When Shah Rukh met Will Smith…

Actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan touted by Karan Johar, core Chairman of FICCI, as the ‘hugest movie-star’ brought to the fore some issues pertaining to the film industry at FICCI Frames 2010. Shah Rukh said, “The three basic needs of every Indian - roti, kapda aur makaan - seem to have been fulfilled. There is now a fourth desire and that is entertainment! Movies are a popular source of this fourth ‘requirement’. Another concept popularly emerging and posing to have a great future is ‘sport entertainment’. And with the Finance Minister constantly talking about a growing GDP (Gross Domestic Product), we are all the more optimistic about the Indian film industry.”

Addressing the connection between Indian cinema and Hollywood, Shah Rukh maintained that he didn’t quite understand the meaning of ‘crossover films’. SRK said, “I don’t think that a term such as ‘crossover’ really exists. You have genres of cinema like romance, drama, action... or then a movie can be an Indian movie, or a Hollywood movie or then a movie from some other part of the world. ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ is not a crossover film, it’s a Hollywood movie just as is ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ or Mira Nair’s ‘Monsoon Wedding’. So when filmmakers say they are making a ‘crossover’ film, I want to tell them that they are chasing an illusive dream!”

According to Shah Rukh, Indian cinema is lagging behind in three aspects. “The first is screenplay writing,” said Shah Rukh, “It is more a science than an art and expertise in that area is going to help globalize Indian cinema. The second is technology - I remember when I met Will Smith, an actor who does just two films a year, I asked him how he picks his films. He simple said ‘on the basis of i) creative satisfaction and ii) a great superstar for a co-star. And just how did he judge if his co-star was a super-star? He said he referred to ‘VFX and technology’ as ‘superstar’! We have the means to bring in the machines to India, but what we don’t have is trained people to handle them. Let’s hope our smart cousin Hollywood helps us in setting up training institutes. The third thing we need here is discipline and organization in filmmaking coupled with the science of marketing. More than money, it’s important to exchange knowledge, so that we create movies for a global audience. Saying this however, I insist that we retain our stories and the Indian cinematic glory that we have.”

Is it finally time for dadagiri?

When Shah Rukh Khan bought the Kolkata franchise of the IPL and forged a team with Sourav Ganguly, fans of the country's two most lovable icons thanked 'Rab' for the making of this 'jodi'. They saw the coming together of Bollywood's Baazigar and Kolkata's Prince Charming as a win-win combo. The marketing machinery went into overdrive to promote this new partnership and Kolkata Knight Riders emerged as the "most visible" brand of IPL 1.

Finishing sixth among eight teams was not exactly the kind of result that measured up to the hype surrounding KKR, but a few stirring victories indicated that with a little more push and a small dose of luck, Sourav's Knights had it in them to go all the way in Season Two. However, when push came to shove, and the tournament was moved out of India last year, John Buchanan, the erstwhile KKR coach, instead of building on the positives of 2008, chose to ram his "multiple-captain" theory down the throats of his bewildered Knights, who were 'slaughtered' mercilessly in South Africa.

In a span of six weeks, KKR went from being the biggest brand in IPL to the biggest joke in world cricket. With every loss, KKR fans grew more and more restive and as their venom spilled into cyberspace, it became pretty evident that KKR would finish at the bottom of the heap. They did.

One could write a book on KKR's failings, for it is a case study in how not to run a team, but it would suffice to say that their management not only displayed a clear lack of aptitude on recruitment and selection issues, but also a myopic vision for a team that aspires to be the best.

The good thing about reality is that when it bites, you feel the pain and it stirs you into action. KKR's disastrous second attempt at IPL glory finally shook the team management out of their self-imposed stupor and they responded positively by bidding Buchanan bye-bye and reaffirming their faith in Sourav, who must now steer the team's fortunes along with new coach Dav Whatmore.

The early signs look good. Loads of deadwood, accumulated in the course of the past two years, have been let go and quality recruitments like Shane Bond, Rohan Gavaskar, Owais Shah and Manoj Tiwary have been made. In keeping with Sourav's line of thinking, the pool of homegrown talent has been enhanced with the induction of a youngsters like Harshad Khadiwale, Chirag Pathak and Varun Aaron. Whatmore, who gave up his NCA job to take the KKR hotseat, is excited to be returning to competitive coaching. "This means there will be more competition for places in the playing XI," he said.

The batting department certainly looks well-stacked. It augurs well for KKR because they now have both quality and depth in their ranks to tide over the initial period when they will miss their star foreigners like Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle and David Hussey.

The best thing about KKR is the quality of firepower they have in their ranks, both in batting as well as the bowling departments. The likes of Gayle, Ganguly, McCullum, Hussey, Angelo Mathews and Tiwary are all capable of turning the heat on rival attacks, while Bond, Ishant, Ashok Dinda and Ajantha Mendis are all wicket-taking bowlers. "I know it's a batsman's game, but I still feel that bowlers have an equally big role to play in T20," Whatmore said.

However, there are a couple of areas that need working on. The Knights are not the best movers and shakers on the field and bowling at the death has been a problem. "We need to be sharper in the field and take our catches," Whatmore agrees, adding that he intends to keep pushing his wards in this area.

So, should KKR fans start dreaming again? "Of course! We want to win it badly. A lot of things have to fall in place, so we are going to focus on one thing at a time. Right now, we want to get off to a winning start," he added.

Juhi Chawla invites Mamata Banerjee to watch KKR in action

Bollywood actress and Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Juhi Chawla on Monday met Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee at her south Kolkata residence and invited her to watch Indian Premier League matches at the Eden Gardens stadium.
According to Trinamool Congress office sources, Chawla came to Banerjee's Kalighat residence and had a meeting with the party supremo for almost 20 minutes.
"It was a courtesy meeting between Banerjee and Chawla," sources at the Trinamool Congress office said, adding the party leader gifted Chawla a stole and welcomed her to the city.
"Chawla also invited Banerjee to watch KKR matches at the Eden Gardens," a Trinamool worker said.

Bond arrives to strengthen KKR bowling department

Knight Riders bowling armoury got a big boost on Monday with the arrival of their new New Zealand recruit Shane Bond.

Bond will add fire to the pace department of Knight Riders, which already boasts of South African Charl Langeveldt, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda and Ajit Agarkar.

But, the Kiwi pace spearhead's availibility for Knight Riders match against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday is still to be decided.

"He just arrived from a long flight this morning. Let's see how it goes tomorrow morning," said a KKR source.

Knight Riders are still expecting the services of Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle among their overseas recruits.

Fiery opener McCullum is currently busy with New Zealand's two-Test series against Australia from March 19-31.

The other big hitting opener, Gayle, is expected soon, said the source.

In absence of Gayle and McCullum, Knights have their makeshift openers in Manoj Tiwary and Brad Hodge who stood in a 101-run partnership to set up the issue against Royal Challengers Bangalore last night.

Knights had a two-hour optional practice session in the morning with the benched players along with Langeveldt and Cheteshwar Pujara going on the rigours.

Sourav to face Dhoni

Two teams with contrasting starts in IPL-3 face off in what can be a cracker of a game at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday night. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be riding on the crest of twin victories when they take on Chennai Super Kings, who went down tamely to Deccan Chargers in their opener on Sunday.

It will also be a face-off between two of India’s most successful captains. Bold decisions and aggressive body language have been the cornerstone of Sourav Ganguly’s success, while MS Dhoni’s man-management skills have made Team India one of the most formidable sides in world cricket.

Dhoni is now having to marshal forces in Chennai Super Kings, who looked rusty during their 31-run defeat to Deccan Chargers at home. Dhoni would need to pep up the pacers, who looked off colour at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. George Bailey, the Tasmania skipper with loads of domestic runs under his belt, has joined the squad, but it remains to be seen if he can force a berth in the CSK XI straightaway.

Even as CSK worry over getting their combination right, hosts KKR have a problem of plenty. These are early days in the competition and the team management is rightly not willing to go overboard on the win-win start. It’s time to build on the positives, the most important of them being the performance by Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews. He has already shown his match-winning qualities, both with the bat and ball.

Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers by 7 wickets

Angelo Mathews returned with a four-wicket haul as a disciplined Kolkata Knight Riders notched up their second successive win, beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets in the third Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Cheered on by Shah Rukh Khan at the jam-packed Eden Gardens, Knight Riders first restricted the Royal Challengers at 135 for seven and then rode on half centuries by Manoj Tiwary (50) and Brad Hodge (50) to overhaul the target with four balls to spare.

Having excelled with the bat against defending champions Deccan Chargers in their last match, Sri Lankan all-rounder Mathews this time ripped the Royal Challengers apart with four for 19 to become the destroyer-in-chief.

The medium-pacer was brilliantly supported by left-arm spinner Murali Kartik as Knight Riders prevailed from the beginning.

Chasing 136 to win, Knight Riders had a flying start with Tiwary and Hodge milking the Royal Challengers bowlers as they cruised to 85 for no loss in 10 overs.

Kumble used five bowlers in the first 10 overs but they failed to get a breakthrough with Tiwary and Hodge on fire.

The duo did not let Kumble's opening bowling pair of Praveen Kumar and Jacques Kallis to settle as he brought in himself and Dale Steyn but without any success.

RCB even struggled on the field and failed to bring in an easy run out in the 3.2 overs when Tiwary had some problem in his ankle and struggled to go for a second run.

Steyn had a brilliant throw from the rope but stumper Goswami and Dravid made a mess of it with Kallis and Kumble looking aghast at the other end.

Tiwary, however, wasn't complaining as he continued his assault smashing ace leg-spinner Kumble for 15 from eight balls including three boundaries as he cruised to 50 in 28 balls before being caught and bowled by Roelf van der Merwe.

With Knight Riders 101 for one in 11.4 overs, Ganguly joined Hodge in the middle but the agony for the Royals Challengers continued with butter-fingered Goswami dropping Ganguly when he was yet to open his account.

Hodge, in the mean time, completed his half-century and soon found himself caught by Manish Pandey off the bowling of van der Merwe as Cheteshwar Pujara joined Ganguly in the middle.

Looking to complete the formality with three runs remaining, Ganguly found himself dismissed by Praveen Kumar. The ace southpaw scored 23 runs facing 22 balls with one boundary and one six in his knock.

Earlier put into bat, Jacques Kallis anchored the RCB innings with a defiant 65 not out off 52 balls that included six boundaries.

Ray Jenning's tactics of banking on rookie Indian youngsters in batting misfired as the trio of Shreevats Goswami (8), Manish Pandey (0) and Virat Kohli (2) could only manage 10 runs.

Charl Langeveldt and Ishant Sharma tested Goswami, who opened the innings with Kallis, with pace and bounce. The stumper couldn't negotiate the short deliveries and soon became a victim of the former caught at third man.

Manish Pandey also departed in no time as RCB slided to 17 for two. In desperation to open his account, Pandey (0) dragged one onto his stumps as Mathews got his first wicket in his third ball.

Left-arm spinner Kartik then scalped two wickets from his two overs as Royal challengers were tottering at 35 for four.

Kartik first scalped Kohli (2) as he charged down the track only to find Mathews near the rope. English recruit Eoin Morgan was the next to go as in his pursuit for a reverse sweep he was castled by Kartik.

Opener Kallis, however, remained unruffled at the other end as he along with another veteran Rahul Dravid tried to make some repair work.

But thinking skipper Ganguly brought in Mathews again and he dismissed Dravid who inside-edged a low full toss to see his team slip to 73 for five.

The duo yielded 38 runs for the fifth wicket as Dravid departed for 21 from 16 balls with three fours.
With Ganguly rotating his bowlers, boundaries dried up and Mathews took two more wickets in Robin Uthappa (20) and Roelof van der Merwe (1) in his last over to emerge as the wrecker-in-chief.

SRK: I think Aamir & I are friends

Shah Rukh Khan’s performance in My Name Is Khan has brought him to a new level of self-realisation as an actor. Speaking candidly on the year-long sabbatical in 2006, Shah Rukh says he has been able to sharpen his skills as an actor while recovering from his back and shoulder injury and surgery.

He says, “On February 16, it was a full year since my back surgery. It has been a year of torture, because my movement was confined and I hate to be restricted. But, I got to spend a lot of time with my children. I also read several books on acting. I connected to emotions within myself. It’s been 18-20 years that I’ve been acting and am starting to discover aspects of myself as an actor, that I didn’t know existed.”

In spite of the obvious preparedness, Shah Rukh has no intention of directing a film. “Not for a long, long time. I think it would be a while before the actor in me is satiated. People say I’m in character in MNIK, and that earlier I was only doing fluff. Being the court jester or the clown isn’t easy. It’s not easy making people smile.”

Shah Rukh sees his stardom as a monkey on his (injured) shoulder. “The luxury of failure is denied to you when people expect you to be successful constantly. When I hear someone like Mr Rakesh Roshan, whom I respect, tell me that people are applauding at the end of MNIK, I feel good. Somewhere, the film has connected emotionally with people.”

The star says he isn’t bothered with box-office figures and finds the comparisons of MNIK with Raj Kumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots, or any other film, absurd. “In our country, we always belittle what we have by saying something else is better. Better is the undoing of good. Have they ever compared Latabai (Mangeshkar) with Mohd Rafi saab or Kishore Kumar saab? Have you heard American critics comparing Brad Pitt to Tom Cruise?”

Comparison brings us to Aamir Khan constantly taking potshots at him. Says Shah Rukh, “We’re friends. At least, I’d like to think we are. We both have a sense of humour. At least, I do. I’d like to think all our exchanges are in good humour. Quite honestly, I’ve no desire to look at what he or anyone else is doing. I never look at my own box-office figures. Why would I look at others’ collections?”

The shoulder injury got aggravated while he was doing the guest appearance in Dulha Mil Gaya. Shah Rukh has decided to do no more guest appearances. “I don’t regret doing this one for producer Vivek Vaswani. I can’t forget his generosity when I came to Mumbai.”

However, Shah Rukh, who has done guest appearances, cameos and voiceovers in innumerable films, says he is done with guest appearances. “I’d do these things for any friend. ”

Ra.1, he says, is for his children. “And for children everywhere. I want to play superhero, yaar. I want my kids to be proud of me.”

So, is he looking at a whole shelf of awards for MNIK next year? “Why clear a shelf in my house? I’ll buy a new house for the awards to come,” he retorts. At the moment, he has just begun to enjoy all the praise for MNIK. “After the film’s release, when I was in Dubai performing on stage, I could feel the vibes from the audience were warmer than usual. It was meant to be for an hour, but I remained on stage double that time.”

IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Deccan Chargers by 11 runs

Skipper Adam Gilchrist's breezy 35-ball 54 went in vain as defending champions Deccan Chargers suffered a 11-run defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match of the third edition of Indian Premier League on Friday.
After Angelo Mathews (65 not out) and Owais Shah (58 not out) struck unbeaten half-centuries to rescue Knight Riders from a dismal start and steered them to a fighting 161 for four, the Sourav Ganguly-led side restricted Deccan to 150 for seven at the floodlit DY Patil Stadium.

Paceman Charl Langeveldt scalped two wickets for 26 runs, while the whole Kolkata bowling department, consisting of Ishant Sharma (1/31) and Laxmi Ratan Shukla (1/30), fired in unison to help the Kolkata team open their campaign on a winning note.

From 99 for two at the fall of Gilchrist, who played a typically flamboyant innings, the defending champions lost wickets steadily and with that the match too as the other batsmen were not up to the task.

Gilchrist, who struck three fours and as many sixes, powered Chargers in the company of VVS Laxman (22 off 14) to 61 for the first wicket and then to 99 before pulling a long hop from counterpart Brad Hodge (1/14) to deep square leg to depart.

Chargers then lost their way badly with internationals Herschelle Gibbs (19), Andrew Symonds (5) and Rohit Sharma (13) unequal to the task.

Knight Riders bowlers, looking clueless when Gilchrist was in rampaging form, bowled splendidly to keep check the run-rate and guide the team to a superb victory from a seemingly hopeless situation.

Gilchrist, opening the innings with Laxman, who cracked a six and two fours, gave the run-chase a solid start by putting on 61 runs in only 5.5 overs.

Later the Australian and Gibbs put on 38 runs to steer Chargers to 99.

Gilchrist was dropped twice by the butter-fingered Knight Riders fielders, escaping when on two and on 41. Gibbs too received a reprieve on seven before both departed within the space of seven balls.

Symonds failed, caught by Ganguly at mid on missing a pull off Ishant to leave Chargers needing 45 runs in 35 balls.

Chargers' task looked difficult when Rohit departed in 17th over, followed by left-handed Anirudh Singh (14 off 14).

Needing 21 in the last two overs, the Chargers failed in their bid.

Earlier put in to bat, the Knight Riders went off to a dismal start by losing two wickets in the first four balls of the tournament.

Sri Lanka's experienced bowler Chaminda Vaas (2/22) used the swing to devastating effect and sent back opener Manoj Tiwary (0) and Ganguly (0).

Tiwary was out to the first ball, clipping Vaas to Rohit, while Ganguly lasted only three balls before edging a superb out-swinger off the left-arm bowler to first slip fielder Anirudh.

Vaas grabbed two wickets in his opening over without conceding a run to give Chargers a splendid start to their campaign.

Cheteshwar Pujara (10) and Hodge (13), who watched departures of Tiwary and Ganguly from the non-striker's end, repaired the damage to some extent by taking the score to 31 before being dismissed in the space of four balls.

Pujara fell to the left-arm pacer by driving a fuller length ball straight to mid on fielder Pragyan Ojha. He faced 16 balls and hit two fours.

Hodge was looking good when he fell to Jaskaran Singh as he was grabbed at backward point by Gibbs. Hodge struck a six and a four.

Hodge's departure pushed KKR firmly to back-foot before Shah and Mathews, who was lucky to see his attempted hook sail behind wicketkeeper for a six, prevented further damage.

Mathews struck five fours and four sixes in his 46-ball innings, while Shah hit three fours and as many sixes during his 46-ball stay.

Mathews reached his half-century off only 28 balls with the help of four fours and three sixes while Shah was slightly behind him, needing 43 balls to complete his half-ton that included three fours and two sixes.

Besides Vaas, RP Singh and Jaskaran bagged a wicket each for Chargers.

We are the most emotionally worked up team: SRK

Shah Rukh Khan felt that this season of the IPL would define where the Kolkata Knight Riders would go, after a disappointing first two years in the league.

In an interview to the Times of India, Shah Rukh said:

"I wish we had seen a little more success (in 2008 and 2009) because then it would have been like a fulfillment of some of my dreams... This season means defining where we go. I have been a professional through my life. But I think just accepting defeat does not ake you a good team. You've got to go out, play well and win. Sometimes, a bit of fortune needs to be on our side."

Shah Rukh also said that he was willing to go the extra mile for his team in what he could do - that is rope in sponsors, stay with the team and ensure monetary issues are well taken care of.

"I'll be very honest. I have to work really hard with my partners to get this kind of money on board. I spend about 30-40 days a year with this whereas I could earn a lot of money this time doing other things. but I am with them just so that my team has enough money so that it can be run happily. We can't afford to run this thing without our sponsors like Nokia and XXX who give us a lot of money. they give us almost twice or thrice of what other teams get.

I keep asking Dada (Sourav Ganguly) what can be done. We have weak middle order? Okay, work on it. We need a fast bowler? Okay, get one. We need to practice more? Okay, do that. We need to be more friendly? Okay, do that," he said.

He further elaborated on the economics of the Kolkata Knight Riders, who have made money despite their on-field failures.

"I don't know the figures, but our break-in at the Eden Gardens is maximum. So, the seven home games match up to almost the other 20 centres.

The other thing is that I am a brand and I understand that. I endorse a lot of things and why I manage to do that is because a lot of people believe in what I do and they like to follow my style."

Shah Rukh felt that the Kolkata Knight Riders connected with fans because they were the most emotionally worked up team, and people saw that.

"I don't want to take anything from other teams. But I think we are the most emotionally worked up team. We have emotions attached. People see that, people invest in that. We don't see a corporation here. We don't see just professionalism which could be a good or bad thing, I don't know. You see us sad when we're losing. You see us dancing when we win."

On the controversies that appear to keep dogging him Shah Rukh kept a diplomatic stance, but said that he would stand up for what he believed in. He said that on the eve of the previous IPL, a controversy had needlessly arisen when some of what he said was taken as a swipe at Sunil Gavaskar, but he had called up the legend and clarified the situation immediately.

He also said that he was aware of the fake IPL player blog that was created, and categorically denied that it was a marketing gimmick from the side of the franchisee or himself.

"When I say something and I feel I am right, I stand by it and if there's some miscommunication, I also make an effort to clear things. Last year, when the whole controversy about Gavaskar saab happened, I called him up immediately and clarified it. But within 24 hours it was blown into something else, and things got out of hand.

"I have to accept that, if I sell a car and people buy it, then what I say will also be used and people will sell it.

One thing I never used is negative aspects. I don't need to take recourse to anything negative. Something like that [the fake IPL player blog] is unacceptable to me. My team has lost nine matches in a row and some idiot is calling us names. And people are picking it up and making it a joke. Why would I like myself to be laughed at. Without sounding pompous, I am seriously of the biggest stars this country has seen. I look to set an example for youngsters to follow. so why would I try to demean my own self by doing something like this?"

We Will Win