Planet Shahrukh Khan

When Karan Johar was asked why he has kept the promotion of My Name is Khan such a low key affair, Karan replied he has done maximum marketing for this film when compared to his two films like Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna or Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

Meanwhile he also has his own take on affairs when it comes to added hype and buzz around the film.

Karan also has immense trust on Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. He has confidence on audience that they also know worth of such actors. So as a fillmaker he doesnot need to do unnecessary campaign to gain added attention.

After having traveled all the way from abroad where he was on a promotional tour for his film ‘MNIK’, one would have thought that Shahrukh would take it easy and sit back at home and relax. But no! This King had other plans up his sleeves and just within a few hours of landing in Mumbai, he was seen at a five star hotel there endorsing an innerwear from ‘Lux Cozi’ for a vest named ‘ONN’.There was a press meet after the launch and Shahrukh was open to all questions from the media and answered them with full confidence.

There was a hint of sadness in his answers too especially when he said that he had to clarify himself to the media abroad due to the problems that had erupted on his comments for the Pakistani players regarding the IPL. However he soon got back to his jovial self when he justified his decision to go for theinnerwear endorsement. He simply said that since his abs were more presentable now he did not mind endorsing the vest as he had to take his shirt off on the pretext of the ad. But on a more serious note he said that he liked the product as it was made from special quality soft cotton which was soft and cuddly and more over the company representative had said that it was a lucky brand. Even the tag line of theinnerwear is ‘Apna Luck Pahanke Chalo’which according to him suited him as his team of the IPL Kolkata Knight Riders needed all the luck this time.

Another reason given by him was that this brand was more economical than the original brand Reebok which had the rights to manufacture the KKR T- shirts but were beyond the common man’s reach. Even the fact that the company was based in Kolkata was of help as the mind set of the people was known to the company. According to reportsShahrukh also said that this launch had been planned well before two months as he wanted more visibility during this time which is the time for his new film to be released, so with the focus of two events in mind a very successful and high end launch and press meetShahrukh was a happy man at the end of the tiring day!

‘My Name is Khan’, a Shahrukh-Kajol film directed by Karan Johar is the most awaited film of 2010 and it’s almost arrived with the release date of 12th February now only a stone’s throw away. Is the film about religion, a take on the Muslim community and how they are ill-treated or is it about romance between the DDLJ pair?

SRK, in an interview, opens up:

“The film is mainly entertainment. A film normally deals with lots of issues, comedy, or it’s a tragedy or a serious film or a dramatic love story like ‘…Khan’ is meant to be. If one starts talking or deciding on issues before a whole film is seen, it’s kinda not right to do, especially as a filmmaker.

Normally, a film is more than the sum of its parts. It’s not like it’s a love story, it’s got a Karan Johar touch to social cinema, it has an angle of religion, it also has a part of politics, it has a world-shaking incident as a backdrop, it also has a lot of sweet songs. It combines all that.”

So, gear up for the Valentine week and make sure you watch this SRK caper along with your loved ones. It’s surely going to tug at your hearts and give you something to take back home……

Shah Rukh Khan says his new film portrays Barack Obama simply as a metaphor for "change", but he isn't knowledgeable enough in political matters to comment on how the US president has fared.

The actor does, however, believe that Obama seems "like a gentleman" and "speaks very well".

"What we wanted to do is not really show Barack Obama," he said talking about his new film My Name Is Khan (MNIK) in an interview with IANS over the phone from New York.

"We just wanted to use that as a metaphor for the change that is happening around everywhere, including America. I guess historically it's the first time that you have an Afro-American president," said Shah Rukh who was in the US to promote the film.

The film is set for release in the US Feb 12.

In it, Shah Rukh plays a Muslim Indian with Asperger's syndrome (a form of autism) living in the US, who marries a Hindu single mother, played by Kajol, but their marriage crumbles post-9/11 and he sets out to meet the US president for help in getting her back.

"Things which had not happened historically before are happening and one of the changes that can come along is peace and humanity in the world too," he said. "There was a choice: should we have the president, have a look-alike, there was a choice, should we use it metaphorically?"

"We chose the latter and didn't go for someone who looked like Mr.Barack Obama. We don't even mention it as Mr.Barack Obama in the film, actually," Shah Rukh said.

But when asked what he thought of Obama, the Bollywood star played a little coy. "I really have not that much knowledge about the politics of the world, to be really honest. (laughs) I'm a little untouched by it.

"But on the face of it, when I came to America last year for ...Khan, I think that's the time he was elected ... and one kind of was present during the time when everyone was talking wonderfully [about] how new things will happen..."

"...country's politics I'm not too sure of," Shah Rukh said. "He looks like a gentleman, amazingly presentable, speaks very well, so I can just talk about him as a viewer, not as a knowledgeable person about the intricacies of his policies and politics."

"I don't think the US has a perception in majority which is negative," he said when asked how he thought the US' perceptions of Islam would be affected by the fact that Obama's father himself was a Muslim.

"But when somebody is thwarted, the first reaction always is a little more, I won't say aggressive, but a little more volatile against X, Y, Z person or a group of people who've thwarted them," Shah Rukh said.

"May be what would really change the perception of the world about each other is having knowledge about each other.

"So may be the people here and the people in the Muslim world need to understand each other's religion and faith and the bottomline would be that each faith has a similar kind of discipline and goodness attached to it which normally says everybody should live life in a good way...and that's basically also the message of ...Khan."

Shah Rukh was fulsome in his praise of Christopher B. Duncan, who plays Obama in the film. "As an actor I think he's tremendous...very powerful actor," he said of the artiste known for his performance as Obama on the "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.

"I was very impressed, I shot with him one day. Without wanting to sound patronising, Kajol and me thought he was an amazingly powerful actor."

It has some religion, a bit of politics and it's set in the backdrop of a world shaking event, but for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan his latest venture is not so much about Islam post-9/11 as it is entertainment.

"The film is mainly entertainment," Shah Rukh said in a lengthy interview with IANS over the phone from New York on a trip last week to promote his new film, My Name Is Khan (MNIK), releasing in the US Feb 12.

"If some issue is taken back home, I always tell people if they can take back a little more than an empty pack of popcorn, that's interesting...that's an added advantage to an entertaining film."

Shah Rukh, who plays a Muslim Indian with Asperger's syndrome living in the US, finding his marriage to a Hindu single mother (played by Kajol) crumbling post-9/11, wouldn't agree that it's the Islam angle that is grabbing the most attention in the US.

"A film normally deals with lots of issues, comedy, or it's a tragedy or a serious film or a dramatic love story like ...Khan is meant to be," he said. "If one starts talking or deciding on issues before a whole film is seen, it's kinda not right to do, specially as a filmmaker.

"Normally, a film is more than the sum of its parts. It's not like it's a love story, it's got a Karan Johar touch to social cinema, it has an angle of religion, it also has a part of politics, it has a world-shaking incident as a backdrop, it also has a lot of sweet songs. It combines all that.

"To me as a filmmaker, or part of a film, any aspect of the film can only be decided once one has seen the whole film. But there's no denying that there is an aspect of religion in the film."

Nor would Shah Rukh look at this and other recent Bollywood films about the fate of Indian Muslims in the US post-9/11 as an effort to redress any negative images people may have formed about Islam over the last nine years.

"Films normally are for entertainment. One doesn't really make a conscious decision to make a statement with it. Within entertainment, if a statement gets made, it's really nice for a filmmaker.

"You know, maybe 3 Idiots talks about education, but it's an entertaining film. Similarly Chak De! India talks about patriotism, but it's a sports film.

"You can have issues related in a film, but when filmmakers of commercial proportions like Karan, myself and Kajol and all get together, it's not to highlight an issue because it's too expensive as a commercial venture to make a film about an issue and not entertain."

To Shah Rukh, "the most interesting part of the fact as an actor is that I'm playing a character who's got Asperger's. It's also not in any which way to show it in a light which is not nice...but for an actor that's a great thing to do, you know, to play a (person with a) disorder like this which very few people know about."

"Hopefully, I'll be able to convince people about it when they see (the film). I don't think at least commercial filmmakers from India really make a big-time film which is localised or even localised by an international issue," he said.

"Commercial we will only know once the film releases," said Shah Rukh when asked if MNIK isn't one of Karan Johar's least commercial offerings so far.

"...Yes, the only thing it has amiss is big set dance pieces, but we just felt with the disorder we were dealing with, it would look very unrealistic for the character Rizwan Khan to indulge in dancing of the order of we normally see in a Hindi film of Karan's, or you might have seen earlier.

"Except for that, I think the venture is extremely commercial," he said.

"In the last five years, there's a whole paradigm shift as to what people accept as a commercial film," Shah Rukh said describing it as "Karan's evolution from making and keeping up with the trends of new commercial cinema in India and elsewhere".

On professional challenges he faced during its filming, Shah Rukh said it was a "very difficult" character to play. "If I was to just put it simply, it's very seldom that I've really gone ahead and played a character which exists in real life.

"And whenever you're dealing with a disorder or a near...atypical situation, the first thought is that the sort of parameters you have to set that in no which way you are derogatory or deriding the disorder.

"You have to make the protagonist very proud of what it is. The second part is you have to come as close to reality in depicting that characterisation and so one had to study a lot and one does get worried..."

But a couple of people affected with the same disorder who were shown the film had told them "...it's a great portrayal, it's very close to someone with this kind of disorder".

"Of course, having said that, I have taken a few cinematic liberties with it, because I've used three or four traits which may not exist simultaneously in one person and tried to create one character who has Asperger's, called Rizwan Khan."

"My daughter asked me over the phone if we'll have to leave India. Explaining this to the kids will be very difficult."

At a press conference on Saturday, Shah Rukh Khan elaborately discussed the controversy over Shiv Sena's reaction to his comments on Pakistani cricketers being excluded from the Indian Premier League's next season. (Watch: Pak players should have been bought, says SRK)

The Sena had threatened to block the release of SRK's new film My Name Is Khan, scheduled to release on February 12. (Read: Saddened by Sena's attack, Shah Rukh tells NDTV)

SRK made his position (on the issue) clear: "I have only said what every Indian should. I stand by what I have said. I think there's a bit of agenda and politics in all this."

"Often we film people find ourselves on the wrong side of politics. I don't think Sena went against my film because it has 'Khan' in the name. The good news is that I have just heard there will be no problems with my film," he added.

"I have a personal identity, but also a national identity - we are Indians, and my Indian identity makes me believe in certain things. I don't hold any one responsible and I stand by what I have said," he reiterated. (Read & Watch: I stand by what I have said, says SRK)

Earlier in the day, moments after he landed in Mumbai after a trip to New York and London to promote My Name is Khan, SRK hinted at an olive branch for the Shiv Sena. "I am what I am because of Mumbai.I want everyone in Mumbai to be happy. Why should we have this kind of stress? Let's be patient and talk it out," the actor said, amid huge security at the airport.

Shahrukh insisted that the entire controversy over his statements has been misunderstood. "If I say anything it will be misconstrued and further turned around, let me not even use big words. I am pro relationship with countries, which was misconstrued," he said,

The actor underlined his relationship with the Thackeray family, saying that he has interacted with them many times - and if they want to speak to him on this, he would be willing to meet them. "I will go meet Balasaheb if he calls me. He is a senior leader. I have gone in the past when he's called me. I enjoy his company," he said, with.

For its part, the Shiv Sena seems be in two minds over the issue. Uddhav Thackeray's reactions indicate that the Sena isn't sure about opposing the release of SRK's new film. "We have not spoken to Shah Rukh as yet. If he feels he has made a mistake he can come and place his views before Balasaheb. Shiv Sainiks will react based on their own anger," he said.

On Saturday, Sena chief Bal Thackeray wrote in the party's mouthpiece Saamna that the Sena would not stop the screening of My Name Is Khan, as threatened earlier.

However, Sena leaders later said that Thackeray's editorial was sarcastic, and their threats against the film stand. Mumbai's senior-most policemen have clarified that they will protect cinemas screening the film.

Theatre-owners have received phone calls and letters from the Sena, warning them not to show the movie.

They were also told not to screen the film unless Shah Rukh apologises. In London, a few days ago, Khan, at a presser, said that was not likely to happen.

The Shiv Sena has already burnt its fingers with the visit of Rahul Gandhi. Over 300 of its workers were detained, but Gandhi stole the show. Now it may want to avoid a repeat and be happy with a face saver.

Here's the transcript for what Shah Rukh Khan said at a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday evening.

"My kids are young and it is very important to explain to them what has happened. My daughter called and asked me "Papa, will we have to leave India?"

I just found that very sad. I told her that is not the case. But it is very embarrassing.

I am feeling a little stressed. My movie is about to release but I can hardly feel any nervousness or excitement. Normally this doesn't happen.

I felt very sad at this one conference at London - I even felt like crying - when I was trying to explain to people what I stand for. Why am I being questioned for being a regular Indian? I am not on a political platform or anything.

My contemporaries and friends - I thank those have spoken out and even those who did not say anything, These are sensitive issues. Sometimes you keep quiet, not out of fear, but out of prudence.

I stand by what I said and I would like to say that maybe some groups misunderstood me. There is no other explanation, because I have not said anything that I am sorry for. This is not about being 'pro' another nation and 'anti' our nation; it is about being pro relationships. Maybe these groups understand that now, and I appreciate that.

Sometimes when we are radical and angry, we get so aggressive that we don't hear the other point of view.

My Name is Khan is a big film and the stakes are very high. I don't want people - my family or yours - to go watch this movie with doubt or fear in the back of their mind. Films are a big part of Mumbai, even our nation, and I would really like them to be disassociated (from politics)."

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The 10-part series on the private life of the Bollywood movie actor, to be aired on DT&L later this month, cost the company around Rs25 crore, said an executive at Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific.

Discovery Communications India, which operates Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and lifestyle channel Discovery Travel and Living (DT&L), is rolling out its most expensive production in the country, Living With A Superstar—Shahrukh Khan.

The 10-part series on the private life of the Bollywood movie actor, to be aired on DT&L later this month, cost the company around Rs25 crore, said an executive at Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, a division of Discovery Communications. He didn’t want to be identified.

Rahul Johri, senior vice-president and general manager (India) at Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, did not comment on the cost, but said the series reiterates the importance of the Indian market for the network.

“It is our biggest investment in a show in India and we had 12 people following Shah Rukh Khan for a year,” he said.

The cost includes Khan’s fee and the production cost paid to Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd’s Idiot Box, the television content firm he owns, which co-produced the series with Blue Mango Films based in Delhi.

Discovery is spending an additional $1 million (Rs4.7 crore) on promoting the show.

DT&L is hoping for a good boost with the series on Khan, one of the country’s biggest stars and popular with Indians both at home and overseas. The channel has 30 million subscribers in India, but lags rival lifestyle channel NDTV Good Times in viewership share, according to TAM Media Research Pvt. Ltd. The niche English information-cum-entertainment segment accounts for just under 1% of the television viewership in India, according to TAM Media.

The new thrust by DT&L on India is evident. It has moved its head of programming for the Asia-Pacific region to India and Johri promises a more local focus. “The Apac (Asia-Pacific) production base is now in Delhi instead of Singapore earlier. You will see more Indian influence in our programming,” he said.

Discovery will telecast Living With A Superstar on DT&L from 26 February, after a prelude to the series on Discovery Channel on 19 February called Revealed: Shahrukh Khan.

The 10-part series has roped in eight large advertisers, including Hyundai Motor India Ltd, Apollo Munich Health Insurance Co. Ltd and Parle Products Pvt. Ltd. “We are in talks with several others,” Johri said.

The idea for a personal life series on Khan was generated jointly by Johri, Samar Khan of Red Chillies and the Blue Mango team. Johri hopes to take the idea forward with other celebrities. “We have a template, so after Shah Rukh this format is something we will build up on,” he said.

Ruchira Raina, managing director of Dentsu Communications and Dentsu Media, said while the show may not be able to put DT&L at par with bigger general entertainment channels, it would give a spike to its viewership.

“The loyal viewers will surely lap it up and at the same time it would pull curious onlookers as well,” Raina said.

Manas Mishra, executive vice-president of Mudra Connext, said Discovery’s advertising rates for the show are not high enough to recover costs. “At Rs25,000-30,000 for 10 seconds, the DT&L show on Shah Rukh Khan cannot make enough money to pay for the nearly Rs25 crore production budget. It must have other revenue streams.”

Johri said recovering the investment would not be an issue as the channel holds the rights to the series. “It can be monetized on our other channels globally,” he said.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan isn't intimidated by the full body-scan machines that have been recently installed at London's airports - in fact, he's been signing off printouts of his X-rays.

Khan, appearing on 'Friday Night With Jonathan Ross' - one of British television's most popular weekend shows - revealed he's been turning the controversial security machines into a public relations opportunity at London's Heathrow airport.

"I'm always stopped by the security, because of the name. And I think its okay: the western world is a little bit worried, paranoid and touchy, I guess - and feely when they're frisking you," Khan told his celebrity chat show host moments after explaining how his new film is about a Muslim named Khan on a mission to tell the US president he is not a terrorist.

"I was in London recently going through the airport and these new machines have come up, the body scans. You've got to see them. It makes you embarrassed - if you're not well endowed.

"You walk into the machine and everything - the whole outline of your body - comes out."

Khan said he did not know that the body-scans - installed in the wake of last year's abortive Christmas Day bombing of a transatlantic flight over Detroit - showed up every little detail of one's body.

"I was a little scared. Something happens [inside the scans], and I came out.

"Then I saw these girls - they had these printouts. I looked at them. I thought they were some forms you had to fill. I said 'give them to me' - and you could see everything inside. So I autographed them for them."

Khan became the first Bollywood star to be invited on 'Friday Night With Jonathan Ross' after Shilpa Shetty in 2007, following her controversial appearance on Channel Four's 'Celebrity Big Brother', where the late British reality TV star Jade Goody was accused of bullying her.

But the Indian star, who is here for the London premier of his new film 'My Name is Khan', said he was "a little tense" because of threats by Shiv Sena activists in Mumbai to stop screenings of the film.

"I didn't say much. All I said was that we are Indians and we should welcome everyone with open arms into our country. We cannot say 'No, this country's people can't come or that country's people can't come'," said Khan.

"It's been blown out of proportion, and now they're stopping my film and not allowing it to be released. I'm a little tense."

Khan was cheered wildly by the studio audience at the BBC show - an indication of the rising mainstream appeal of Bollywood films in Britain.

His 'Friday Night' appearance alongside popular British TV star John Barrowman and presenter Lorraine Kelly was thought to be the first by a Bollywood superstar on an international television show. Fittingly, the show ended with Khan, Ross and Kelly dancing Bollywood-style.

It's a rare event in Mumbai -- the Shiv Sena backing down. But that's what appears to have happened on Saturday, a day after the saffron group's bluster about holding protests against Rahul Gandhi's visit fizzled out in the face of the Congress leader's mass-contact move to board a local train to his meeting venues.

After the snub, the Sena, while maintaining it was still ideologically opposed to Shah Rukh Khan taking up the cause of including Pakistani players in IPL teams, said it won't disrupt screening of his next release, `My Name Is Khan'. In its first comment on the movie after Rahul's much-publicised train ride through Sena bastions, the party insisted that the actor, however, remained a "" in their eyes.

Both parties in the Shiv Sena-Shah Rukh Khan feud appeared to climb down without backing off completely from their stance amid talk that a Bollywood actor had played mediator between the Sena and the actor.

Khan's comments, after he touched down in Mumbai on Saturday morning, were also more guarded than those he had made abroad. Not once did he say he had said anything wrong -- when he commented on Pakistani players not being picked for IPL teams (his own team did not pick any) -- but he made the right noises to indicate that he was not interested in taking the war of words forward in the run-up to the release of his film on February 12.

But the Sena's climbdown was more spectacular despite the potshots it took at the Congress and Khan. In an editorial in Saamna, Sena chief Bal Thackeray said: "The Congress is free to rule the country in the manner it thinks is proper. Let Pakistan carry on its terrorist activity in Mumbai and let Shah Rukh Khan release his film with the blessings of the Gandhi dynasty. The Sena will not do anything."

Sena CEO Uddhav Thackeray told TOI on Saturday: "Why should the Sena alone stick its neck out on terrorism or regional pride? Pak-sponsored terrorism is a major threat to India and Mumbai's security.

However, the Congress leaders are not willing to take a firm stand on these issues as they believe in taking orders from 10 Janpath. Other political parties too keep mum on this sensitive issue. So why should Shiv Sainiks suffer police excesses and imprisonment? Matoshree, after all, is also on the hit list of Pak terrorists."

SRK, on his part, said it was sad that his remarks on Pakistani cricketers in IPL had been misconstrued. Asked if he would go to Matoshree to explain his position, Khan said Bal Thackeray was a senior leader and he had gone to his residence whenever he was called. "I have been there so often. Yes, I would like to go and have a drink with him," he said. But he also said he did not think the current issue merited any conversation. "If my stand needs to be explained to someone, I have already done it. I don't think there is an issue on that front," he said.

Khan, however, left a window open for conversation. "If there has been any misunderstanding, let's be gracious and let's talk it out... I think what I said was misconstrued. I am what I am because of Mumbai and I would like everyone in Mumbai to be happy. I think what is happening is very unfortunate. I think all the groups also want Mumbaikars to be happy. Then why create this kind of atmosphere?"

Asked why his own team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, had not picked any Pakistani player, the actor said his team was keen on taking Abdul Razzaq. "But my coach informed me later that he had a finger injury. There was a slot available but one should also take into consideration the prevailing atmosphere," he added.

He, however, refused to comment on the reasons for the Sena backing off. "I really don't know that and cannot comment on a group's thinking or working pattern. But I am thankful that now the film will be released without any stress. There are 250 people involved in the film. I am really happy to know that me and my film are being taken as two different entities," he said.

He also said arts, sports and culture could help build ties with other countries and should be encouraged. Told that Thackeray had called him a traitor, the actor said, "It feels really awkward for me to explain that I am an Indian and not a bad one and love my country. I don't need to prove it to anyone."

"I really felt like crying when I was being questioned for being a regular Indian. It hurt me even more when my daughter called and asked me, ‘Papa, do we have to leave India?' I had to send my wife, Gauri, back to be with the children," he added.

Politics and entertainment seems to be working hand to hand these days. With Shiv Sena targeting ‘My Name Is Khan,’ Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has openly came out in support of SRK and the leaders have even watched the film in special screening.

The members of the BJP and other political parties saw SRK’s latest movie at a special screening organised in New Delhi.

Chetan Chauhan, former cricketer and BJP leader, said, "Politics and films should be kept separate. It's an unnecessary controversy. There is no need for all this."

BJP is said to have been portraying more secular image by doing so.

King Khan took over New York City earlier this week when he came to promote his new movie "My Name is Khan," with his co-star Kajol, but he was also asked about recently joining Twitter.

And Shahrukh Khan admitted that instead of using Twitter as a social network tool to post short updates about his whereabouts, he uses is to chat with fans who ask him all kinds of questions!

"I'm shy but one night Karan Johartold me to do it so I said ok and I did it. Once I came on I was touched to see that I had so many people following me," SRK revealed.

"I've never had so many questions since I was interrogated at Newark Airport!" he added jokingly in reference to last year's incident when the King of Bollywood, just like his character in "My Name is Khan," was detained at a U.S. airport and questioned for hours.

Well we're happy to see that Shahrukh has not lost his good sense of humor amid all the controversy!

Are you following Shahrukh Khan on Twitter? Drop us a line.

After landing in Mumbai, with huge security at the airport to ensure his safety, Shah Rukh Khan said, "I am proud to be an Indian." He also said that he will talk to the Shiv Sena, if invited. When asked if he would meet Bal Thackeray, he said, "If Bal Thackeray will call me, I will meet him anytime. I enjoy his company."

Shah Rukh Khan said, "I am very proud to be an Indian. If I say anything it will be misconstrued and further turned around, let me not even use big words. I am pro relationship with countries, which was misconstrued. I am what I am because of Mumbai."

Referring to the Shiv Sena's war against him, Khan said, "Let's be patient and talk it out. If I say anything it will be misconstrued and further turned around, let me not even use big words. I am pro relationship with countries, which was misconstrued. I am what I am because of Mumbai."

The Sena has threatened to block the release of SRK's new film, My Name is Khan, because of Khan's comments on Pakistani cricketers.

On Saturday, Sena chief Bal Thackeray wrote in the party's mouthpiece Saamna that the Sena would not stop the screening of My Name is Khan, as threatened earlier. However, Sena leaders later said that Thackeray's editorial was sarcastic, and their threats against the film stand.

Thackeray wrote, "How do we awaken this Congress party? This is how you rule. So go ahead. Let Shah Rukh Khan show his film My Name Is Khan without security. Traitors with the blessings of the Congress go ahead, the Shiv Sena will not block you."

Earlier this week, cinema owners in Mumbai received letters and phonecalls from the Sena, warning them to remove posters publicizing the film. They were also told not to screen the film unless Shah Rukh apologises.

In London, a few days ago, Khan, at a presser, said that was not likely to happen. "What should I retract", he asked, "that I'm an Indian? I think what I said is true of any person from any nation from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, America, England. That's how I think we've all been brought up. You say 'ok, my country is nice, I'm very proud of it, I'm very proud to have been born there and I wish a lot of people come to my country and participate in the goodness of my country.' If that is wrong then I think I need to relook (sic) at what my children are studying right now. I need to even ask people who think the statement is wrong 'do they have an issue with the schools their children are going to?' Because that's what they are being taught also. It's not a stand or a statement against anyone. It's actually, sort of what I individually feel and normally when a film is releasing - and I won't comment on this on a larger scale, because, it's nice for a Hindi film hero who is thought of as an icon to say this, but it scares me to say anything, because our stakes are very high. I'm really sorry. I would like to apologize to Karan Johar (the director), I apologise to Kajol and I'm immensely sorry to all our business partners that because of what I say or what I believe in the film and the work is going to be affected."