Shahrukh khan's Knight Riders signs deal with Coke for IPL

Shah Rukh Khan-promoted Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has tied up with soft drinks major Coca Cola for sponsorship during the coming IPL, days after the actor was dumped by rival beverage player PepsiCo as its brand ambassador.

"We are happy to announce that we have tied up with Coca Cola for (a) sponsorship deal for the IPL, which will include using the company`s logo as well as promoting their brand," KKR Director Joy Bhattacharya told reporters.

He said the contract is especially for the IPL season and Coca Cola`s sparkling drink brand `Sprite` would be promoted as part of the campaign.

Bhattacharya, however, refused to share any more details regarding the deal, including size of the contract.



Coca Cola refused to comment on the development.

Coke`s deal with KKR comes on the heels of PepsiCo terminating its contract with Khan, who was the longest serving brand ambassador for the company.

PepsiCo had, however, said it is "currently in discussions with him to take the relationship to a new phase".

Yesterday,Shahrukh told media,"Pepsi removed me".

The plotline begins when PepsiCo dumped its decade-old brand ambassador Khan from its Youngistan campaign last week. Coca-Cola moved in, offering to sponsor KKR, which would have ensured that Khan and his team members — including Sourav Ganguly, also dropped by PepsiCo in 2008, and Ishant Sharma, an existing PepsiCo ambassador — are seen endorsing Coke products.

Coca-Cola, which is planning to push its Sprite brand of clear-lemon drink through KKR, is close to signing a two-year deal with the IPL team, people close to the matter told ET. However, on Tuesday, PepsiCo approached KKR with a counter offer, upping the stakes. ET has learnt that a letter of intent has been signed between Coca-Cola and KKR.

Both parties are meeting on Wednesday to take up the matter. Khan had publicly expressed his unhappiness about the way PepsiCo terminated his contract. As first reported by ET on February 13, PepsiCo had decided not to renew his contract.

Coca-Cola’s sponsorship deal includes merchandise branding rights — T-shirts, jerseys, helmets, caps — in-stadia branding rights on perimeters and dug-outs, aligning with the team as a beverage partner, serving Coca-Cola beverages in home stadiums, and below-the-line and above-the-line promotions by KKR team players. KKR team members and Khan may also feature in Coca-Cola advertising specific to IPL. Every IPL team gets to play seven matches in home stadiums.

Summer is peak season for beverage companies and Sprite, according to a recent study by AC Nielsen, had dislodged brand Pepsi as the country’s second-largest aerated beverage. Neither Coca-Cola nor Pepsi chose to comment on the developments.

PepsiCo has already closed a deal with India Cements-owned Chennai Super Kings and is still in talks with Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai Indians. In IPL’s season one, Coca-Cola had walked away with the cup as its exclusive on-air sponsor.

PepsiCo's five-year, Rs 50-crore deal with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as the IPL’s pouring rights partner, on the other hand, had turned out to be a damp squib and was later called off.

Though financials of the expected deal could not be confirmed, it is learnt that the deal — KKR's deal with one of the cola makers — will involve an upfront cash transaction and a brand activation component. This is Coca-Cola’s second sponsorship deal with an IPL team, Delhi Daredevils being the first. The beverage maker is also learnt to be in talks with Preity Zinta-Ness Wadia-owned Punjab Kings XI.

Aamir, SRK join hands for 'Fair Rights for Friday Nights'

Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan came together on the same platform to raise the issue of the tiff between the film producers and multiplexes over revenue sharing. And both advocated a partnership of equality."It should be a partnership of equality. Fifty percent sharing is fair. Distributors and exhibitors have to find a way to make it a viable business within their fifty percent. Within my fifty percent I have to make it profitable," said Aamir at a press conference in Mumbai. "This is one industry and we all can survive only when each sector will earn a healthy share. We are here to find a solution to this," added Aamir.

Apart from Aamir, industry veterans like Ronnie Screwvala, Mukesh Bhatt and Karan Johar were present, among others.Shah Rukh Khan, however, stressed that the press meet should not be seen as a "power show"."This is not a power show. We haven't gathered here to threaten multiplexes. It's a show of coming together," said Shah Rukh who also felt that there should be equal sharing of revenue. "We are here for fair rights for Friday nights," he asserted.

The tiff between the producers and multiplexes started early February. And after several failed discussions, the producers decided to go on strike. From April 4 they have stopped giving release rights of new big-budget movies.

Shahrukh Khan Walks The Ramp at Lakme Fashion Week 2009

For the first time, the audience at the 2009 LFW was laughing their hearts out, shouting, screaming, clapping and yelling, “Love you, SRK” to which the superstar replied, “Thank you, darling!”
From Vikram Chatwal, Preity Zinta, Hrithik Roshan and wife Susanne, Kareena Kapoor(not with Saif), Tusshar, Genelia, Sridevi with Boney and daughter, Arjun Rampal with his stunning wife Mehr, Anu Dewan, Gauri Khan (of course), Rita Dhody with Nari (we think they are more than just friends) to Anaita Shroff Adajania (who was seen chatting with Sabina and Anil Chopra) and Parmeshwar Godrej.






Shah Rukh, in a black coat and chocolate brown dhoti pants with a designer gold sling was the showstopper. He walked the ramp and then unlike any showstopper before him, started talking, because he doesn’t do anything without a mic!

“This was gooood!” he exclaimed, “For formality sake, I want to thank the Lakme Fashion Week for having me here because I am neither tall nor good looking. You are very kind people. I would also like to thank all the models who were very kind to me backstage. Thank you everyone as you made me feel that I could do this and my Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team. Since our growing years, we have been taught to believe in the notion that models can’t act but my handsome, beautiful and very talented friend Arjun Rampal has proved them wrong. Then there is Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham who has muscles everywhere, Dino Morea and even Zeenat Aman has been a model. All you models are wonderful and talented. Thank you”.



“I would also like to thank my beautiful friends Kajol, Kareena, Preity Zinta, Boney and Sri and my wife Gauri. She said she would talk to me the next morning no matter how I do now. I would like to thank Preity because she has joined KKR now,” he laughed

“Choreographer Lubna Adams has done a great job and she tried to make me look good. She told me to give her my 'good looking face' and I showed her and said, 'This is it. So she said 'Well, you will have to change it by sucking in your face, pouting and looking very angry.' So I showed her like this and she said 'You look like a fish that is starved of sex.' I didn’t mind the fish part but well, I am a Khan and I have some reputation! Then Karan tried to show me and he asked me to look as if I didn’t give a beep!” he said and everyone burst into laughter.


Lastly he introduced and welcomed designer Manish Malhotra on stage. He said, “He designs for the wonderful and beautiful boys and girls on screen but he is the first designer in the history of mankind and in the world to design a sling. If you guys (LFW) give away Filmfare awards, then he should get it for making a sling. Thank you very much, guys.”

Asin to romance Shahrukh Khan | replaces Katrina Kaif

This Southern belle is definitely having a ball. After working with Aamir Khan in Ghajini Salman Khan in yet-to-be-released London Dreams , Asin is set to work with Shahrukh Khan .

Grapevine is abuzz that Asin is being considered for a role opposite SRK in a Yashraj film. However, the original choice for the role was Katrina Kaif , but Shahrukh, who wants to keep safe distance from Salman and co., wasn’t too interested in working with Katrina.

So Katrina is reportedly out and Asin is in.

Saying yes to the project wasn’t easy for Asin. She had already allotted the dates to a Priyadarshan flick with none other than Akshay Kumar . And since Yashraj Films demanded dates around the same time, Asin was in a fix. She had to choose between doing a film with Akki or Yashraj.

But luck favoured Asin. Akshay asked Priyadarshan to postpone his film because of unavailability of dates. So as Priyan’s film was shifted to 2010, Asin had free dates for the Yashraj film.

So now, as things stand, Asin is most likely doing the YR Film with SRK. But interestingly, there’s a buzz that she might be replaced by Katrina in Priyan’s film with Akki.

Well, the two ladies are all square now.

Shahrukh drops 'Kolkata' from Kolkata Knight Riders

Did Shah Rukh Khan pay heed to numerologist Sanjay B Jumaani’s warnings? Or else, why did he feel compelled to remove the city name ‘Kolkata’ from his Knight Riders team’s logo?

And if this seems too much to swallow, even if you are not a die-hard Bengali fan, think about what it would take to drop The Great Bengal Tiger from the captaincy?


There is certainly more to this, than what meets the eye, especially if the Knight Riders’ coach, John Buchanan’s shocking revelation that Ganguly could be replaced with in-form McCullum is to be taken seriously.

So did the Badshah of Bollywood do this to try and turn his spate of bad luck, considering the fact that Jumaani clearly sounded off his (correct) prophesies on the same? In the first year of IPL, Jumaani had gone on record to say that Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t add up well, but sans ‘Kolkata’, just ‘Knight Riders’ added up to an auspicious number, as it totaled to the number 1 of the powerful Sun. Explaining further, Jumaani maintained that Sourav, a # 8, was far from lucky for SRK, as even in the past, this number has not been too good for the Badshah.

Says Jumaani, “On November 2, SRK had entered his 44th year, and 4+4 = 8, represents Saturn (Shani). Unfortunately, as predicted, it didn’t auger well for SRK what with his shoulder injury keeping him out of action for months and his Billu not faring well too at the BO. “We had, in fact, earlier warned him not to release Asoka on the 26th. He did, and the film bombed,” recalls the numerologist.

According to Jumaani, his association with # 8, Sourav Ganguly (08/07) who captained Knight Riders, wasn’t too fruitful. “In fact, right at the beginning, we had warned that the colour black used for their team jersey wasn’t auspicious as it is also the hue of the same Saturn, # 8, and generally a colour of mourning in many communities. In fact, another team sporting the same colour that has never ever made it in the big league, is New Zealand. It has, on so many occasions, despite playing well, not managed to win a major tournament, leave alone the World Cup.”

Now that SRK’s team is using only Knight Riders in its logo, Jumaani says, “Our next suggestion to the team would be to also change the black colour of its outfits. And Sourav should wear jersey No 24 (that we had recommended earlier too), which did him a world of good in the World Cup as he scored three centuries then, being the only player in any World Cup, along with Mark Waugh, to achieve this honour.”

But, what went wrong with Sourav and his coach once again? Having just recovered from the Greg Chappel spat, he is up again in a face-off with someone from his own camp! Informs Jumaani, “Born on 08/07/1972, Sourav is governed by # 8, Saturn (Shani), # 2, Moon and # 7, Neptune, and his zodiac sign is Cancer. Two others who have captained India successfully have also been Cancerians. And they are Sunil Gavaskar (10/07) and Dhoni (07/07). Hence, coach John Buchanan’s claim that he is not a good captain does not hold water, at least as per numerology, and also not to forget the fact that Sourav has been one of India’s most successful captains.”

He goes on to say, “The combination of such numbers makes Cancerians quite creative and unconventional in their approach. However, like their symbol of the crab, which never walks consistently, such people are subject to sudden upheavals too. They are also quite moody in nature, as the Moon affects their mind, just as it causes high and low tides in the oceans. In Sourav’s case, Saturn (# 8) often makes him misunderstood, and hence politics is not his cup of tea. Controversies usually surround the number 8s. Being a ‘Water’ sign as he is a Cancerian, Sourav had great difficulties with Greg Chappel earlier, who is a ‘Fire’ sign, being a Leo (07/08). Fire and Water can hardly stay together; no wonder then that John Buchanan is a Fire sign too, like all Arians (05/04/1953)! We know that Dada is currently in his 37th year and 3+7 = 1, of the Sun, and it is amongst his best numbers. Lakhs of people worship the mighty Sun. Sourav’s decision to retire gracefully from the Indian team had been timed well, in this sense. In fact, Dhoni won the best player internationally for ICC now when he’s in his 28th year, and 28=1.”

Source: TOI

Shah Rukh ropes in Hollywood writer-director David Benullo for ‘Ra.1’

Done with his shoulder surgery, superstar Shah Rukh Khan now seems to be gearing up for his upcoming production ‘Ra.1’.

The actor has reportedly signed Hollywood’s famous writer-director David Benullo for the film being directed by Anubhav Sinha.David is best known for writing the screenplay of much appreciated ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ and the script for Hallowed Ground, Cupid and Shadow Man, which had won him accolades.

And now he has been roped by none other than King Khan for his next venture ‘Ra.1’, which is reportedly an SFX film.An industry insider said, “‘Ra1’ has loads of special effects, which is why it is to be made differently from the usual commercial Hindi films.

SRK wanted a writer who would do justice to the film. So he got David Benullo to work on the script.”

Confirming the news, director Anubhav Sinha said, “Yes, David Benullo is one of the writers working on the script.” Reports reveal that the writer has already started working on the film when he was he was in India recently.‘

Ra.1’ is slated for release early next year.

Shah Rukh to host Indian version of `The Moment of Truth`

Shah Rukh Khan has been approached to host what is being touted as the boldest show in the history of Indian television. Star Plus is reportedly after SRK to convince him to take the centrestage on Indian television yet again with its high profile show ‘The Moment of Truth’.


According to reports, Shah Rukh is all set to take on the helm of the Indian version of an American game show by the same name. The contestants of this show have to answer a series of 21 increasingly personal and embarrassing questions to receive big cash rewards and since SRK is known for his upfront and candid ways, the actor turned out to be an obvious choice for it.

Tele gurus suggest that the show is famous for its bold treatment at least in its original format and if the show retains that format then it is definitely going to create a stir among the Indian audiences.

BTW, "SRK has been approached and Star is hopeful that he will be giving his nod to the show”.

Wikipedia link for original version of game show 'The Moment of Truth'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moment_of_Truth_(US_game_show)

Shah Rukh's house 'Mannat' in Mumbai attacked

Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan's mansion in Bandra in Mumbai was attacked early on Friday morning at around 4:30 am. Two to three unidentified miscreants threw a bottle containing an inflammable substance at the Khan's sea-facing house called Mannat. The bottle was a kind of crude bomb. The miscreants later fled from the spot, however, nobody was reportedly hurt. Police are investigating the incident and an FIR has been lodged.

Shah Rukh worried about family after attack on Mannat

Actor Shah Rukh Khan said Friday he was worried for the safety of his wife and two children after his house Mannat was attacked by unknown people who had apparently misinterpreted the lyrics of a song in just-released “Billu” and reacted.
“I got scared. I got worried about my children and wife, but they are fine. I don’t think there is any place safer than my home. I’m in London for a check up. I will be back home the day after tomorrow,” Shah Rukh told a TV channel over phone from London.

Clarifying the confusion about the lyrics, the actor said: “They thought we are referring to the Prophet in the song. But it has been sorted out. They have seen the film and now its clear to them that the lyrics weren’t referring to the Prophet.”

A burning kerosene bottle had been thrown in the premises of his sea facing house Mannat early in the morning.

According to an officer of Bandra Police station, two men came to Shah Rukh’s bungalow, at Bandra Bandstand around 2.30 a.m. They lit a bottle full of kerosene and flung it over the gates before fleeing. The security guards were caught unawares, the police said. The police said a case was registered and they are searching for the culprits.

There was no damage to property as the flaming missile landed in the garden.

I have no cash for top players: Shah Rukh Khan

Politics and the recession have hit Shah Rukh Khan’s plans for his Kolkata team in IPL Season 2 — his Pakistani players, Shoaib Akhtar and Salman Butt, cannot play in India; and he does not have enough extra cash to buy other top-rated players. However, SRK is always an optimist. “I hope Kolkata be the winner this time,” he said. “I also wish the Delhi team well,” he graciously added on Wednesday’s visit to the Capital to launch Tag Heuer’s Carrera Calibre 16. That’s not cricket! Later in the evening, SRK had a meeting with teammates John Buchanan and Sourav Ganguly. “We have a good set-up,” he said. “We have Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, Ishant Sharma. It should be a good season — as long as all these guys play.” The absence of Akhtar and Butt will be keenly felt, though, especially as the embargo is a big financial burden. “I don’t know which board took this decision. They may have thought ‘Thodasa… achha nahi lagega’. But unfortunately, they [the IPL board] won’t allow the money meant for the Pakistani players to be utilised in buying new players. This is a little unfair.” It has made things difficult. “We don’t have much money left,” he said. “We couldn’t bid for expensive players like Kevin Pietersen. Their starting salaries are, like, 1.3 million dollars. We’ve already spent that.” His cheerleader talent hunt will, however, be big, SRK tells us. It will show people that “it’s not just about dancing with pom-poms” and that the girls totally “deserve respect” for their hard work.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=f19ab40c-90cc-40e4-9d49-5124bc695e2f&MatchID1=4922&TeamID1=4&TeamID2=2&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1244&MatchID2=4893&TeamID3=1&TeamID4=5&MatchType2=2&SeriesID2=1235&PrimaryID=4922&Headline=I+have+no+cash+for+top+players%3a+Shah+Rukh+Khan

Shah Rukh Khan to feature on ‘STAR PLUS’ New Year Special

A special program to usher in the New Year on Star Plus titled ‘Mauja Hi Mauja’ will head line Bollywood crowd pullers like Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Salman Khan.

Conceived as a homage to Mumbai police officers who laid down their lives for the safety of Mumbaikers, the program will also feature other stars including Priyanka Chopra, Kangaana Ranaut, Govinda, Madhur Bhandarkar, Shreyas Talpade, Neetu Chandra,Neha Dhupia, Shaan, Himesh Reshammiya, Adnan Sami, Kim Sharma, Jonny Lever, Mona Singh, Hussain and Tina.

Besides performances the fun filled extravaganza will include gags and spoofs.

Tune in to Mauja Hi Mauja-Bollywood Ka Sabse Bada Tamasha on December 31 at 10 pm only on Star Plus.

SRK Among Top 50 MOST POWERFUL PERSONS IN THE WORLD!

This has proved that Shahrukh is the Real King and King Khan of Bollywood

New York: Congress President Sonia Gandhi and film star Shah Rukh Khan find place among the ‘50 Most Powerful People of the World’ selected by American newsmagazine Newsweek.

US President-elect Barack Obama tops the list.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Markel, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jim Jong II are other world leaders on the list.

Newsweek has selected Sonia as the 17th most powerful leader and says Indian political scene is riven by factions, but the Congress remains the strongest national force and rules unchallenged. “In the world’s largest democracy, she is the queen.”

The magazine says Shah Rukh, who is No. 41 on the list, is the ‘King of Bollywood’.

“Who is the world's biggest movie star? Brad? Will? Nah. His name is Shah Rukh Khan, and he's the king of Bollywood.It’s not just that his (Khan’s) romantic flicks make gazillions—it’s where those gazillions come from. Khan is huge in the Muslim world, even in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the mullahs ban his films. Their main appeal is certainly the song-and-dance numbers, but Khan makes devoutly secular films where love trounces bigotry,” the magazine says.

Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, who controls the country’s nuclear weapons, is placed 20th on the list, which would be published in the January 2009 issue of the magazine.

Kayani, the mumbling and chain-smoking general, answers to President Asif Ali Zardari in theory, but he and his army remain the dominant power in Pakistan. “He’s responsible for Pakistan’s nukes; for the battle against al-Qaeda and its tribal allies along the Afghan border; and for managing tensions with neighbour India,” the magazine says.

Kayani, till now, has kept the army out of politics and seems focused on the battle against ‘jihadists’. “In the wake of the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Kayani stood firm on Pakistan’s sovereignty while also taking measures against the alleged sponsors of the outrage,” it says.

A surprise inclusion in the list, which the magazine admits is subjective, is Osama bin Laden, the “global terrorist.” He is No. 42 in the list.

The magazine says the presidency of Obama, the “intensely charismatic” Democrat, who will be inaugurated on January 20, will be judged on how he handles the economic crisis that now envelops the US and the world. “For Obama to be remembered as a great President, he has to do nothing less than rescue capitalism.”

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bollywood-king-srk-sonia-powerful-people-list/81044-2.html

Here is the Full list:

1: Barack Obama
2: Hu Jintao
3: Nicolas Sarkozy
4-5-6: Economic Triumvirate
7: Gordon Brown
8: Angela Merkel
9: Vladimir Putin
10: Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
11: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
12: Kim Jong Il
13-14: The Clintons
15: Timothy Geithner
16: Gen. David Petraeus
17: Sonia Gandhi
18: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
19: Warren Buffett
20: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
21: Nuri al-Maliki
22-23: The Philanthropists
24: Nancy Pelosi
25: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
26: Mike Duke
27: Rahm Emanuel
28: Eric Schmidt
29: Jamie Dimon
30-31: Friends of Barack
32: Dominique Strauss-Kahn
33: Rex Tillerson
34: Steve Jobs
35: John Lasseter
36: Michael Bloomberg
37: Pope Benedict XVI
38: Katsuaki Watanabe
39: Rupert Murdoch
40: Jeff Bezos
41: Shahrukh Khan
42: Osama bin Laden
43: Hassan Nasrallah
44: Dr. Margaret Chan
45: Carlos Slim Helú
46: The Dalai Lama
47: Oprah Winfrey
48: Amr Khaled
49: E. A. Adeboye
50: Jim Rogers

GO here for this Article:http://www.newsweek.com/id/176484

Source: filmikhabar.com

ShahRukh Khan Is Now A 'Datuk' in Malay Outfit

Wearing a traditional black and gold Malay outfit (Baju Melayu and samping) and headgear, Khan received the title of "Datuk" (equivalent to British Knighthood) from the governor of Malaysia's southern Malacca state.

Bollywood superstar ShahRukh Khan today became the first Indian actor to be conferred on a prestigious Malaysian title.

Wearing a traditional black and gold Malay outfit (Baju Melayu and samping) and headgear, Khan received the title of "Datuk" (equivalent to British Knighthood) from the governor of Malaysia's southern Malacca state.

Baju Melayu is similar to a kurta pajama, while 'samping' is a piece of cloth men tie around the waist and which falls to the length of the long shirt.

The 43-year-old actor, who has a large fan base among the Malays, held the estimated 1,000 guests at the investiture spellbound as he received the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM), conferred on him and 76 others.

The actor kept waving to his fans as he was escorted into the hall. The Bollywood icon was the focus of attention as media and fans clicked away using cameras from their seats.

The actor will be referred to as Datuk Shahrukh Khan in Malaysia and will be addressed as Datuk. Each Malaysian state chooses its own list of people to honour with "Datukship". A majority of the awardees are local Malaysians who would have excelled in some area or are in the government.

Malacca authorities said Khan was given the title because some of his movies had been shot in the the historical state boosting tourism.

Khan shot a song for the movie 'one two ka four' in Malacca which was named as one of the heritage cities by Unesco a few months ago.However, the decision to award Khan with the Datukship received a fair share of criticism across the country with local artists and public noting that the award could have been given to a local actor or artist.