SRK is amongst many who felt the shock of the Mumbai attack very deeply – not least because he is a Muslim man with a Hindu wife. In Karan Johar’s new movie, My Name is Khan, he hopes to dispel many of the myths about Islam that pervade society. However, audiences shouldn’t run away with the idea that this is going to be a preachy or heavy film. With the Karan Johar stamp it’s certain to be a three-hour flight of fantasy. The film also sees SRK re-united with his on-screen jodi Kajol. It’s currently filming in the US.
It also looks as though SRK has rescued the Yash Raj camp with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. After a cautious start, the film has been given the thumbs up by audiences and critics alike. It’s the first SRK-Aditya Chopra collaboration in eight years. Although it doesn’t really break any new ground, it’s fun to see SRK in a double-role, injecting twice as much energy than he usually does in a movie if that were possible – and especially fun to see him fighting a sumo wrestler – and Anushka Sharma charms your socks off. SRK talks very warmly of her: “I feel responsible for her career because she is starting off with me. I hope she does a fantastic job. She kept me on my toes, not just by virtue of being fresh and new, but by being taller than me also.”
Adi has experimented in this movie in a number of ways. The plot focuses strongly on just three, putting a good deal of pressure on the lead actors – and also there’s the SRK Everyman character, a long way from his usual cheeky cherubic romantic hero look. “I think the most memorable part was the first seven-eight days when I changed my look,” he says, “When I walked on the set, nobody recognised me. I got a taste of things that will come 30 years later in my life when I will no longer be a star and nobody will recognise me.”
