RNBDJ: Sukhwinder is Shah Rukh's voice again!

'Chaiyya Chaiyya', 'Kuch Kariye' and 'Dard-e-Disco'! So, why are we mentioning the hit numbers of King Khan, rendered by the matchless, Sukhwinder Singh? Well, there is a reason and a very good one too!

It is a well known fact that whenever Sukhwinder has lent his vocals for a song picturised on Shah Rukh Khan, it has turned out to be a blockbuster. Whether, it was the entertaining dance number atop a train, 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' (DIL SE) or the most recent 'Dard-e- Disco' (OM SHANTI OM), the Sukhwinder-SRK 'jodi' has always belted out chart-scorchers! And now the good news is that the same 'jodi' is back once again to enthrall us all and this time around the composers are the talented duo, Salim-Sulaiman. Yes, it is the same combination that gave us the (unofficial) National Sports anthem, 'Kuch Kariye' (CHAK DE! INDIA) which can be heard even now at almost every victory celebrations featuring Indian teams.

Well, Salim-Sulaiman has once again roped in Sukhwinder Singh to render two of their compositions, to be picturised on Shah Rukh Khan in Aditya Chopra's upcoming RAB NE BANA DI JODI. One hears that the songs were recorded recently and news is that they are both awesome tracks!

SRK vs Akki, this Diwali!

The 'Billo Barber'- 'Chandni Chowk to China' clash will make the loudest boom, this Diwali.

With Salman Khan's 'Yuvraaj' getting postponed beyond the festival season, trade pundits had expected a cakewalk for the Shah Rukh Khan starrer. But that was before Akshay KUmar decided to hop in! It is now going to be a showdown between the King of Bollywood and the Challenger!

The Akshay Kumar-starrer, 'Chandni Chowk To China', was supposed to arrive a week later, on October 29, but Akki has given in to his ambitions, and ordered a 'pre-ponement'. Warner Bros., Rohan Sippy and Nikhil Advani have, obviously, nodded in agreement.

SRK has a cluster headache, regarding his film, for Rajnikanth-starrer 'Kuselan, a flick of the same feather, would have already hit the screens before Billo cuts in.

Rajnikanth, who commands a sizeable fan following in Mumbai, is planning to carpet-bomb the city with the prints of 'Kuselan'.

Source: Bollywood Hungama

Imran Khan to star alongside SRK!!

Imran Khan's implausible performance in JAANE TU...has impressed one and all. All the biggie filmmakers of Bollywood are looking forward to work with the young lad.

And one such filmmaker is Karan Johar. If the buzz is to be believed than Karan has approached B-town's latest heartthrob Imran Khan to essay the character of a terrorist in his forthcoming Shah Rukh Khan starrer film MY NAME IS KHAN where SRK will be seen in the role of a NRI who later resorts to terrorism because of the difficult circumstances he faces. According to the hearsay, initially Ranbir was approached for the role, who for some reasons refused to be a part of it, which Imran will play now.

Apparently when Karan saw JTYJN he got enthralled by Imran's work and at once decided to approach Imran for his next outing MY NAME IS KHAN. However it is heard that Imran is rather cautious than excited to star alongside Baadshah of Bollywood and has been seeking advice from mamu (Uncle) Aamir for that matter.

Send In The Clones

Harman Baweja’s ‘showcase’ debut has been ruined by a natural likeness to Hrithik Roshan, and his fashioning himself after the star has made it worse, says RAJEEV MASAND

CAN HARMAN Baweja reinvent himself, or is he destined to be remembered as a Hrithik Roshan clone for the rest of his life? That, really, is the only question the 27-year-old actor should be asking himself right now. It has been just a few days since his debut film, the Rs 40-crore behemoth Love Story 2050 came crashing down like a house of cards, taking poor Harman with it. Sitting there in the darkened theatre, I had waited to see what all the fuss was about. After all, this new young actor, for weeks leading up to the day of the film’s release, was being positioned as the Next Big Thing. Media pundits estimate that more than Rs 10 crore was spent on making Harman a household name — splashing his mug over hoardings and through television promos, events and live appearances.

Obviously, I was stunned into silence when Harman then made his first appearance in Love Story 2050, playing a poor little rich kid who smashes his dad’s fancy new car just to get attention. It was, possibly, the most embarrassing entry any actor could have been saddled with, and it was compounded by the lousy dialogue delivery — the lines sounded like they’d been written by a Class V student — and a blatant attempt to look exactly like Hrithik Roshan.

It was funny, because the Harman I’d met just a week or so before the release of the film had sounded desperate to shake off the lookalike reputation. “They used to say Shah Rukh looks like Dilip Kumar, and even Shahid Kapur was compared to Shah Rukh. So I know this won’t stick. Once they see me in my debut film, those comparisons will die a natural death,” he’d said at the time. Only, he was obviously wrong. Very wrong. The truth is that Harman seemed to have carefully studied Hrithik Roshan’s every move and twitch and duplicated it immaculately.

Perhaps what also works against Harman Baweja is that, unlike Shah Rukh Khan and Shahid Kapur, he also bears more than just a passing resemblance to Hrithik. The same angular face, hair styled right down to the razor-sharp sideburns, a lean physique with those bulging biceps.

BUT THAT wasn’t all. There was worse coming as Love Story 2050 unspooled. The debutant had schooled his voice to match Hrithik’s even timbre, thrown in two spectacle dances that showed off his fluidity, and had worn snug vests and shirts in a familiar, carelessly-unbuttoned fashion.

So, what’s the problem, you say? Well, all that dies a little death the moment Harman gets into the act. Just like the robotic lookalike with which he has a duel in the climax of the film, Harman himself is strangely devoid of emotion. Is this the guy that Ashutosh Gowariker has signed on for his film, What’s Your Rashi?, right after scoring a hit with Hrithik Roshan in Jodhaa- Akbar? Is this the fellow Sanjay Leela Bhansali believes will stand shoulder to shoulder with Amitabh Bachchan in his next production Chenab Gandhi?

If audience reaction is anything to go by, Harman has made no waves yet. “Yeh toh Hrithik ka duplicate hai (he is just Hrithik’s double),” said most people as they left the cinema at the end of those three gruelling hours. To add insult to injury, Harman’s on-screen chemistry with his real-life girlfriend Priyanka Chopra was as flat as a soda that had been sitting out too long. It might actually be a good thing if the couple insists that they’re just good friends. “Too much has been made about this girlfriendboyfriend thing. When either of us is ready to talk about it, we will,” Harman said cautiously, when I interviewed him.

Ironically, much of the blame for the film’s failure lies squarely on someone else’s shoulders. In the Hindi film industry, it is tradition for famous stars and filmmakers to launch their sons in showcase productions. Dharmendra had launched Sunny Deol in Betaab, and Bobby in Barsaat. Rajendra Kumar launched Kumar Gaurav in Love Story and Sunil Dutt made Rocky for Sanjay. Vinod Khanna gave Akshaye Himalayputra, and Feroz Khan gave Fardeen Prem Aggan. And who can forget Hrithik’s mega-launch in Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai?

Unfortunately for Harman, Harry Baweja has neither the means of Dharmendra, nor the instinct of Rakesh Roshan. Harry Baweja’s finest hour was in the mid-nineties, when he delivered surprise hits with B-grade actionromances such as Dilwale and Diljale. Why did any of us think Love Story 2050 would be any better?

If Harry and Harman Baweja hadn’t followed filmi tradition, and instead, had picked a more qualified director to do the job, I think it’s fair to say that this love story would have turned out different. Aren’t we all glad Rishi Kapoor didn’t insist on directing Ranbir’s debut film? Bhansali may have made a mess of Saawariya but nobody can accuse him of shortchanging Ranbir. Surely a better director would have tapped into Harman’s abundant confidence — the same confidence we saw in one engaging scene where he dodges bullies and slips under staircase railings while chasing after his lady love.

At the moment, it can’t be easy being Harman Baweja. He is an entirely likeable kid who studied acting at Lee Strasberg, and who assisted his dad for years before he decided to act. He has none of the attitude you’d associate with second-generation filmis. And to think that all it required was for him to just be himself.

One can only hope that Gowariker and Bhansali will take care of that in his next few films. Because it never pays to model yourself after a superstar. Not if you’re working towards being one yourself. Just ask Sneha Ullal. She’ll tell you.

RAB NE BANA DI JODI: No profit sharing for SRK!

After his European sojourn, Shah Rukh Khan is back in Bombay. He has resumed the shooting of Aditya Chopra's RAB NE BANA DI JODI, the project that brings back Aditya to the director's chair after a gap of almost eight years. The film that also features newcomer Anushka Sharma and actor Vinay Pathak, in an important role, is progressing briskly and on schedule. While on RAB NE BANA DI JODI, unlike the popular perception, Shah Rukh Khan has not demanded a share in the profits from Yash and Aditya Chopra. In fact, as usual King Khan has not even discussed money matters with the Chopras. For those who are not aware, Bollywood's global superstar far too understands to talk about his price when it comes to film makers like Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar, whom he considers as family. The fictitious stories about Shah Rukh Khan making big demands from Yash/Aditya Chopra for RAB NE BANA DI JODI and also from Karan Johar for KHAN are all a figment of the media's imagination!

Bollywood: Friends forever

The Guide's Bollywood columnist DEVANSH PATEL exclusively reviews the latest Indian cinema offering, Jaane Tu, a sweet film about the lives and loves of six inseparable friends
Friendship is a very fragile subject for a movie. Yet, some renowned directors and actors in the past have portrayed this beautiful relation in the most enigmatic way that one could imagine.
The portrayal of friendship on screen just brings the magic of friendship alive. Whether it is about lost friendship or friendship that has lasted through ages or friendship that has cultivated into love, movies of such genre have always enthralled audiences, young and old alike, and Jaane Tu is the best example of it.
It is a movie that sneaks up on you and grabs your heart before you know it. So, you might be thinking that I've already started praising the film just because I got a chance to meet and catch up with Imran Khan in London, along with the director Abbas Tyrewala last week and have to write good things about the film? Well, that's not the case here.
Written and directed by the well-known name in Bollywood, Abbas Tyrewala, the film centres around a group of college friends, Ranjhore ka Rathod Jai aka Rats (Imran Khan), Aditi the Kaali Billi aka Meow (Genelia D'Souza), Rotlu who never cries (Karan Makhija), Jiggy the Gujju Patel (Nirav Mehta), Shaleen (Sugandha Garg) and Bombs the tubelight (Alishka Varde).
The six of them may be inseparable but, more than anything, Jaane Tu is all about Jai and Aditi.
The story of their happy, difficult, passionate, inconvenient courtship and relationship is told by their friends - Rotlu, Jiggy, Bombs and Shaleen - to Jiggy's girlfriend Mala, who is an air hostess, hates airports and cannot understand what is she doing at the airport on a date with Jiggy.
The film cleverly kicks off with all four friends singing the old classic 'Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na...Maane Tu...Ya Maane Na' in the car while going to the airport to collect Rats and Meow - and the flashback begins: the college, the drama, the first crush, the insecurity, etc.
Jai and Aditi are such close buddies that everyone at the college, including their friends, and their parents think that they are seeing each other and will get married one day.
But that's not what the inseparable two think because their relationship is like chalk and cheese. While Jai is taught by his mother Savitri (Ratna Pathak Shah) to be a quiet, non-violent Gandhian and the complete opposite of what his father (Naseeruddin Shah) was, Aditi is more of a believer and a follower of 'Laaton ke bhoot, baaton se nahin maante' (One who doesn't get convinced by words needs to be convinced by kicks).
Yet they accentuate and complement one another and so both decide to find a suitable match for the other.
Enter Meghna (Manjari Phadnis). Jai falls head-over-heels for this leggy lady and wins her heart by saving her from the two Marlborough Men - the two Khans, and it's not Salman or Shahrukh!
While their relationship blossoms, Meow starts getting a bit insecure.
Now how many times have we seen this in Hindi films? To keep her promise, Aditi too finds for herself a fiancé (Ayaz Khan) who is well-built and would protect her from anything.
In a predictable and a clichéd narrative, both Meghna and Meow's fiancé find out that they are in the wrong relationship and split up with their respective partners.
Perhaps after reading this you might decide to carry a pack of tissues, but don't worry - you won't need it.
Jaane Tu isn't a film that makes you sob or makes you laugh out loud, but it is a film which makes you smile because of its sweet and uncanny characters, thoughtful and engaging narrative and its soulful music which takes you back to your college days.
What happens next is fairly obvious. To the airport? Sshhh, it a surprising finale.
Take a bow for the two leads Imran Khan and Genelia D'Souza who provide a rare melancholic entertainment about loneliness and friendship in an effortlessly appealing melange.
And casting both of them in such roles is a stroke of genius by debutant director Abbas Tyrewala, as he deftly utilizes Rats and Meow's appealing onscreen personas to make the audience connect with their roles.
And credit is due to the casting director Pakhi for picking up such a bunch of lunatics with whom you'll fall in love: Jiggy, Bombs, Shaleen and Rotlu fit their roles perfectly.
The script is an excellent farce with witty dialogue and astute observations about the importance of friendship in today's fast-paced society.
Writer and director Abbas Tyrewala keeps a firm hand on the material, maintaining a breezy comic tone and never allowing the film to nose dive into sickly sentimentality - something which other Bollywood films in the future will no doubt attempt to correct.
The music of the film makes the proceedings more enjoyable. How many times have you seen music directors giving interviews and conveying the message that the music carries the film forward and then fails to deliver?
For a change, Rahman proves it right. He not only carries the film forward but also reinvents himself by reminding the audience that he has aged but his music hasn't. 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi' and 'Pappu Can't Dance Saala' are the best examples of the maestro's youthfulness.
Add crisp cinematography, deft dialogues and excellent editing to make a perfect icing on the cake.
Overall, Jaane Tu is a really wonderful, rare film because it portrays, in a way that is both persistently funny and unflinchingly earnest, one of the most underrepresented but universal human emotions: the desire for friendship or platonic love.
Jaane Tu becomes not just a delight, but a thoughtful delight. Few films I can remember (except maybe Dil Chahta Hai, Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi) so directly address the nature of friendship and the illusion that our acquaintances and our friends are the same thing. That perhaps is something all of us might be well advised to examine.

SRK Konnection

Shah Rukh Khan may not be starring in Aziz Mirza’s Kismat Konnection, but he’s invisibly there in the project alright. This Shahid Kapur-Vidya Balan starrer has inputs galore from Mirza’s dear friend SRK. Said a source close to the film, “Shah Rukh and Juhi Chawla share a special bond with Aziz Mirza. They are like family to the Mirzas. Aziz considers them lucky for him”. Added our source, “Going by the comfort level and the rapport that the two share, Mizra had several meetings with Shah Rukh at his place, Mannat to discuss the script of Kismat Konnection .” Mizra’s directorial debut Circus starred Shah Rukh when he was a newcomer and since then, Mizra has worked with Shah Rukh films like Raju Ban Gaya Gentlema n (1992), Yes Boss (1997), Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) and Chalte Chalte (2003). When contacted, Mizra said, “Shah Rukh and I go back a long way. We always discuss ideas with each other. And so he gave me feedback on this film too. It is not a big deal.”

Maintain a power distance

King Khan: Where the brand is king

Jitender Dabas

Last week, the first part of this column posited that the consumer should not be king. Today, consumers’ scorn for brands seems to keep growing even as brands try harder and harder to keep them pleased. This disdain, postulates the writer in this concluding piece, is due to a mindset in Indian society where people believe they are superior or subordinate relative to their place in the social structure. To uphold their image, brands should put a certain distance between themselves and the consumer.

What has changed in the last few years is that the consumer has become more powerful because of the choices that he has today as a result of the service sector opening up to private players. But why has this led to the change in the value system of t he consumers?

The answer lies in the understanding of Indian social structure and the abilities of its sub-parts to handle power. Indian society is a pyramidal construction with the power gradient being steep between levels/classes. An age-old structure that Indians are very comfortable with. And the truth about a pyramidal structure is that in such a structure you either look up or look down at other people. There cannot be a third way, a relationship of equality. In such a structure either you rule or you are being ruled. Therefore the only relationships that the Indians have existed comfortably in are of either superior or subordinate.

Added to it is the historical experience of society handling power. There haven’t been too many instances in history of the middle class holding power in India. Whenever a part of the middle class has acquired power, suddenly those parts have generally displayed a change in behaviour which has been towards becoming rude. (The neo-rich class has at times tried to aggressively assert its dominance in an ugly way.)

By and large, mainstream Indians (or the middle class) are bad masters – they don’t know how to handle authority. We’ve never been good to people below us. We’ve never been too courteous to sections that perform menial tasks and in this regard we find that people in some of the Western societies are far more courteous to the bartender or the guy at the gate or the valet at the car park.

The Power Distance Theory

A more scientific understanding of this behaviour comes from the study of different cultures by Geert Hofstede on various dimensions. The Hofstede model of five dimensions of national cultures has analysed and differentiated societies from 50 countries on the basis of Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism, Masculinity and Long-Term Orientation. One of the dimensions on which the 50 countries were plotted and differentiated was the Power Distance Index (PDI)

Power Distance was defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. The most important bit is that it suggests that in a lot of societies the level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. All societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others. On the basis of how people in different cultures willingly accept or reject these inequalities the societies in 50 different countries have been classified as small and large power distance societies.

Some of the characteristics of a large power distance society are:

Power is a basic fact of society ante-dating good or evil: its legitimacy is irrelevant

Parents teach children obedience

Older people both respected and feared

Teacher-centered education

Hierarchy means existential inequality

Subordinates expect to be told what to do

Corruption frequent; scandals are covered up

Income distribution very uneven

Religions with a hierarchy of priests

India has Power Distance as the highest Hofstede Dimension for the culture, with a ranking of 77 as compared to the world average of 56.5. This score indicates a high level of inequality of power and wealth within the society. What is important to understand is that this condition is not subverted upon the population, but rather accepted by the population as a cultural norm.

This is where India completely differs from some of the Western cultures such as Sweden, Austria, the UK, the US and Australia who have very low PDI scores less than 40 and hence are classified as low power distance societies. Hence the relationships between entities there are more equal and less hierarchical.

Power distance between brands and consumers

What this means is that in the low power distance societies it is possible for brands to have the relationship of equality with the consumer. The brands can ascribe the status of ‘King’ to the consumer and yet retain the status of equal in the hierarchy. But not in a high power distance society such as India and the others. And therein, perhaps, lies the reason for the problems the service brands are facing in controlling their relationship with the consumers.

In the Western markets the consumercentric nature of brand management slowly evolved to putting the consumer at the centre of everything and started treating them as kings. But since these were all small power distance societies, even while treating the consumer as the ‘king’ the brands themselves didn’t have to compromise their own position.

Not so in a high PDI (Power Distance Index). In such cultures there can only be a hierarchical relationship between the consumer and the brand. The servile nature of the business puts the service brands at a disadvantage in consumer relationships, and over and above this when their ‘let the consumer be king’ model comes into force they completely become subservient to the consumer, leading them to start treating them with the same disdain they treat any subservient entity in their culture.

This explains why, as the service brands are falling over each other to please the consumer he is treating them with more and more contempt. Not that he dislikes being given importance but because that’s the only way he knows to treat his subject.

This also explains why the consumer was more respectful 10 years ago when he wasn’t treated too well by the State-owned brands. It is very simple. Intentionally or otherwise, the service providers then kept the power with themselves and the consumer, comfortable with being at the lower rung of the power equation, gave the brands the status of the ruler and was happy to be ruled.

But in today’s scenario, the brands have a serious challenge in front of them to retain their premiumness.

Can’t Be King: What does it mean?

It simply means the brands need to be always at a higher level of hierarchy than the consumer if they need to protect the premium-ness. If the choice has to be made then the brand should be the king.

So are there examples of brands that seem to be doing it right? Are there service brands that behave like kings and have people following them? Well, there are many such as Gymkhana Club and India Habitat Centre which enjoy high premium simply because of their exclusionist positioning. The most interesting case in point is Kingfisher Airlines which seems to be climbing fast on brand preference among fliers in India. The whole experience is built almost as an invite from the king to his private kingdom to enjoy the luxury. It offers you great service but keeps itself on a higher pedestal and doesn’t compromise its position in the whole equation. Therefore it is very much possible to keep the consumer at the centre without having to make him King.

What it does not mean

What needs to be understood is that this is not about treating the consumer disdainfully. The brands will need to provide the best of service but what they need to avoid is becoming too eager to please the customer. Across all consumer touch points we need to be careful about our status in the relationship.

The greater the number of humble telephone calls I receive from the customer service asking if I’m happy the more I will start asserting my ruler status on the brand.

The service brands need to be careful when they’re training their staff in the softer skills. They need to be told the difference between being polite and being servile. The CEOs of top companies should not appear in a servile avataar in TVCs even if they’re handling some delicate PR issue. I would always recommend the way Vijay Mallya invites you aboard his flight. That looks like a ‘King’ inviting you to his kingdom. The equation with the consumer is therefore stated clearly in the very beginning.

It is also not about being niche and mass. The argument that by increasing the power distance from your consumers you will become niche is also not correct. In fact, the brands with more power distance from their consumers will always be the bigger and more desired brands than others. Sonia Gandhi and Shah Rukh Khan are examples of two celebrities in India whose popularity has increased in direct proportion to their power distance from their consumers. And in market share terms they are bigger brands than any other in India.

After the telecom and financial services the next wave of service brands to hit Indian consumers will be from retail, entertainment and food services. Before they make plans to rule the market they need to decide who will rule the relationship.

Indian has a PDI of 77. But then there are countries such as Russia, Romania, Mexico, Bangladesh and others from the Arab world with PDI scores higher than 80. The service brands will have to make similar choices in those cultures as well. Other cultural dimensions will affect the overall consumer behaviour in each country but brands will have to decide which side of the power equation they want to be on.

Therefore, let the brand always be the King. Or at least the consumer should never be.

SRK to miss his Don sequel

SRK’s date-book is so packed that he hasn’t been able to allot dates for the sequel of his hit movie. Shah Rukh Khan’s date-book is so packed that he is scrambling for dates to shoot for Farhan Akhtar’s sequel to ‘Don’, the shooting of which was supposed to start in January next year. The film, as of now, has been delayed. Shah Rukh is currently shooting for ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ and then he will be busy with Priyadarshan’s ‘Billoo Barber’. After the above two films are over, Karan Johar has booked Shah Rukh’s dates for ‘My Name is Khan’ and then he will be busy with his own production ‘Happy New Year’ which is to be directed by Farah Khan. He will also be busy promoting his other venture that is an animation film titled ‘Ravan’. Insiders close to the project reveal that Shah Rukh really wants to do the film but to date; he has not found dates for Farhan.

'SRK would never say no to me' - Aziz Mirza

Shah Rukh Khan is known to go out of his way for old friends be it making special appearances in their films, giving them surprise gifts, or working for a nominal amount in their projects. On Monday night, the actor rushed to meet his mentor Aziz Mirza (who gave SRK his big break with Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman) the moment he returned from London.

Shah Rukh who was never supposed to be a part of Mirza's Shahid Kapur-Vidya Balan starrer Kismat Konnection has done a voiceover for the film.

Incidentally, Mirza earlier wanted Juhi Chawla, who plays a crystal ball reader in the film, to do the voiceover.

When asked about Shah Rukh's part in Kismat Konnection, Mirza said, "Yes, I'm proud to say that Shah Rukh is part of my film. One thing I'm very confident about is that he will be there for me anytime I need him. He will never say no to me. I needed him to do the voiceover for my film and he immediately agreed."

As for him wanting Juhi to do the voiceover, Mirza said, "Earlier, I thought Juhi should do the voiceover since she plays a crystal ball reader who discusses life and destiny."

But, things did not work out with Juhi as she felt that the visuals were too strong for a woman's voice. That's when Mirza called Shah Rukh.

Mirza added, "Shah Rukh had just landed from London when he rushed to do the voiceover for Kismat Konnection on Monday night at around 1.30 am. He completed the entire voiceover in no time at all.

That boy has an amazing energy level! I'm very fortunate to have Shah Rukh, Juhi and now Vidya and Shahid in my life. They're all my kids."