Shah Rukh Khan never disappoints. Even as he kept the media waiting for about two hours, the king of Bollywood made up for the delay and wooed the audience with his non-stop wit and charm.
He decided to welcome the international rap singer Akon in a traditional manner and showered him with flowers, whereas his heroine of Ra. One Kareena Kapoor put 'tikka' on his forehead and garlanded him. And when Shahrukh noticed that flummoxed look on Akon, he quipped with a dimpled smile, "In India, once the actress garlands you, you are married to the hero." And when a member of the press pointed out that how all three of them wore black and white, Shahrukh remarked, "Now that we are married we will be coordinating clothes as well."
Shah Rukh met Akon for the first time in New York, "and I became his big fan," said the star, looking boyish in black T-shirt and jeans with short gelled hair. By introducing Akon, Shah Rukh Khan 'kickstarted his production' Ra. One, a superhero flick touted to be a 100-crore extravaganza which will be directed by Anubhav Sinha. "Don't ask too many questions or too many details as we don't know what we are making. And ask only funny questions to Akon, he doesn't know anything," said Shahrukh good humoredly.
However, he decided to give out some details such as him playing the character by the name Jeevan who has the power of solidifying electricity. "Now I can't give out any more than this," said the actor-filmmaker. "Yes, you will see me flying in a body suit and I will wear my underwear outside," he laughed, talking about his attire in the film.
When asked whether he expects any controversy to happen since Mani Ratnam's Abhishek-Ash starrer is called Ravana, and both the film names sound similar, Shahrukh's clever reply was, "If you don't create a controvery it won't happen." He further added, "And that film is the modern version of the epic whereas this is a superhero."
At his diplomatic best, Shah Rukh Khan termed the earlier superhero films - Hrithik-starrer Krissh, and Abhishek's Drona as wonderful, and moved on to say that he was trying the genre for the first time. "Not many superhero films have been made. This is going to be a little different. There is a superhero, a good guy, a bad guy and a beautiful girl. But it is certainly not a kiddie film," he clarified.
Akon, who will be singing as well as composing for Ra.One, said that India is his next main focus and has decided to give different versions and options of music for the makers to select from. "I have got a lot of support and my goal is to be part of the Indian environment," said the singer who is most eager to start work here.
"He refuses to party, we have to literally force him. He only wants to know when he goes to the studio and start work," said Shah Rukh, who clarified that there was no business deal between them. "Akon is just being gracious. Unlike me, who charges for everything (winks), there is no business deal between us," said the actor tongue-in-cheek.
There are also talks of Akon singing for Shah Rukh's IPL team. "I would love to have him sing for Kareena as well (laughs) not only for my cricket team, but at present it is only the film. He will do lots of songs and will do some Hindi lines as well," said Shah Rukh, who fielded the question sportingly when asked whether he was following his rival Akshay Kumar in getting international stars to sing for his film. "I am just a follower, I never set a trend," he remarked, with a tinge of sarcasm.
And the meet ended with Akon singing few lines from his famous song, Beautiful on Kareena's request. And the superstar while pretending to hold a guitar, sang, "I always wanted to be a rock star..."
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