Monday, August 6, 2007

SRK used to write limericks!


She has just written a book titled King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema . Her husband, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, had produced the Munnabhai series. Author Anupama Chopra shares anecdotes about King Khan and the Chopras date with Dutt.

Was SRK interested in directing serials?

Shah Rukh had written a television serial titled Ekanth that he wished to direct in the late 80s. Doordarshan had rejected the proposal.

It was about three friends who had come down to Mumbai from Pune to become movie stars. While two of them succeeded, the third, who was also the most talented one, met with failure. This person ended up killing one of the other two friends.

How did you know that SRK had told Gauri's aunt, Neeru: I will become a Hindu and change my name to Jitendra Kumar Tully. But how will I get uncircumcised?

It came from him! He always had a great off-colour sense of humour. Its not easy to pull off such jokes unless you have a lot of self-belief.

After facing rejection in his first film, SRK had told his director and his author-companion, Arundhati Roy, that he would one day go on to win an Oscar for playing a gay role. Later on, he had declined to attend a function in Arundhatis honour for her Booker Prize. Is SRK vindictive?

No. He couldn't get over the hurt of rejection. His role in In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones didn't have enough screen time to warrant a name. To add salt to the wound, others in the cast had got good roles.

Whats this thing about SRK's aptitude for writing poetry?

Yes, he used to write impromptu limericks. He started writing when he was seven or eight. But, he stopped writing after his father, Meer, passed away.

Very little is known about Shah Rukh's sister

Its a sensitive subject. He told me about it as he was recalling his father's death when he was only 15. Meer had been detected with oral cancer.

Shah Rukh described his father's death to me and this is how I put it in my book: When Meer died, Fatima (Shah Rukh's mother) did not break the news to Shah Rukh immediately. She just said Meer wanted to meet them.

Meer lay alone with his mouth slightly parted and his eyes half-shut. His body was icy cold. Shah Rukh furiously rubbed his feet, trying to infuse some warmth. The sight of blood trickling out of his father's ear would stay with him his whole life.

Fatima and Shah Rukh returned home early in the morning. The driver had left by then and Shah Rukh got behind the wheels of their Fait. When Fatima asked him when he had learned to drive, he replied.Just now.

When Meer died, Shah Rukh went to fetch Shahnaz but didn't break the news on their way back home. In my book, I mention: When she saw Meer's body, swatched in white, lying inert in the center of their tiny living room, surrounding by wailing women, Shahnaz collapsed like a tree felled by an axe.

Her fall shattered glasses of water that were placed on the floor. For days, Shahnaz did not shed a tear. Instead she retreated into a depression from which she would never fully emerge.

Whats the most boring topic for SRK?

He is tired of answering questions on his sexuality.

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