Shah Rukh ‘Khan’ grilled at New York airport

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was detained early on Saturday at the New York airport in the US for as long as two hours. Thanks to his surname ‘Khan’ that features on the alert list after the 9/11 attacks. Shah Rukh is on a visit to the US to attend an Indian Independence Day event as the guest of honour.

The actor was detained after his name flashed on the computer. King Khan was asked several questions about the purpose of his visit. His luggage was checked and he was not even allowed to make a single phone call for about an hour. He was finally released after intervention from Congress MP Rajiv Shukla, who spoke to the authorities in the US.

“I told them I was a movie star and had recently visited the country for the shooting of my film. Nothing seemed to convince the immigration officer. There were other immigration officers who even vouched for me but this particular officer did not listen to anyone. I even told them I had an invitation from the South Asian community and was there to attend an event,”said SRK.

This episode comes at a time when SRK is wrapping up Karan Johar’s ‘My Name Is Khan’, a film that touches upon the same issue- that of the minority being targeted for no fault of theirs only because of suspicion and no solid proof.

SRK listed among the 50 Most Powerful People

After conquering Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan has now been ranked at the 41st spot among the 50 most powerful people in the world by the prestigious Newsweek magazine, with Barack Obama topping the list. The other Indian besides the King Khan in the list happens to be the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who's at the 17th spot.

The magazine describes SRK as 'King of Bollywood', a title that every cinegoer is aware of. The magazine also stated that 'It's not just that his romantic flicks make gazillions, it's where those gazillions come from. Khan is huge in the Muslim world, even in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the mullahs ban his films. Their main appeal is certainly the song-and-dance numbers, but Khan makes devoutly secular films where love trounces bigotry.

Now with even the Newsweek in his kitty, one is simply left wondering as to what will be the King's next conquest.

SRK at Nach Baliye 4

Aamir's rivalry with SRK continue to Brands.

Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan's rivalry is well known at the box office. Shah Rukh has always claimed that he is the King of the box office whereas Aamir has always let his work speak for itself. If Shah Rukh gave Om Shanti Om and Chak De last year, then Aamir surprised everyone with his directorial debut, Taare Zameen Par.

Now, the two have taken their rivalry to another level -- brands. While Shah Rukh is the brand ambassador of Dish TV, Aamir is representing Tata Sky. And like Shah Rukh, Aamir takes his responsibilities seriously. On Tuesday afternoon, the actor was present at the brand's product launch.

To a question to Aamir whether it becomes more difficult for him to act in advertisements when his adversary is Shah Rukh and Aamir said, "I don't follow others. I do what I feel is right. I only concentrate on what I have to do."

Asked if his brand was more for classes than the masses, Aamir replied, "That is not true. I believe in quality of the brand that is being promoted. I am a mass hero and I too have mass appeal."

Shah Rukh Khan is the brand ambassador of Linc Pen and Plastics

Linc Pen and Plastics is all set to rope in Shah Rukh Khan its brand ambassador. “We want to aggressively market our brand in the western region where Shah Rukh is popular and it is possible only through brand endorsements,” said company MD Deepak Jalan.

Mr Jalan, however, declined to quantify the endorsement fee that King Khan would get. “We will spend Rs 8 crore this year for advertising and marketing,” he said.

Linc accounts for less than 5 per cent of the Rs 504-crore western India market for writing instruments. Pan-India, the company has an 8-9 per cent marketshare with Cello and Reynolds being the major competitors. The pen industry in India is worth Rs 2,100 crore, Mr Jalan said.

Like all other sectors, the pen industry in India is also hit by rising input costs. Mr Jalan said the company would keep in mind raw material prices, which have gone up 10-15 per cent, while launching new products. Linc is expected to launch a premium segment pen this year.

Linc is also looking at exports to the Middle East and to South American countries after facing the impact of US and UK slowdown. The company’s exports totalled Rs 39 crore last fiscal year. Linc sells 1.5 million pens daily of which about a fifth is exported. It’s total revenue is Rs 177.20 crore.

Shubh expresses his gratitude to the King Khan

Shubh, who is making his debut in the film Aasmaan is a newcomer with some difference.Whatever this talented actor-dancer from Delhi has achieved in life so far is only because of his talent and will power!

Shubh learnt the ropes of dancing from ace choreographer Shiamak Davar and happens to be one of his favourite disciple. “I am so happy that without any film connections, I was able to get this break and today my first film is all set for release!

And I am really thankful to Shah Rukh Khan for this,” says Shubh. How come? “As a youngster I had always harboured the dream to become an actor.

However, nobody in my family is remotely connected to films. I had no clue how to realise my dream! Then when I was in school in Delhi, I happened to go to a party with my father which was also attended by Shah Rukh Khan! I approached him and asked him how could I realise my ambition?

Shah Rukh heard me out patiently and even though he did not know me personally, he spent more than an hour giving me some valuable tips!

He told me that there was no shortcut to success and since I don’t come from a filmi family my path to stardom was going to be more difficult, but it was achievable! He said ‘If I can make it, than any talented person can make it. The trick is to be focused, persistent and give it your best shot.’ I decided to follow his advice seriously and today I am almost on the verge of realising my dream and for this I would like to thank Shah Rukh,” says Shubh