SRK Reality Show And The Khan Factor

There is a third story floated by insiders at the channel which is that the channel wanted an extension of the show and when Salman Khan disagreed they had to as per the contract alter the title of the show to “Bigg Boss Halla Bol” and looked for a more controversial face Farah Kahn to host the show. Not sure which of the above three theories is true but something tells me that Salman Khan will not be associated with the show or the channel in future kyon ki ek baar bhai ne commitment kar di phir wo apne aap ki bhi nahi sunta.

On to reality shows, Shah Rukh Khan will soon be seen on the small screen again. No, he is not hosting the new season of “Kaun Banega Crorepati” and Star Plus is not reviving “Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tez Hain” either but a new quiz show “Sabse Shaana Kaun” will star Shah Rukh Khan as a host and apparently what appealed to SRK about the show is that all he needs to do as a host is to charm his audience.

He said he doesn’t have to be knowledgeable on the subject a la Bachchan on KBC or interact with participants a la Salman on BB or raise issues a la Aamir Khan on SMV in short the new show is tailor made for Shah Rukh Khan. Siblings Saqib Salem and Huma Qureshi have been offered to play siblings on screen and the roles are so good that they could not refuse.

They will come together for the Hindi remake of “Oculus” a psychological thriller about a brother and sister caught amidst bizarre occurrences. I think it is a super casting. In the olden days dancer Mumtaz and comedian Mehmood Ali starred in a number of films tog e t h e r, now maybe the Qureshi siblings can start a trend too. Fawad Khan who made his debut with Sonam Kapoor in “Khoobsurat” will be seen romancing other heroines like Priyanka Chopra in Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Madamji” and also Kareena Kapoor in “Udta Punjab” by Abhishek Chaubey.

The role was earlier offered to Ayushman Khurana but now Fawad has replaced Ayushmann Khurana. In cinema parlance many actors are considered for a role but it belongs to the one who plays it! Hero of “Ugly” Rahul Bhatt must have never imagined that he will get to romance Katrina Kaif in a film made by Abhishek Kapoor one day but he is in “Fitoor”, a modern day adaptation of Charles Dicken’s ‘The Great Expectations’ and again the same role was earlier offered to Saif Ali Khan but it was Rahul Bhatt who got to play the role.

Abhay Deol who has gone through many highs and lows and frequently gone underground after a failure at the box-office will identify with that. Coming back after along break with “Cocktail’s” Diana Penty in “Happy Bhag Jayegi” let’s hope iske baad Abhay kabhi kahi nahi bhaag jaye. In contrast is international actor Ridhima Sud making her debut in Hindi cinema with Zoya Akhtar’s “Dil Dhadakne Do”.

Ridhima has signed a three film deal with Shoojit Sarkar-John Abraham production and finished shooting one already. Ridhima made her debut in Hollywood with the Oscar nominated, “Ballad of Rustom” and was also a part of Julia Roberts’ “Eat Pray Love” production team.

Are you surprised Zoya spotted her and Shoojit Sarkar confirmed her? Sometimes replacements create distance. Years ago when Aishwarya Rai was replaced by Rani Mukerji for Shahrukh Khan Productions’ “Chalte Chalte” none of SRK loyalists worked with the green eyed beauty which included Karan Johar. But time is a great healer and now Rai will be making her debut in Dharma Productions’ “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” apparently a remake of “Doosra Aaadmi” with Ranbir Kapoor playing his dad’s role and Aishwarya Rai playing Raakhee.

Anushka Sharma is signed to play Ranbir’s wife in the film originally played by his mother Neetu Singh. Scheduled for a 2016 release this will be Dharma’s second remake of Yash Raj film, the first was “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna” inspired from “Silsila”.

The nation woke up to a vulnerable Deepika Padukone when she confessed to going through depression during the shooting of “Happy New Year”. She became a hero in the eyes of her fans and even though her detractors called it publicity stunt those working with her revealed stories of her sensitivity.

It seems one day Deepika while rehearsing for a show miscalculated a step which resulted in a co-dancer falling on the floor and breaking his watch. Deepika noticed that the dancer was distraught about losing his watch and so the next day presented him with a designer watch. Sweet!

Bhawana Somaaya