After Ram Gopal Varma shelved his Time Machine with Shah Rukh Khan in favour of Amitabh Bachchan-starrers – Nishabd and Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay, Shah Rukh was naturally upset with the filmmaker. Taking this a step further, Khan has decided not to attend a forthcoming film awards ceremony in Dubai this month, of which Amitabh is the brand ambassador. Abhishek Bachchan is expected to walk the ramp with Aishwarya Rai as a surprise act during the awards. SRK, who has never openly talked about any rivalry with the Bachchans, has preferred to avoid the function though. “Shah Rukh holds Amitabh in high esteem, and he is friendly with Abhishek too. But off late, there has been some professional discord between them, which they are trying to sort out,” says a close associate of Shah Rukh.
When the functions officials extended an invite to Shah Rukh, he politely declined the offer saying he wouldn’t be able to attend the function due to prior commitments. The award organisers believed that he would be busy shooting for Farhan Akhtar’s Don. However, Akhtar’s shoot is expected to wrap up by next week, after which Shah Rukh is expected to leave for a family holiday.
Incidentally, most SRK loyalists are boycotting the award ceremony too. When contacted, choreographer and filmmaker Farah Khan, a very close friend of Shah Rukh, said, “I am not attending the award function because I will be busy with Sajidbhai’s film Jaaneman.” (Which is directed by her husband Shirish Kunder). When asked about Shah Rukh, she added, “I think he will be holidaying with Gauri and the kids in London during the awards, so most likely he will have to skip the ceremony.” Another Shah Rukh loyalist, Karan Johar, will also be skipping the ceremony. “I think you should ask Karan, but as far as I know he will be busy with the post-production work of his film Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, which is slated for an August release,” says Farah. Even Priyanka Chopra is not expected to be present at the award show. “Priyanka is working with SRK and she needs to be in his good books,” says a source.
Incidentally, when Shah Rukh was asked about problems with Abhishek during the shooting of KANK, he had brushed it off, saying, “I don’t have many scenes with Abhishek. I have seen his performance and he is doing really well. I have known him before he became a star, I know him as Amitji’s son. I am also fond of Shweta and her daughter. I always tell Jaya aunty that her kids are the most well-mannered in the industry. Gauri is very fond of Abhishek and he visits us often. He is very much a part of our family.” But this relationship seems to have soured after the Time Machine fiasco with Varma.
Talking about vacations, Shah Rukh Khan is off to one of his favourite cities – London – with his family. But he’s looking at another destination, not so much for holidaying, though. He’ll be doing a bit of a detour and spinning off to the Caribbean for a stage show organised by his buddy, Chunky Pandey. And we all know how the King Khan stretches his arms for his friends, and rarely turns down a friendly request. Of course, he has a huge fan-following out there, and watching fans going into a frenzy is a high for any superstar. Coincidentally, even the Indian cricket team is in the West Indies, and Shah Rukh Khan is a big cricket fan. So if he extends his stay a wee bit, he just might be able to catch the second series. If that happens, it will be quite a ‘field’ day for Shah Rukh Khan!
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