IIFA 2011 Awards: Shah Rukh Khan's 5 best moments

The International Indian Film Academy Awards or IIFA Awards which took place in Toronto, Canada last weekend, are neither the Indian Oscars nor a complete representation of Indian cinema.

They are simply the best of what Bollywood has to offer and the ones which have helped attract foreign funds into the industry.

IIFA overrides the critically acclaimed National Awards for acting and panders to Bollywood's best, but also worst values like sycophancy, nepotism and actors' delusions of eternal youth.

Actor Amitabh Bachchan, IIFA brand ambassador until recently when hero Salman Khan replaced him, didn't attend at all and therefore, presumably, neither could his entire immediate family of actors including wife, son and daughter-in-law.

More on CNNGo: Aishwarya pregnant, India goes gaga

Meanwhile actor Shah Rukh Khan's seeming single-minded desire to dominate an entire industry forever, took front and center stage.

King Khan's presence was all-consuming the night of June 25. He was on stage for much of the night, bagged the best actor award for a film nobody liked and performed in the grand finale too.

Khan had his picture taken while bowing and kissing Hilary Swank's hand, touching Dharmendra's feet and even had a weird encounter with a fan who scrambled up on stage.

The 45-year-old actor used the global platform to remind the world that he's the biggest, best and perhaps even the 'youngest' member of Bollywood today.

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Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is as busy as ever, signing new projects and promoting home productions

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is as busy as ever, signing new projects and promoting home productions. In fact, he hasn’t been getting much sleep due to the intense work being put in on his pet project Ra.One. Thankfully, his other productions are being taken care of, such as how Roshan Abbas has held the reigns for Always Kabhi Kabhi. This most recent SRK production release is about high school kids, sending SRK back to his own school day memories. His schooling at St. Columba’s in Delhi was a very strict one, unlike the carefree filmi portrayals. “When I see Aryan and Suhana, I realize schools have become easier now. You couldn’t be a badmaash (truant) in my school.”

Shah Rukh has also signed on for Yash Chopra’s next directorial venture. The film will be a romance co-starring both Katrina Kaif – her first time opposite SRK – and Anushka Sharma. Leave it to Yash Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan to bring love and romance back into Indian cinema. But would you believe it that SRK feels strange these days enacting romantic scenes? “Nowadays, I sometimes feel strange doing certain things I have done well in the past. I have to convince myself that I can still do this and pull it off.”

If Yash Chopra’s next isn’t enough to get fans excited, there are several other projects in the works. Shah Rukh has been looking into the script of Xtrme City to be helmed by none other than Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese. “Yes, I met Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio in Berlin. They, including Paul Schrader, are very happy with the script. A few days ago, I sent them a mail saying that I’m going to read it, and we hope everything turns out well.”

The other project that SRK is keen to sign – once work on Ra.One has finished – is Vishal Bharadwaj’s Two States. At this point he is unsure who will be cast opposite him in the film, though names such as Asin and Priyanka Chopra have been making the rounds.

Of course the Baadshah’s fans have a lot to look forward to at the end of this year with the release of both Ra.One and Don 2. “While Ra.One is very technically slick, Don 2 will be very tough, and I call it a macho film.” And what about rumours about Ra.One’s skyrocketing budget? “There might be a year when my big films don’t do well, so I won’t have money to produce smaller films. But if a big one like Om Shanti Om does well, I can produce Billu, which in a way did well for us in terms of money too. As long as I have that freedom, I will continue this way.” SRK fans surely have no complaints to make with that!

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It’s a November baby: Abhishek Bachchan

A day after Amitabh Bachchan tweeted, “Aishwarya is expecting”, HT Café had consulted medical practitioners on the due date going by recent pictures of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The experts believed that Baby B would make an appearance close to mother Aishwarya’s birthday, November 1.
Paa-to-be, Abhishek Bachchan confirms the news: “We’ve not been given a date yet, but yes, it is a November baby. That will take the number of November borns in the Bachchan family to six, starting with my grandfather Harivansh Rai Bachchan, my father-in-law Krishnakant Rai, Aishwarya, my nephew Agastya and my pet dog Shanook.”

Abhishek will not be taking any paternity leave from the shoot of Bol Bachchan, but since he will be filming in the city, he’s not unduly
perturbed. “I will be with Aishwarya when she delivers. I can’t wait to hold our baby,” he beams, admitting that he’d like a daughter first, and another baby later.

“I believe in the concept of ‘Hum do hamare do’ (two for the two of us). Like my parents, I too want two kids. Right now, I’m praying for a healthy baby and if it’s a daughter, I hope she looks like her mother.” Explaining why he chose to let his father make the big announcement, Abhishek points out that it’s a family tradition, “When my mother was expecting my sister, Shweta, it was my grandfather who made the news official. So I couldn’t have taken that right away from my father.”

But now that the news is out, Abhishek says that like a tyrant producer he has sent his 68-year-old hero off to promote their movie, Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap. “Once this is over, I’ll pester him to guide me on how to become as good a father as he is,” says the actor. “Maa (Jaya Bachchan) and Aishwarya get along like a house on fire.” “She had tears in her eyes when the doctors confirmed the news. In a few weeks, I’m sure she will get cracking on what Aishwarya needs to be fed.”

Will Ash continue to work after the baby? Or will she take a sabbatical like Jaya did? “Maa didn’t stop working after Shweta was born, but after I came along, she cut down on films. Aishwarya has that choice too. No one is ever going to force her to work or quit. Penelope Cruz worked on Pirates Of The Carribean with a baby in her womb. Hundreds of women work when they are expecting and lactating. It’s my wife’s call. For now, she’s pregnant and happy,” he smiles.

He also refutes rumours that Rajkumar Santoshi was replacing Aishwarya with Preity Zinta in Ladies And Gentleman, saying that the filmmaker has decided to start the film only when Aishwarya is ready to resume. “Ladies And Gentleman will feature Aishwarya and me,” he adds.

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Aamir Khan Productions, which flagged off with Lagaan (2001), has completed a decade

Aamir Khan Productions, which  flagged off with Lagaan (2001), has completed a decade. And its last three films — Peepli Live (2010), Dhobi Ghat (2011) and now Delhi Belly — have come with an ‘A’ certificate, sparking off speculation that actor-producer Aamir, known for his ‘clean family
entertainers’, has switched tracks.
He denies it, arguing that a creative person should have the freedom to make the kind of films he believes in. “And I’m a responsible producer. If a film is meant for adults, it should be censored accordingly. Dhobi Ghat was passed with a ‘U/A’ certificate despite a few expletives, but I didn’t want parents to come with their eight year olds for it. So I got it re-censored with an ‘A’ certificate knowing that I was reducing my audience by half, perhaps a first in Hindi cinema,” Aamir informs.
On Delhi Belly, both the censors and he amicably agreed on an ‘A’ certificate, with both parties not comfortable with kids under 18 viewing it. “My son Junaid can see it but my daughter Ira will have to wait till she’s 18,” he says, pointing out that while other producers tuck away the ‘A’ in a corner, the Delhi Belly print ads have ‘Adults Only’ written prominently across.

The film has ‘potty’ humour, explicit sex scenes, cuss words and a controversial chartbuster, ‘Bhaag DK Bose…’, supposedly inspired by Dolly Bindra’s gaalis on Bigg Boss. “Yeah it does,” agrees Aamir, “but there’s not that much of ‘potty’, no skin show, some expletives and definitely no Dolly. I’m told she was on some show but I don’t watch much TV.”

Imran, one of the lead actors, endorses that and says that within minutes of hearing the song, he knew it would be a “huge hit” and spark off a “huge controversy” too. He reasons, “Anything associated with youth culture that is cool and new-wave has ignited protests, whether it was Elvis and his pelvic thrusts or rock music and its free-love mantra. I wasn’t surprised by the attacks on Aamir and the film, but our youthful target audience has connected with the song and the film.”

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Hydrocodone Demand Spurs Increase in Robberies

Pharmacies are seeing a “growing problem” with individuals willing to resort to violent means to gain access to painkillers like hydrocodone.

There are a few causes behind the spate of frightening crimes like the recent incident on Long Island in which the perpetrator shot four people dead during a theft of 10,000 hydrocodone pills. One is a growing number of uninsured Americans, many of whom have chronic pain or painkiller dependencies. Another is an FDA crackdown on online pharmacies.

Pharmacist Greg Hamby described a recent hydrocodone theft incident:

“…The gentleman walked in and proceeded to walk behind the counter and held one of the clerks at knife point and demanded that he give him some hydrocodone… Many times of course people can lose jobs and with certain things with health care we see lack of insurance now,” adds Hamby.
But Hamby says he does not see an end to the problem’s reach:

“It seems to me the situation is becoming worse. It’s becoming more focused people less able to afford less money in the family budget.”
Pharmacies are beginning to implement zombie apocalypse-type security measures like metal shutters to keep workers safe from violent theft of painkillers like hydrocodone.

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