VEER Salman demonstrates his massy clout again!

Anil Sharma's VEER may not have done a GADAR, but it has definitely proved beyond doubt the box-office clout of its lead actor Salman Khan, and has re-established him as the darling of the masses.

It has also demonstrated that Salman's last hit WANTED was not a flash in the pan and that his hold over single screens is second to none and his fan base is very much intact.

For those who are unaware, VEER has done extremely well at single screens (it was aimed there, just like WANTED) and its first week business is definitely close on heels of Salman's last hit.

While WANTED netted over 34 crores from India, VEER too has an impressive 33 crores to show from its opening week, despite some bad reviews and poor word of mouth. The lag of a crore or so may be attributed to the fact that WANTED had the advantage of releasing during the festive Eid period.

Not only that, VEER has done almost similar business (though ordinary!) in the Overseas too.

Salman Khan VEER gaddari line invites violence from Karni Sena!!

Salman Khan ‘Veer’, the mega- budget flick which is based on the life and bravery of a Pindari warrior played by macho Khan himself, has irked the pride of Karni Sena and it broke the window panes of Triton mall and Vaibhav.

Karni Sena, which represents the Rajputs of Rajasthan, was agitated against a particular scene in the film where Salman Khan says to Jackie Shroff that ‘Gaddari to Rajputo se hi seekhi hain’.

Jackie Shroff plays the character of a Rajput King of Madhavgarh who betrays Pindaris and helps British ruler against them.

But the Karni Sena refuses to take these things as cinematic liberty which does not have any relation to the valor and patriotism of Rajputs in reality. Sanjay Marudhar, the local distributor of the flick, expressed his concern over the behavior of members of Karni Sena and said that if there were any issues that could have been resolved peacefully through talks.

However, the theatre owners have refused to be cowed down by the attacks and are continuing with the screening of Salman Khan starrer flick. Some of them even spoke about going to police if the need arises for protection of their property and people.

Meanwhile, director Anil Sharma has denied the possibility of hurting anyone sentiment through his film ‘Veer’. In fact, he has asked the members of the Karni Sena to watch the film carefully and then go through the history of Rajputs before resorting to violent methods and protesting.

Vijay Galani, the producer of the film, preferred to keep out of the controversy and opined that his local distributor was competent enough to take care of the whole thing in a correct fashion.

Salman Khan starrer ‘Veer’ is a period flick, wherein Zarine Khan made her debut in bollywood. The flick has been mounted on a lavish scale and has some of the grandest sets ever used in bollywood. The film did well in Rajasthan and other parts of northern Indian despite of not so glowing reviews about it in the media.

Salman bonds with Shahrukh in controversy

Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan may be enemies in real life but it seems that they are bonded by controversy created by various sections of society.

Apparently it seem that all is not well with Salman Khan’s ambitious film Veer in the pink city of Jaipur, as a certain Rajput Sena Karni is opposing its screening.

They have claimed that the film has some scenes that convey misconception about Rajasthan and its people and therefore it has hurt their sentiments. Protesters from Rajput Sena Karni have also stopped the screening of film midway in a theater in Jaipur and have damaged the theatre properties to show agitation.

While, Salman is harassed by Rajput Sena Karnis, the other Khan, Shahrukh is in no less trouble as his statement over including Pakistani players in IPL teams has brewed trouble with the moral police of Shiv Sena.

Shiv Sena’s news publication ‘Daily Saamana’ claims that Shahrukh has no grief over the lives lost in the 26/11 blasts, which were carried out by terrorist from across the border (Pakistan).

Therefore Shiv Sainiks in retaliation to SRK’s statement set fire to the poster of his upcoming film My Name is Khan and further threatened theatre owners with the dire consequence of setting the theatre ablaze if they screen the film.

Salman’s movie was already in a pit and this controversy has put a lid on it, while SRK’s film is yet to release and it is only a matter of time to see if this controversy becomes a setback for the film or gives publicity.

Shah Rukh Khan MNIK posters torn in Nagpur, Mannat gets protection!!

Shah Rukh Khan, who had advocated the inclusion of Pakistani players in Indian Premier League (IPL) matches and invited the ire of Shiv Sena in Mumbai, seems to be getting in deeper trouble with the posters of his upcoming flick ‘My Name Is Khan’(opposite Kajol and directed by Karan Johar) being torn in Nagpur.

Even in Kolhapur, which has been relatively peaceful of late, a group of Sainiks went on rampage and garlanded the effigy of King Khan with shoes and chappals.

Reports from Thane district say that the activists of Shiv Sena had left a letter calling the badsahah of bollywood a ‘traitor’ for his views on Pakistani players taking part in the upcoming cricket matches.

In Mumbai, too, the activists from Sena held a demonstration outside Shah Rukh Khan’s house ‘Mannat’ but police bandobast was good and no harm done at the venue. Now, the Maharashtra Government’s home minister Mr. RR Patil has warned the agitating political party of dire consequences if they tried to take law into their hands or disturbed the screening of upcoming flick ‘My Name Is Khan’. 

The latest warning from the Government of Maharashtra is said to have come against Sena after its activists shouted slogans outside ‘Mannat’ asking the Bollywood icon to leave India and go to Pakistan, if he liked that place so much even after the Pak terrorists had attacked Mumbai.

Sources close to Govt say that Police started taking strict measures against the Sainiks only after the central government asked the State Government reports about the security and safety of Shah Rukh Khan and his family.

The police arrested around fifty two activists from outside of Mannat, Shah Rukh Khan’s bungalow in Bandra, after they shouted slogans and violated prohibitory orders enforced by the police. However, they are likely to get bail the same day or next day as the offence is bailable.

Shah Rukh Khan is currently out of the country and doing his promotional campaign for the upcoming flick ‘My Name Is Khan’, which is due for release on February 12. The film has been sold for around Rs 100 crore and any disturbance in its release may lead to huge loss for the producer Karan Johar and others related to film.

Meanwhile, the multiplex owners are facing dilemma and are unable to decide how to deal with the problem of Shiv Sena opposition to ‘My Name Is Khan’. Though it would be a huge loss for them if they do not screen the film on its first day but the rampaging Sainiks could create mayhem at theatres, which may cause huge losses for them. It is unlikely that they will go for screening if the issue is not resolved by then. However, they are keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for the best in the matter of ‘My Name Is Khan’.

Shiv Sena calls Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan ‘2 Idiots’

Bollywood superstars Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan are under attack from Shiv Sena which has labeled the duo as “2 Idiots”.

First it was SRK who was under heat for supporting the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the IPL, and now it’s Aamir.

On Friday, Aamir’s one comment infuriated the Sena, when he became vocal about the selection procedure of players in IPL and said that if he were to select players he would do so only on the basis of their performance and not nationality.

The party’s Hindi mouthpiece ‘Dopahar Ka Saamna’ said in a statement: “In real life, Aamir and Shah Rukh have been proved as ‘2 Idiots’ as both are making stupid statements supporting the cause of Pakistani cricketers.”

The party’s MP Sanjay Raut even said about Shahrukh that if the actor was so keen on them (Pak players), “he could go play his matches in Lahore, not in India.”

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Sena activists took a morcha to SRK’s residence Mannat. The vibhag pramukhs of Sena have also written to theatres owners in Mumbai, telling them not to screen Khan’s upcoming movie My Name Is Khan which releases on February 12.

Karan Johar wants to work with Aamir Khan

Though it's well known that Karan Johar loves to work with Shahrukh in his films, but the celebrity filmmaker is not averse to the idea of working with the other Khan, we mean Aamir Khan too.

Reportedly, in a recent interview the filmmaker admitted that he has huge respect for Aamir Khan's talent and would like to work with him some day.

Though there are no films in the pipeline with Aamir, but it seems KJO has no qualms working with the other Khans as well.

The filmmaker is also upset over the fact that none of his recent films brought him any award. In a candid admission the filmmaker said, "I am very touchy about awards and I am disappointed that none of my films won any award despite being critically acclaimed."

Aishwarya Rai To Woo Hearts With ‘Laawaris’ Number

It is a rare case now to see Aishwariya Rai sizziling out on screens often but finally she has decided to make a comeback to show her jalwa at an oldie hit number 'Apni to jaise taise, thodi aise ya waise' from her father-in-law, Amitabh Bachchan's ‘Lawaris’.

Though she is hard admirer of her father-in-law but this is the first time she will be performing in his previous hit number.

Sajid Nadiadwala has brought the rights of the music to use it in one of his promotional track for his upcoming movie ‘Housefull’ starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in the lead.

Sajid is excited to feature Aishwarya in this item number, source states, “Talks are currently on with Aishwarya and things should get finalised in a couple of days. Both the Sajids - Nadiadwala and Khan - loved the idea of using the song and bought the rights from the music company. Everyone knows it was a chartbuster in its heyday.”

But Sajid has different story to add, he states, “Yes, we have bought the rights of the song but Aishwarya Rai is not in our version. We can confirm names only when everything is finalised.” But the director Sajid Khan seems quite positive, he states, “I will neither confirm nor deny the news. We will be making an announcement at the right time.”

The song sequence is heard to be  shot in a grand scale with over 500 extras and about 200 dancers on a huge set at Filmcity, where Ashwariya will perform her jalwa after completing ‘Action Replay'. Consequently it will her third item number added to her following two hit numbers’ Ishq Kamina’ and ‘Kajra Re’ earlier.