sure he never thought it would happen in real life too…What a shame! It’s shocking and shameful because I am sure Shah Rukh would have had to explain who he is.

It’s Shah Rukh so it’s become big news. But there many who constantly go through this everyday. It’s really sad.

Eesha Koppikhar: I am not sure of the exact events but if he was detained just because he is a Muslim with Khan as a last name, it is very wrong.

A sneek-peak into ‘My Name Is Khan’

‘My Nmae is Khan’ under the co-production of Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan has made a record for being the film sold for the highest amount so far. Fox Star Studios have bought the marketing and distribution rights for the film a whopping Rs 100 Crore, thus surpassing Rs. 90 crore deal for Aamir Khan starrer ‘Ghajini’ and Rs 70 Crore deal for ‘Om Shanti Om’.

The film has been made with a budget of 55 Crore and has SRK and Kajol in the main lead. SRK here plays the role of a Muslim who suffers from the Asperger syndrome, a form of autism that impacts social interaction abilities. Things show the plight of the character when he is arrested as a suspected terrorist in post 9/11 Los Angeles after the authorities mistake his disability as suspicious behaviour.

‘Living with the superstar’ - Knowing Shahrukh better

‘Living with the superstar’ is a documentary by Discovery Travel and Living portraying the different shades of superstar Shahrukh Khan as a businessman, international name, a dedicated father and husband and as a Bollywood superstar.

The channel had started shooting for the documentary long back when SRK was in Mumbai shooting the music video for Kolkata Knight Riders. From there the crew went to South Africa, and then followed SRK to San Francisco, where he was shooting for Karan Johar’s ‘My Name is Khan’.

The documentary revelas the unseen side of SRK and the fact that he is a very simple, neat and clean human being without any superstar tantrums. He traveled in one car with his man Friday and security officer. He drinks at least 20 small cups of cold coffee and is a chain smoker.

The last part of the documentary has SRK with his family in London doing varied things like teaching his daughter Suhana to cycle, playing games with his son Aryan at Hyde Park, having lunches at cafes with wife Gauri and his children, and many other glimpses of his life. SRK was in London with wife and family to finalize the apartment he just bought there.

The shooting of the documentary is complete and Discovery’s Travel and Living channel will broadcast it after the editing is complete.

SRK honored with a doctorate from Bedforshire University

Shahrukh Khan has a huge fan base not only in India but also along the entire world and this was utterly proved when the actor was awarded with the honorary doctorate from the University of Bedforshire in the field of Arts and Culture.

SRK was there along with wife Gauri in London to accept the doctorate. SRK had once declared that London was his favorite city in the world. Now, that he has this honor, he is thrilled and plans to keep the degree framed in his living room.

At this moment, SRK also mourned the loss of pop star Michael Jackson declaring MJ to be a wonderful human being. He also said that his only connection with western music was through MJ’s work.

Here is what SRK said at the occasion, “My wife is here too. She thinks being a doctor is really serious stuff. Of all my achievements as an actor, this one is a special achievement.”

“I will entertain like Walt Disney where he says I will entertain and help people learn. But if you are asking if I will make films to teach people ABC then I doubt it, you won’t see them. But I will make films that people can go and see for three hours and then come back and study hard for their exams.”

“On one wall, where I have my personal desk, where I keep my scripts, I have the Padmashri, the French honor, the Malaysian honor and this one will also go there. The Filmfare awards are in front of me so I am like a megalomaniac, self-centered person who likes to be surrounded by his awards.”

Shahrukh Khan Biography

He is the hottest selling property of Bollywood, the Ace of Spades, Baadshah of the hearts of Bollywood fan and the King Khan. He was born on November 2 1965, and he didn’t have any famous Bollywood links to land him a role in films. He is one of those rare gems of Bollywood who had to toil and work very hard to climb each step and reach the top most position of Bollywood which he has the privilege of holding today.

Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama and academics. He won the Sword of Honour, an annual award bequeathed to the student who embodies most the spirit of the school. He later attended the Hansraj College (1985-1988) to earn an Honors degree in Economics. After this, he studied for a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia University. As a child he was exposed to the world of drama and theatres and had also acted in Ram Leelas.

He started his acting career in 1988 by appearing in the television series Fauji playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. He then played a minor role in the serial Circus in 1989, which depicted the life of circus performers. Shahrukh started his career in Bollywood with Deewana which was a blockbuster hit and launched him successfully as an actor. Today Shahrukh has one of the best portfolios of movie comprising of almost all the variety of roles ranging from a vengeful murderous son (Baazigar), a crazy villainous lover (Darr), a exemplary lover (Dil Wale Dulhaniya Le Jaayeng) to a comic protagonist (Baadshah). His claim as the best Bollywood actor also earned him the privilege to play the role of Devdas in its remake and compare himself with the likes of Dilip Kumar.

Shahrukh married his only love Gauri Khan in 1991, but it was not easy for him to get her as Gauri’s parents were dead against their marriage abd Shahrukh had to go through hell to finally get Gauri’s hand for marriage. They have a son born to them in 1997 named Aryan.

Recently Shahrukh was in the limelight for hosting the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati on Star Plus. His future projects include much awaited films like Khan, Hey Baby, Dhoom -3, Don – 2 etc.