SRK's Fan set to release in China

As a birthday gift to Shah Rukh Khan (November 2), Yash Raj Films (YRF) will release the King Khan starrer Fan in China this weekend. Avtar Panesar, Vice President International Operations, YRF said, “Shah Rukh Khan is adored in all over the world and of course, equally in China. With the release of Fan across China, we are delighted to offer his fans a chance to experience the movie in their language. In our ongoing endeavours to take Indian cinema to all corners of the world outside of India, we are confident that his growing audiences in China will embrace this film as here as well and continue to build a solid base for Indian cinema.”

The movie will be screened in major Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu and Chongqing. The German fans of the actor are also in for a treat as well, since a German language DVD and Blu Ray of the film will also release across Germany this weekend.

An open letter to Karan Johar from a Bollywood fan

Hi, this is Rajesh Malhotra and am a big fan of Bollywood. Here's an open letter to filmmaker Karan Johar on his tiffs with political parties before the releases of some of his films.

Controversy’s Child: Karan Johar’s Run-Ins With political parties’ every-time before release
The political roadblocks for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil just got sorted as Raj Thackeray of the MNS announced that they will not stop the release of the film. Of course, Karan Johar agreed to accept the clauses that were pushed to him even as he tried hard to get a smooth release. Interestingly, this is not the first time he has had a run-in with MNS and Shiv Sena. Over the last few years, the filmmaker has had multiple instances when he had to work extra hard to ensure that his film got a glitch-free release.
Here I list out some of the films where he had to deal with either the MNS or the Shiv Sena. And as it may be apparent, in each case the films raked up considerable publicity.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Right after the Uri attacks on September 18, 2016, there was widespread protest against Indian filmmakers employing Pakistani talent for the films. Soon enough MNS noticed that Karan Johar’s latest film has Fawad Khan as one of the primary leads. This was followed by threats that they would not allow the film to release. Karan Johar finally had to toe the line of MNS as pleaded that his film be allowed a peaceful release because there were over 300 Indians who had worked on it apart from the Pakistani actor. He will be paying Rs 5 crore from the profits of the film towards Uri attack martyrs and also putting a slate in the opening credits as a mark of respect for the Indian army and the martyrs. MNS has now withdrawn the threats.

My Name Is Khan
Weeks before the release of My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh Khan rubbed the Shiv Sena the wrong way when he made a remark in favour of Pakistani cricketers playing in the IPL. The political party, which was then headed by Bal Thackeray took out the ire on the soon to release film, calling for a ban against SRK. Karan Johar had to make a few calls before the film managed to release with police providing protection to theaters screening the film.

Wake up Sid
The protagonist of the Ayan Mukerji film used the Bombay instead of Mumbai and Shiv Sena took offense. They demanded the film not be allowed a release unless Karan Johar apologized and also redub the word as Mumbai.

Kurbaan
This time it was not any word or comment that created the stir. Instead, it was Kareena Kapoor's bareback on the posters. The poster got a lot of attention, including some that was completed unwanted. Shiv Sena objected to bareback on grounds of obscenity. Things were in headlines for some time before it cooled down and the film released. The film sunk without a trace, quickly putting all controversy to rest.

AIB Roast
We could not have forgotten AIB’s roast. While people who watched it had their share of laughs, the Shiv Sena was not pleased. There were FIRs against Karan Johar and everyone else involved in the show. This only helped the video break the internet faster. AIB soon took off the video from YouTube and the controversy died out slowly. The fate of those FIRs remains unknown.

Rajesh Malhotra can be reached at malhotrarajesh23@gmail.com

All about friendship, Kahaani 2 and Dear Zindagi won't clash

Director Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani 2-Durga Rani Singh will hit the theatres on December 2 as against November 25. While the movie starring Vidya Balan and Arjun Rampal, was scheduled to release on the November 25, producer Jayantilal Gada of Pen India decided to shift the date of release of Kahaani 2 in order to avoid a clash at the box office with Mahesh Bhatt, a filmmaker he has shared a close association with over the years.

It was recently announced that the Shah Rukh Khan-Alia Bhatt starrer Dear Zindagi will release on November 25 and producers Gada and Bhatt had a conversation to avoid the clash. The makers of Kahaani 2 then decided to postpone the release date.

Says Bhatt, "I have known Jayantilal Gada for several years now and we are like family. Both Kahaani 2 and Dear Zindagi are unique films and deserve a solo release. And it will also help both films in the long run."

Gada says, "Bhatt Saab is associated with us for our leading TV shows; Udann and Naamkarann but more importantly Alia and he are like family to us. There can never be any competition within families, hence I have decided to release my film on December 2."

King Khan bares his heart out, check

In his fifties, Shah Rukh Khan still essays the eternal romantic on celluloid. The actor who is in Budapest shooting with Anushka Sharma for Imtiaz Ali's The Ring did a photo shoot with ace photographer Dabboo Ratnani.

The superstar has many younger actors zeroing in on his Crown. SRK has been experimenting with newer directors like Gauri Shinde and younger co-stars like Alia Bhatt in Hello Zindagi. So what still keeps the fire in the belly? How does he cope with the competition? How does he remain fit and looking good? And most importantly, what are his principles in life? In a freewheeling interview, SRK says it all.

Here are the links to the interview:  https://we.tl/WQsOOM6EQF
https://www.sendspace.com/file/gxs28a

The SRK-Salman show at Busan this year

Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan have something worth cherishing to look forward to. SRK's Fan and Salman's Sultan, both produced by Yash Raj Films will be screened at the 21st Busan International Film Festival in South Korea this year. The festival will also serve to kick start the campaign for the theatrical release for both films in South Korea. Fan will be shown in the A Window on Asian Cinema section and Sultan, will be screened at the popular Open Cinema section. Considered as Asia's biggest film festival, some 300 films will be screened from 29 countries this year.

The festival will be held between October 6 and 15. 

Shah Rukh's Darr set to make a comeback in a new avatar

Y-Films, the youth films wing of Yash Raj Films, is coming up with a reboot of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Darr as a five-part mini series titled Darr 2.0. The teaser of the film is already out.

Darr 2.0 will have the characters of Rahul, Kiran and Sunil from the original, but in an entirely new milieu, weaved in a modern, original tale of obsession and fear in the age of cyber stalking and digital crimes. The series talks of online privacy invasion and social media harassment that can take a dangerous and disturbing turn, if unchecked.

Darr directed by the Late Yash Chopra, also the founder of Yash Raj Films released in 1993 and also starred Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla among others. The film dealt with Rahul's (SRK) obsession with his college mate Kiran played by Juhi Chawla.

The fifth original Y-Films series, Darr 2.0, is directed by Vikas Chandra, a Sundance Screenwriters Lab Fellow and Associate Creative Producer on YRF’s Detective Byomkesh Bakshy and produced by Ashish Patil, Head of Y-Films. It has a story by Nikhil Taneja, with screenplay and dialogues written by Shubham Yogi and Taneja. The cast will be announced soon. The five-part series will be out soon on the Y-Films channel.

Here's the link to the teaser: https://youtu.be/V1aP9a8-yKg

Bring it on King!

Fan hasn’t really set the box-office on fire. Maneesh Sharma’s film that has Shah Rukh Khan playing a double role after ages, created ripples initially, yet it hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations. Quite justifiably, a die-hard SRK fan is disappointed. After the 'debacle' of Dilwale (by his standards), Shah Rukh desperately needed a blockbuster.

But then, there are some positives Shah Rukh can take home from Fan. It may have failed to rake it in, but Shah Rukh, as an actor has rediscovered himself. Both critics and audiences cannot stop praising his performance in the film. In one sense, Fan’s failure could be a blessing in disguise for King Khan. There is a reason why. If we look back, SRK has always chosen the conventional path to success i.e. box-office glory.

Fans have been enamoured of his larger-than-life image which at times seems to have overshadowed his potential as an actor. Trained under the famous theatre personality Barry John, Shah Rukh comes from a different school of thought unlike his peers like Salman Khan and Aamir Khan. Yet, time and again, his superstar image outshines his acting. The writer recollects a speech by SRK, probably at an awards ceremony, where he in his own way took on people who never took him seriously as an actor. But isn’t he himself to be blamed?

Films like Duplicate, Chamatkar, English Babu Desi Mem, Om Shanti Om, Happy New Year and Chennai Express are forgettable ones though some of them did well at the box-office. Even a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai failed to bring home the point that here is a megastar who is an accomplished actor as well. But ironically even within the stereotyped mainstream format, Shah Rukh has explored variety, be it the anti-hero in Baazigar, Darr and Anjaam or the romantic hero in Dilwale Dulhanya Le Jaayenge and Dil Toh Pagal Hai. Unfortunately, these films too cashed in on SRK, the megastar. He hasn’t really explored his full acting potential, has he?

Three films have looked beyond his stardom: Swades, Veer Zara and Chak De! India. The mannerisms missing, the audiences bumped into an unknown Shah Rukh. The movies may not have earned him crores, but when he looks back, they would figure on his Top 5 list for sure. Fan’s average showing should be an alarming call for Shah Rukh. Competing with the other Khans is not going to work. Let us admit that there is a Salman wave. Anything he does is working at the box-office. SRK has a different image than Salman’s and he certainly is aware of that. Fans would like to see him in roles that would do justice to his acting prowess.

Perhaps, he is seeing the writings on the wall. And this is the reason why he has picked directors like Rahul Dholakia (Raees), Gauri Shinde, Anand L. Rai and Imtiaz Ali. Rai’s film will have him playing a dwarf, a role rejected by Salman, as per reports. These makers are known to make films with substance. The fact that they have zeroed in on a megastar like Shah Rukh raises hopes for his talents being fully explored. SRK has reached the zenith of stardom. It is now time for him to start a new innings. It is also time to bid adieu to those outstretched hands and focus on métier roles. Substance should matter and not size.

Amitabh Bachchan during the height of his superstardom did films many of which could be rejected by the current crop of moviegoers. That was the seventies when the concept of middle-of-the-road cinema wasn’t even born. With time, Big B has changed tracks doing films like Black, Paa and Piku. Gone are the days of pathetic duds like Toofan, Jaadugar, Lal Badshah, Aaj Ka Arjun, Akayla, Insaniyat and Indrajeet in the eighties and nineties.

Look at Ajay Devgan! He has also experimented with Zakhm, Raincoat, The Legend of Bhagat Singh and Drishyam that catapulted him to the status of a versatile actor. Even Akshay Kumar rediscovered himself in phases with Sangharsh, Special 26 and Airlift that had powerful stories to boast. The obsession with BO glory may boomerang on Shah Rukh. Even a King Khan fanatic wants him to take a different route.

Yes, he still remains a big star (if not the biggest star in the country) whose aura is unprecedented. But beyond that, there is an actor who deserves to attain greatness. If his hardcore critics are busy writing his obituary, hold it. You may love him, hate him, but you can never ignore a SHAH RUKH KHAN. Fan has opened a new chapter in SRK’s career. He must reap the benefits out of it.