King of romance Shahrukh Khan as Jawaharlal Nehru

If everything goes well then very soon we might get to see the king of romance Shahrukh Khan in the role of powerful politician Jawaharlal Nehru. After doing lots of permutation combination Hollywood director Bruce Beresford found Shahrukh Khan’s face quite resemblance to Jawaharlal Nehru.

Bruce Beresford who made Oscar winning movie ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ and critically acclaimed films like ‘Silent Fall’ and ‘Black Robe’ is making a film on India Gandhi and he is keen to rope in Shahrukh Khan to play Indira Gandhi’s father Jawaharlal Nehru.

Presently, he is in Mumbai and met with different actors of Bollywood. Most of them showed their interest to be a part of the movie. At the dinner party, he presented before the guests morphed faces of actors from both Bollywood and Hollywood taking part in the film.

It took the audience by surprise when a clipping shows Shahrukh Khan’s face morphed into the face of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Let’s see how King Khan fits into the bill and impress both his Hollywood and Bollywood audiences.

Shahrukh Khan to fight corruption!

We mean in a film – we hear that SRK has agreed to be part of the Hindi remake of Ghajini director AR Murugadoss’ Tamil blockbuster Ramana

Superstar Shahrukh Khan is far away in the cold climate of London shooting for Yash Chopra’s film, but back home there’s lots happening to keep him hot in the news. Fresh goss is that the Don 2 actor has at last given a thumbs up to AR Murugadoss’ for the Hindi remake of his Tamil blockbuster Ramana, which will be produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film is about an ordinary man who takes up the cause to fight corruption after a personal tragedy. By the way, if it goes as per the makers’ wishes, the Hindi version of Ramana may bring together the Devdas co-stars, SRK and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Apparently it wasn’t child’s play for Murugadoss and Bhansali to get the superstar to say ‘yes’ to film. ‘Coz around the same time SRK was in talks with another South director, Gautham Menon – who made Ekk Deewana Tha – for a cop drama. But two things worked against the filmmaker. One, the protagonist’s police character, is a personality that has risen to fame since the success of Dabangg and Singham and could already be overdone. Two, the failure of Menon’s last release dissuaded the superstar from doing the film. In the bargain, Murugadoss got lucky and he found his ‘common man’ to fight corruption in superstar SRK.

I’m not aware of any rivalry between Salman and Shahrukh—Asin

When the tiff between Salman and Shahrukh is known to all in the tinsel ville, the ‘Ready’ heroine Asin Thottkumal surprisingly articulated that she is oblivious of the rivalry between the high- flying Khans.

Recently, in an exclusive conversation with the tabloid, when Asin was asked if Salman was miffed with her as she is going to do a film with SRK, the hottie said that it’s not true, and all is well between Salman and her.

Moreover, the bombshell wittily stated that she was not even aware of Salman and Shahrukh’s brawl.

While addressing the media, Asin said, “There is no tiff between Salman and I, and neither am I aware of any rivalry between him and Shah Rukh.”

“I don’t think he (Salman) will have issues with me working with any actor, even if it’s Shah Rukh. Salman’s been in the industry for so long, he is above all this. This media sensationalism doesn’t matter to him or me,” added the actress.

Asin: I love Salman’s straight-faced humor

Asin, who has earlier shared screen space with Salman in ‘London Dreams’, will now be again seen opposite Salman in the approaching flick ‘Ready’.

Just as the other girls across the globe, who are crazy about the B-town bachelor, it seems Asin too has been bowled over by Salman.

Going gaga over Sallu, Asin said, “He extends so much help to new talent. I’ve seen youngsters come to him for advice with their portfolios almost every day. He takes them under his wing if he believes in their talent.”

“He is chilled out and not insecure despite all the hype and euphoria surrounding him. I love his straight-faced humor,” added the ‘Ready’ heroine.

I was love-struck by SRK in school, says Asin

Asin, who has apparently been zeroed in to romance Shahrukh Khan in Vishal’s imminent movie that is an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s‘2 States’, is all praises for the ‘Ra.One’ superhero.

The bombshell said that every actress in the industry desperately looks forward to work with Shahrukh, and whenever she gets the opportunity to work with him, it will be like a dream come true for her.

The actress also revealed that during her school days, she was smitten by the Baadshah of Bollywood.

Though Asin didn’t talk about her forthcoming venture with SRK, but speaking about working with the Khans, she said, “I have already worked with two of them so early in my career, I hope I get an exciting project with Shah Rukh to complete the dream… it is a dream for any actress!”

Expressing her liking for SRK, Asin said, “He is really charming and I admire his persona on and off screen. I was love-struck by him in school.”

Zoa and Giselli get a sneak peek at Shahrukh’s Ra.One

The cast members of Always Kabhi Kabhi were curious to know what it was like to shoot a big budget film like Ra.One and Shah Rukh Khan surprised them by showing them portions of the sci-fi thriller.

Shahrukh Khan did not interact with the young cast of Always Kabhi Kabhi while they were shooting the film as he did not want to overwhelm them with his presence. However, he did shoot for an item song Antenna with them. The song has turned out to be a treat for SRK fans!

Apparently, it was after the shoot for the song that the cast got to view the first rushes of Ra.One and that too in the most unexpected of places -- Shahrukh’s vanity van.

Always Kabhi Kabhi director Roshan Abbas who himself got a chance to see the first rushes and some songs of Ra.One along with young actors Zoa Morani, Giselli Monteiro, Ali Fazal, Satyajit Dubey, reveals the unexpected experience to a daily, saying "the kids were blown away after they saw the rushes. The sheer size and scale of Ra.One is overwhelming! Ali says it was like entering a space shuttle."

We must say, they are a lucky bunch! The rest of us have to make do with the Ra.One trailer.

Welcome to Shahrukh Khan the superhero. Yes, the actor will be seen doing some breathtaking stunts in his upcoming film Ra.One. He jumps from buildings, zooms on his bike through crowded alleys and dodges bullets. G.One (Shahrukh Khan) dices with death on every step of the way in this film directed by Anubhav Sinha. Besides Shahrukh, the movie stars Arjun Rampal (villain) and Kareena Kapoor (leading lady).

No sleaze for SRK, please

That Shah Rukh Khan wants to steer clear of controversies was evident when he met director Roshan Abbas and music director Pritam to discuss the music of SRK's production Always Kabhi Kabhi. Incidentally, Shah Rukh had a problem with the phrase Undie the condi, which is used in the song.

Shah Rukh told Abbas that he was not happy with the lyrics and the song sounded sleazy. Abbas explained that it is only a shortform of the phrase that the youth use for 'Understand the Condition'. Shah Rukh needed to be further convinced, and so Abbas showed Shah Rukh the research papers.

Roshan Abbas said, "I was telling him about the songs, when this discussion started. He asked me 'why are we doing this and what does it mean?' Shah Rukh was of the opinion that we should not use words like 'undie' and it sounded like kundi, which means bum in the South. I told him that this is actually a phrase which people use in North India.

They use the phrase 'Undie the condi of the situ', which means 'understand the condition of the situation'. I also pointed out that this was, in fact, a popular phrase in school in the North and it has been passed down many batches now."

Abbas added, "Since the film is about youngsters and targets youngsters, we have used many phrases like JFI which means 'just forget it' and PAW, which means 'parents are watching', etc, although I have not used PAW in my film. The kids do use these phrases and SRK was stunned and said, I know that today's generation says some weird things, but this is really different."

Abhishek upsets SRK after IPL loss?

Shah Rukh Khan's IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders was knocked out of IPL after they lost to Mumbai Indians and yet SRK, being the good friend that he is, ushered in Karan Johar's 39th birthday party. But Abhishek Bachchan walked in wearing a Mumbai Indian jersey to SRK's house!

AB Jr walked in an hour after Bhajji hit the winning six against Kolkata Knight Riders wearing the Mumbai Indian jersey. "Abhishek ne yeh kya pehna hai?" soon became the topic of discussion, reported Mumbai Mirror.

So, how did SRK react? Being a sportsman, SRK took it rather sportingly. A source told the tabloid, "He was the host of the party. Also, SRK is a very charming man. Toh uske chehre pe toh kuch nahi dikha," informed an eyewitness.

Not just that, Abhishek also met his alleged ex flame Rani Mukerji with a raised eye brow.

SRK connects with fans through video blog

The Baadshah of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan, as promised earlier, has posted a video on the micro-blogging site Twitter, to interact with his fans.

The actor jokingly revealed that his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders threatened him at gun point, and that’s why he had decided to have a video blog.

In his first video blog, the actor assured that he would start talking about the good things and the bad things that had happened in the past few days, and he would scale them.

The first event that the actor talked about was his daughter’s birthday, which was celebrated recently on 21st and on 22nd and the birthday bash that he had hosted.

Incidentally, rating his daughter Suhana's birthday celebrations on a scale of 1 to 10, SRK gave it an 11, stating it was totally awesome.

The actor further stated that he got a pink lipstick as a present for his daughter and one of his friends gifted his daughter a pink iPad and a white bikini, which apparently made his daughter happy.

SRK spoke about his team’s loss in the IPL

Speaking about his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, SRK expressed his distress about his team’s loss to Mumbai, at Kolkata’s Eden Garden. Scaling the match on 1 to 10, the actor gave it a minus eight.

However, Shahrukh didn’t loose hope but assured that hopefully his team will make up for it in the next match.

SRK openly promised in the video that he would soon release the official trailer of his sci-fi film ‘Ra.One’, by the end of the month.

SRK promises to release ‘Ra.One’ trailer soon

All the fans of SRK, who have been waiting to get a sneak peek into his much talked sci-film ‘Ra.One’, would be happy to hear that Shahrukh has assured in the video clip that he will be releasing its theatrical trailer at end of this month, or on the first or second of next month.

Waiting to present the trailer, the actor revealed that he’s hopeful that the audiences would like it.

And on a scale of 1 to 10, SRK rated 7 out of 10 for the trailer, and said that he would keep back three, as he lightheartedly revealed that he’s humble and he wants to win over with his humility.

Rating about being on the video, SRK gave it a 5 from his side and for the other 5 he would wait for audiences’ feedback and if they liked his video, the actor assures that he would do it more often.

SRK throws a b'day bash for KJo at Mannat

The king of parties

The party was attended by who's who of Bollywood...Shah Rukh Khan organised a big bash for close friend Karan Johar on the latter's birthday, yesterday. However, he was photographed flaunting quite a morose look. We wonder if that was the after-effect of Kolkata Knight Riders (SRK's IPL team) losing to Mumbai Indians, last night.

SRK had an exemplary journey in the industry, says Anupama Chopra

Eminent film critic and writer Anupama Chopra’s new book ‘First Day First Show’ has already become a success with Shahrukh Khan’s write up in its introductory page.

In an exclusive interview with the IANS, when Anupama was asked why did she chose Shahrukh to pen down the foreword for her book, the writer candidly articulated that the superstar’s journey in the industry has been a very challenging and special one, and it is he who could summarize the changes in the film industry better than anyone else.

While addressing IANS, Anupama said, "I asked him to write the foreword because he is somebody whose career I have followed very closely and who in a sense to me is one who actually exemplified the journey. The three Khans have really spearheaded Bollywood. So for me he was the best person to encapsulate how much things have changed."

Anupama had earlier written King Khan’s biography that was titled as ‘King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema’.

About ‘First Day First Show’
Anupama’s new book ‘First Day First Show’ is all about the changes that have crept into the film industry, in the last 20 years.

‘First Day First Show’ is a collection of the author’s very own former write-ups.

Talking about her new book, Anupama said, "It's the collection of the work that I have done. The idea was to put the articles together so that it shows how much Bollywood has evolved in the last 20 years. It sort of becomes the history of modern Bollywood. It's to see where we were in 1993 and now it seems like another world."

My relationship with film fraternity is very professional, says Anupama
Though Anupama has been happily married to the famous moviemaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra and as such is close to B-town celebs, the writer makes it very clear that her work has never been influenced by any of her associations in the industry.

Speaking about her association with the film industry, Anupama said, "My relationship with the film fraternity, apart from my husband, of course, is very professional. It's not that I am close friend with anyone. So I can tell you with all honesty that I have never been a case of being biased.”

SRK joins the league of international VIPs!

Shah Rukh Khan is the first Indian star to join the site that boasts of only international celebrities like Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Enrique Iglesias among others. The website Whosay.com is a special invites-only portal that allows A-list celebrities to syndicate their social media, providing them with one common platform to tweet, talk to fans on Facebook, etc.

The site's users reportedly include famous athletes, artists, stars, wrestlers, etc across the world.

"Whosay is a VIP service for only famous people. If you are a popular personality you can contact the website for an invite. It gives celebrities new control over their presence on social media. When you see someone posting via Whosay, you'll know that it's authentic," a source told Mid Day.

"Last month, Whosay invited him to use this platform. After his last film My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh has become a global name. The site apparently offers photo and video hosting, along with services like automated copyright branding and a private mobile app allowing the social media updates to be easily controlled."

Well, what more can we say but that his 'name is Khan'.

Shahrukh performs Bharatnatyam in ‘Ra.One’

The much awaited Shahrukh Khan-starrer superhero flick ‘Ra.One’ has more than one reason to attract moviegoers. Well, apart from the superhero concept and digitalized outfit, the King Khan will be seen performing classical dance in the movie.



Latest tabloids have revealed that the Shahrukh will be for the first time seen performing Bharatnatyam in his home production ‘Ra.One’.

The ‘Ra.One’ superhero will be seen doing Bharatnatyam steps in the song and dance sequence ‘Chamak Challo’, which will also feature heroine Kareena Kapoor.

Choreographer Ganesh Hegde has put together the classical dance steps for Shahrukh, whereas the western rapper Akon has crooned the song ‘Chamak Challo’ in Hindi.

Talking about the dance sequence, Ganesh said, "SRK will be a wearing a formal three-piece suit. In the song, he comes across a group of dancers that is performing Bharatanatyam.

“Since he is a superhero, he can do anything. So he tries to get the steps right. He has actually danced with a lot of panache.”

Shahrukh’s generous side
Unlike most of the tinsel town biggies who love to announce their charitable deeds, King Khan lends a helping hand with no public display of it.

Reportedly, SRK is mulling over funding a cancer wing for the needy in Mumbai. It’s learned that the superstar wants to become a part of this cause, as his parents Fatima and Taj Mohammed Khan were the victims of this deadly disease.

A source close to the actor said, "It is all in the planning stage. He has been talking about doing this but hasn't decided when, where and how. SRK becomes very sad when he comes across cases of terminally ill people who have no proper medical facilities."

However, Shahrukh, who also funds a children's ward in a top city hospital, was not available to comment on his new venture.

Shahrukh gifts puppy to his kids
Gossip mongers are saying that Shahrukh Khan, father of two, has recently gifted his kids a yellow labrador puppy worth Rs. 50, 000.

A source informed, "Yes, Shah Rukh Khan has got a new yellow Labrador puppy for his kids and he had to pay a lot for it.

The puppy cost him around Rs 50,000. The price is a bit steep, but it's a show quality puppy."

Shah Rukh Khan's puppy love

Shah Rukh Khan has got a new puppy for his kids. And its not just any puppy, the actor had to shell out a huge amount of Rs 50,000 for the same.

Apparently it is a top breed, show-quality puppy. The puppy's mother (Blair) is an Australian import, whereas its father (Jack) is an UK import.

The father is a top championship winning Labrador in the history of India. Even Blair won many dog shows in India.

Khan got the puppy from a breeder in Delhi. A source told us, "Yes, Shah Rukh Khan has got a new yellow Labrador puppy for his kids and he had to pay a lot for it.

The puppy cost him around Rs 50,000. The price is a bit steep, but it's a show quality puppy."

Usually show quality Labrador puppies are available in the market starting from the price range of Rs 20,000 and more.

It is quite evident that SRK wanted only the best for his two kids. The puppy is now around 55 days old.

The actor already has two dogs Hulk, a black Labrador and Dash, a Pekinese. SRK remained unavailable for comment.

Asin to team up with Shahrukh?

It seems the ‘Ghajini’ star Asin Thottumkal is in much demand these days, and is all set to join the SRK camp soon.

Reportedly, the actress, who has already worked with two Khans of the industry, will be seen playing the leading lady opposite Shahrukh Khan in a movie based on Chetan Bhagat’s ‘2 States’.

Buzz is that Asin, who has already teamed up with Aamir Khan in ‘Ghajini’ and Salman Khan in ‘London Dreams’ and ‘Ready’, was the first choice of producer Sajid Nadiadwala and director Vishal Bhardwaj for the SRK-starrer forthcoming movie.

“Asin, who is already working in Nadiadwala's production Housefull 2, recently met up with the producer and director to discuss the film. Both the producer and the director feel she is best suited for the role and Asin, too, is excited about the prospect of working with SRK and that too in a Bhardwaj film,” informed an industry source.

Asin’s character in the SRK-starrer imminent movie
‘2 States’ chronicles around the life of a young couple Krish and Ananya, who belong to Delhi and Tamil Nadu respectively, and come to know each other while studying at IIM, Ahmedabad.

Things take an ugly turn when they fall in love with each other, and their parents are against their ‘cross cultural’ marriage.

Asin is most likely to play the role of the Tamil Nadu girl, but the news has not been confirmed yet.

Kareena prefers Nayanthara over Asin
Meanwhile, it was reported that actress Kareena Kapoor watched the South Indian versions of her upcoming movie ‘Bodyguard’ on request of the director and liked Nayanthara-starrer Malayalam version more than the Asin-starrer Tamil version.

“Kareena commented that she found Nayanthara’s acting more promising and real as compared to Asin. Besides, Bebo also complimented her look and said that she would try to implement in her character,” confirmed a source.

But to handle the situation wittily, Bebo went on to say that Asin was also not too bad.

Well, we wonder what Asin has to say to about it!!

Asin to romance Shah Rukh Khan in 2 States?

Asin is being tipped to land the leading role opposite Shahrukh Khan in the movie adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's semi-autobiographical book 2 States. Asin has acted opposite Aamir and Salman, this will be her first movie with SRK.


2 States is the story of Krish and Ananya who hail from Delhi and Tamil Nadu, two different states of India. They become friends while studying together at IIM Ahmedabad and soon their friendship turns into love. But they have a big problem facing them: their parents, who are against this cross cultural marriage. How they overcome this problem and get married is what the remaining story is about.

Yes, we hear that Asin is the most favoured on the wishlist of producer Sajid Nadiadwala and director Vishal Bhardwaj to bag the role of the south Indian girl who falls in love with the Punjabi guy to be played by Shah Rukh.

Asin, who is already working in Nadiadwala's production Housefull 2, recently met up with the producer and director to discuss the film. Both the producer and the director feel she is best suited for the role and Asin, too, is excited about the prospect of working with SRK and that too in a Bhardwaj film.

Asin made her debut in Hindi films with Aamir Khan; followed it up with two films with Salman Khan. All said, we wonder how Salman, her co-star of London Dreams and the upcoming Ready, will take the news of Asin bagging a film with Shahrukh Khan.

The actress is learnt to have given her nod to the project, though we are still waiting for an official confirmation.

SRK appears for UPSC exam? No, it was just his photo

Shah Rukh is writing UPSC exam at L D Engineering. That is what the college staff believed on seeing his photograph on attendance sheet



“It must be for a new role,” one of the officials at the Ahmedabad centre for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams that began on Saturday must have thought upon seeing Bollywood badshah Shah Rukh Khan's picture staring back at him from the attendance sheet.

On Friday, officials at the L D Engineering College were going through the attendance sheet provided to them by the main office at Delhi, in order to fix the seating arrangements, when they noticed the actor's photo pasted next to role number 8375.

The name provided along with it was WERW, and the officials thought letters, might be a code to hide the well-known actor's identity.

Sources said that then officials at the centre scrambled to figure security arrangements for the star candidate.

Requesting anonymity, a top UPSC official from Delhi revealed, "Assuming that WERW was a code, someone from the college called up to verify if Shah Rukh was really appearing for the exam. They wanted to inform the police and arrange for security for the superstar. Their request befuddled us."

Meanwhile, a closer examination of the attendance sheet revealed that the signature next to the role number was that of one Sunil Tripathi and not Shah Rukh Khan.

The officials decided to allow the candidate who appeared under this name on Saturday. "We allowed him to take the exam as we do not want anyone to suffer for an official's fault," said the official.

On calling the UPSC control room in Delhi, an official who identified himself only as Arora said, "For the past three years candidates have been filling exam application forms online. It could be the work of a prankster. Or else, a candidate might have committed a mistake while uploading his/her photograph. Usually, UPSC is very careful about the attendance sheet it draws up. But this time, there are just random alphabets like AKAK or BAMH instead of names. Several candidates were named SHORT NOTE.

The industrialist and the showman

Shah Rukh Khan and Vijay Mallya have tested their cricketing knowledge before - at the IPL auctions as team owners of the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. But on Saturday the Bollywood star and the liquor baron tested their mettle on the field as they led their sides in a 10-over-a-team exhibition match.

Shah Rukh's KKR team included trainer Adrian le Roux, IPL CEO Sundar Raman, co-owner Jay Mehta and even tennis ace and Kolkata-native Leander Paes, who wasn't part of the playing XI but was in the squad. Mallya's RCB outfit comprised pilots from his Kingfisher Airlines, son Sidhartha Mallya and RCB coach Ray Jennings.

The two teams played in front of an empty Chinnaswamy stadium, barring of course a handful in the corporate boxes and the families of the teams involved. Mallya looked visibly tired after the effort even though for the most part he was standing at first slip, next to son Sidhartha, who donned the wicket-keeper's gloves. Mallya senior was huffing and puffing at the end of each over. The change of ends was the only time he moved from first slip, where he was stood with hands on his hips.

SRK came out to bat, but was kept at the non-striker's end as the teams batted like it was a Test. The actor did give a glimpse of his cricketing talent when he danced down the track to hit Jennings's gentle medium-pacer past mid-off for a four.

Urmila follows Shah Rukh Khan

The actress makes a cameo appearance on the TV show Sasuraal Simar Ka, just like SRK did recently. 

It seems Bollywood has developed a fascination for the small screen. After Shah Rukh who made his comeback on television with a cameo in the serial Sasural Simar Ka, actress Urmila Matondkar is all set to appear on the same show.

It is believed that Urmila will be seen monitoring Simar for her participation in the dance-reality show Chak Dhoom Dhoom, as a part of her serial Sasuraal Simar Ka. Choreographer Terrence Lewis will also be a part of the show and will help out Simar. Simar, who manages to participate on the show, has no idea about the surprises in store for her.

It can be recalled that Shah Rukh who played a celebrity guest in the show appreciated Simar for her dancing skills. SRK's presence helped the serial to get good TRPs. Hope Urmila just goes a step ahead.

Asin moves from Salman Khan to Shahrukh Khan!

Asin scores a hat-trick! How? She made her debut with Aamir Khan; followed it up with two films with Salman Khan; and now she is tipped to land the leading role opposite Shahrukh Khan in the movie adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s semi-autobiographical book 2 States. 

Yes, we hear that Asin is the most favoured on the wishlist of producer Sajid Nadiadwala and director Vishal Bhardwaj to bag the role of a south Indian girl who falls in love with a Punjabi guy to be played by Shahrukh.

Asin, who is already working in Nadiadwala’s production Housefull 2, recently met up with the producer and director to discuss the film. Both the producer and the director feel she is best suited for the role and Asin, too, is excited about the prospect of working with Shahrukh and that too in a Bhardwaj film.

The actress is learnt to have given her nod to the project, though we are still waiting for an official confirmation.

All said, we wonder how Salman Khan, her co-star of London Dreams and the upcoming Ready, will take the news of Asin bagging a film with Shahrukh.

2 States 

2 States is the story of Krish and Ananya who hail from Delhi and Tamil Nadu, two different states of India. They become friends while studying together at IIM Ahmedabad and soon their friendship turns into love. But they have a big problem facing them: their parents, who are against this cross cultural marriage. How they overcome this problem and get married is what the remaining story is about.

City police demand extra fees to provide VVIP security to SRK

Police top brass say this applies to any celebrity not under Z or Y category cover; neither has Centre or state made a special request in King Khan’s case

On Friday, the private agency which supervises security arrangements for IPL matches in the city approached Bangalore Police’s VVIP cell and asked them to take over Shah Rukh Khan’s protection. The superstar is in the city to watch Saturday’s match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Since SRK doesn’t fall under the ‘Z’ or ‘Y’ categories, and because IPL is a commercial venture, the police replied that they will have to be paid for it.

“Shah Rukh Khan might be a big star and the owner of an IPL team. But any person who is not officially entitled to security under a certain category will not be given a pilot or a police escort,” D Dharmaiah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (VVIP), told Bangalore Mirror. When a South African security official hired by RCB called up Dharmaiah on Friday morning to talk about SRK’s security, the latter reiterated this.

“If he (SRK) needs special police protection, the organisers should apply to the city police commissioner and pay the stipulated amount for such services to the city police. Only then can we do the needful,” Dharmaiah said.

Field officers of the VVIP security cell were also given clear instructions by their superiors in this regard.

Recently, former city police commissioner Shankar M Bidari had hiked the amount to be paid to the city police for providing security for IPL matches. The total amount is Rs 1.12 crore for the seven matches, and includes security for players.

“We do provide police escort and other security arrangements to a person free of charge if we are intimated about it by the concerned central or state government agency. In this case, we haven’t received any such intimation,” Dharmaiah said. SRK reached Bangalore on Friday evening and checked in at ITC Gardenia where both the teams are also put up. No police security or escort was provided to him on Friday.

“It is not just Shah Rukh Khan. Any person not officially authorised security will have to formally apply for security and pay the required fee and only then will we provide it,” said Additional Commissioner (Law & Order) T Sunil Kumar.

During the last IPL season, former IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi, who was given ‘Z’ category security by Bangalore Police when he came to watch a match here, was charged Rs 50,000 for it by the police.

DNA Networks, which handles such matters for Royal Challengers Bangalore however denied that police security has been requested for SRK.

“We have paid the full amount of Rs 1.12 crore fixed by city police to provide security for the matches, players and franchisees. I really don’t know what the confusion is about,” a senior executive with DNA Networks told Mirror.

SRK renders the 2012 Mercedes A-Class

There are a lot of renderings and speculations floating around the internet about the new Mercedes A Class. But here we have a definitive design of what the next generation A Class would look like from the desk of Shoeb R Kalania. The rendering is based on the leaked shots from the European patent office published on Autoscoops.be. The premium hatchback will wear a three pointed star and should definitely look like this.
The model seen here is a 5 door hatchback which closely follows the design philosophy of the Concept A Class but with less dramatic body surfacing and detailing. The new A-Class will be based on the new MFA platform with a front front-wheel drive layout. A 2.0L engine, turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine is expected to drive this car.
The 2012 A-Class  is expected to make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany this September. Mercedes India recently made a statement to the press that they are considering smaller cars from their portfolio for India. If this does happen, expect a few of these A-Classes trundling along the Indian streets by 2013.