Wednesday, September 22, 2010

It's time to dream more: SRK

There are thousands who are crazy about Shah Rukh Khan, but it's easy to figure out what King Khan is crazy about – entertainment.

In Gurgaon recently, Shah Rukh told us, "All we need, for entertainment to be international, is the use of technology. We could be at par with other countries in films, theatre, even sports. You hear of individuals winning gold because the technology was given to them by their families."

The people who he thinks have technology to make live entertainment world class are those at Kingdom of Dreams (KOD) in Gurgaon. He was announced as their brand ambassador for India's first live entertainment destination, and SRK said, "It's right up my alley. I'm a big believer that entertainment isn't only for the well-to-do. It's a form of release from tension and stress for everybody. Also, it's nice for kids to be educated in an entertaining way.

I had seen Culture Gully (KOD's food court) being made. A few weeks ago, I was teaching my son about the various states in the country, and which cuisine is from where. Of course, I don't know all of it, but we surfed the net and saw the pictures online. Here, if I were to get a kid and make him walk around Culture Gully, apart from the fact that the food will be very nice, it could be that he'll pick up a couple of... 'understandings', instead of having to read from a book or the net."

The scale and the resources, said SRK, can really give a fillip to forms of live performing arts. "I love the fact that it encourages new platforms of entertainment. I started with TV, and I used to do theatre. They have this outstanding auditorium, the kind that I've been telling my friends about for years. It has to be seen to be believed. If you go and watch Phantom Of The Opera or Mary Poppins, you couldn't replicate it here because you don't have the technology. This one does. It would open up avenues for international theatre to come here. Plus, Indian theatre, which is very beautiful, will get these facilities."

He added, "I'd love to perform here. You can make it look as great as any international show. And it's so outstandingly seeped in Indian culture. There's a musical called Zangoora – The Gypsy Prince! Very Bollywood, too! Yes, and it has to be. They're using popular formats, reviving traditional formats, and mixing the two. It's a great step forward."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Its-time-to-dream-more-SRK/articleshow/6599254.cms

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

SRK may attend CWG opening ceremony

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is expected to attend the opening ceremony of the
Commonwealth Games on October 3.
       
The actor, who is a sports enthusiast, would sure lend some positive energy to the mega event, which has received plenty of bad press.
       
Sources in the Games organising committee say that Shah Rukh Khan will be in attendance.

When asked about Shah Rukh's participation, Viraf Sarkari, the director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games, told reporters, "I am sure the organising
committee will invite Shah Rukh Khan and he can decide according to his schedule, whether he will be able to make it or not. It will be great to have him though."
       
About participation from other Bollywood stars, Sarkari said, "At the moment the opening ceremony is completely cultural and the focus is not on Bollywood. It will
showcase Indian cultural heritage in a big way and we are slogging hard to make it a grand affair."
       
Oscar-winning musician A R Rahman had launched the CWG theme song 'India bula liya' at Sarkari's entertainment hub, 'Kingdom of Dreams'.
       
Interestingly Shah Rukh was recently roped in as the global ambassador of the extravagant hub.

Source: http://cwg.ndtv.com/commonwealth/article/id/spoen20100153948/type/latest/SRK-may-tend-CWG-opening-ceremony.html

Chitrangda Singh features with SRK in Airtel commercial

Chitrangda SinghAfter having signed leading FMCG brands like Aviva, Taj Mahal tea and likes, Chitrangda Singh has now been chosen as the brand ambassador for the telecom major Airtel. Speaking about this association exclusively to Bollywood Hungama, she said "The ad is going to be dubbed in 11 languages, but have been shot in two languages, Hindi and Tamil. While in Hindi ad, I'll be seen with Shah Rukh Khan, in Tamil, there's the southern superstar Karthik. The association with the Airtel brand has been really great, as it extends that kind of credibility to me as well."

Talking about her co-star SRK, a super excited Chitrangda says, "It was just fabulous. I was totally in awe of him. During the shoot, I was just mum initially, then, it was all cool. SRK is an extremely nice, modest and cool person." The said ad has been directed by Uzer Khan.

On the professional front, this PYT is super excited about her forthcoming film Yeh Saali Zindagi. Way to go, girl!

Source: http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/2010/09/21/14645/

The 'Shah Rukh Khan' factor in Rituparna's life

Actress Rituparna Sengupta is a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan and insists that her fate is somehow linked with him. Besides working together in a commercial, the Bengali beauty's two upcoming Hindi films have direct connections with the Bollywood superstar.

"My work somehow is connected with Shah Rukh. I recently shot an ad with him, and now I am doing these two films, one is called SRK and the other is Dard-e-Disco," Rituparna said in an interview.

Dard-e-Disco is named after the famous song in Shah Rukh's 2007 hit Om Shanti Om.

Rituparna is all excited about the unique experience of sharing screen space with the 44-year-old actor in the chawanprash commercial where she plays his wife. "Shooting with him was a wonderful experience, I am such a great fan of his," said the actress.

Rituparna has already finished shooting for SRK, where she has Vinay Pathak as her co-star.

"SRK is a very interesting film, you will laugh your heart out watching it. We have already completed shooting for the film, it is with the producers Warner Bros and should be out soon," she said.

The National-award-winning actress is busy promoting her latest release Life Express, where she plays a career-oriented woman who resorts to surrogacy to keep her job and family balanced.

"I play a corporate woman running after success, torn between family and career. One fine morning she finds that she is pregnant, which eventually hampers her job. She then hires a surrogate mother to bail her out of the situation," said Rituparna.

Freshly back from the Montreal film festival, where her film Aarohan was screened, Rituparna is all excited about the huge response they garnered.

"I play a rural girl, who falls in love with an NRI. My character is from Bihar and I had to speak in that accent throughout. The film was very well-received at Montreal and we got rave reviews," said Rituparna.

Even though her Bollywood journey began with Main Meri Patni Aur Woh in 2005, the 38-year-old actress is an established name in both commercial and art films in Bengal. Rituparna hopes that she is able to do the same in the Hindi film industry.

"I am very much a product of commercial cinema in Tollywood and people ask me why I don't do masala films in Hindi. I am very eager to do them, but somehow I am perceived as a serious actress here. I don't want to get stagnated, so whenever I am offered a masala film, I grab it," she said.

This is why she is eagerly looking forward to Madhur Bhandarkar's next film Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji, where she is paired opposite Ajay Devgn.

"I am excited about the film as it is a comedy and this is the first time I am working with Ajay Devgn. Madhur regrets that he couldn't offer me a bigger role and has promised to work with me again," said the actress.

Source: http://movies.ndtv.com/KIFA-Special/StoryPrint.aspx?ID=ENTEN20100153928

Monday, September 20, 2010

‘Ra.One’ dedicated to fathers: Shah Rukh

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who has donned the garb of a superhero in "Ra.One", says his new film is dedicated to all the fathers in the world.
"Ra.One is a simple story of a father and a son. There have been a lot of movies and songs dedicated to mothers but unfortunately, fathers are ignored. I being a father myself and a part of cinema, decided to give them all some space through my film," Shah Rukh told reporters here Sunday.

"The film is dedicated to all the fathers in the world. I hope this film will help bring fathers at the front and make me a hero in the eyes of my son," he added.

The actor, who has two children - son Aryan, 13, and daughter Suhana, 10 - with wife Gauri Khan, was named the global ambassador of Kingdom of Dreams situated in Gurgaon. Dressed in a black suit, shirt and tie, the star dazzled in his newly-acquired leaner look.

"Ra.One" is a science-fiction superhero film directed by Anubhav Sinha. Apart from Shah Rukh, the film also stars Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. It has been produced under Shah Rukh's production banner, Red Chillies Entertainment.


Source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/raone-dedicated-to-fathers-shah-rukh_100431239.html

Shah Rukh will also be seen doing some daredevil stunts in the film.

Shooting of Shah Rukh Khan's Ra.One second last schedule begins at Filmistan

Shah Rukh Khan's Ra.One is currently being shot at Filmistan Studios. This will be the second last schedule of the film.

The first phase of filming began in March, 2010 and went on till May, in Filmcity and Goa. Post this, the crew moved on to London in June where the filming with the entire star cast took place during July - August.

The remaining portions of the film are being completed in Mumbai. According to a spokesperson from Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment, the next schedule, which is the last schedule, will also be in Mumbai around the month of December.

Ra.One is science-fiction superhero film directed by Anubhav Sinha. The film, features Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal, and is produced under Khan's production company, Red Chillies Entertainment. Ra.One means Random Access - Version One.

The film is slated to release on 3 June, 2011.

Source: http://www.businessofcinema.com/news.php?newsid=17012

I would love to do theatre again, says SRK



Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who started his career as a theatre artist, reminisces about the days he acted in plays in Delhi and says he would love to go back to the stage and perform live.

"I started my career from theatre and later went on to acting in television and then films. We
used to perform plays at Kamani Auditorium, which was at that time considered to be one of the biggest theatres. If given a chance I would love to go back to the stage and perform in front of a live audience. I love to interact with people," he told reporters at the launch of Nautanki Mahal in the Kingdom of Dreams here Sunday evening.

The actor has been named the global brand ambassador of Kingdom of Dreams, situated in Gurgaon adjacent to the national capital.

He added: "I would just like to say that whatever we do in theatre, it should not be considered secondary or taken lightly. We need to give at least six to seven months and produce a quality product. In the West, films actors completely dedicate themselves to theatre whenever they get a chance to perform. We need to have the same dedication here also."

Kingdom of Dreams is a 5.66-acre entertainment and leisure hotspot that will showcase Bollywood musicals and boasts of an elaborate arts and food boulevard.


Source: http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?id=ENTEN20100153802