Shah Rukh Khan abused Ajith and later apoligized - Flashback from Asoka Days

 This is an old story that is doing the rounds. The only thing I cannot figure out is that there was one Vishwa who was Ajith's Manager. As Ajith and I had a direct link and PRO's were not the only route, I cannot having any Vishwa around. Any read on what it is worth it.

THALA AJITH is a legend today. He is easily among the biggest South Indian Stars and can easily dominate a 150–200 Crore Worldwide Share on his own.

Yet Ajith himself was once a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan and loved the Actors movies especially DDLJ and KKHH released in the 1990s. He badly wanted to act in a remake of two SRK films- Dil To Pagal Hai and Baadshah but sadly things did not pan out.

IT was A.R Rahman who was responsible for Ajith acting in the movie Asoka. Rahman had composed music for Mani Ratnams Dil Se where Santosh Sivan was a Cinematographer. During the Song Chaiyya Chaiyya, Sivan and SRK talked to each other and Sivan pitched the idea of making a film about Ashoka. Rahman was there. In the end Rahman did not have the dates for Sivan and Sivan would go with Anu Malik but during the shoot of Kandukondein Kandukondein- Rahman who was supervising some things got talking with Ajith and mentioned the possible film about Ashoka.

Ajith was keen to act with SRK and asked his then Manager - Viswa to make it happen. Originally Suniel Shetty was being considered to play the role of Sushima but his dates were not very flexible. Sivan was delighted to rope in Ajith - a budding star of South Indian Cinema especially because Ajith did not quote a fee

SRK nodded when Sivan told him about Ajith. To SRK it was not a big role and he did not think twice about it.

SHOOTING

It was at Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh that the Shooting was scheduled for 8 days and was a scene for the Palace Intrigues.

Unlike these days - there was no Hotel and few Caravans (It was 2000). The Actors stayed in Indore and drove to Maheshwar for the shooting and returned back in the evening.

Ajith had arrived at the Shooting spot at 7:00 AM when he saw a few locals riding a modified bike. Ajith was having a 2–3 day stubble and was wearing ordinary clothes. He did not have a platoon of bodyguards. In fact very few people on the set knew him as anything but some person from the film team (The main team would arrive at 8:00 AM).

Ajith loved Bikes and he observed that these people were trying the wheelie and failing. He got irritated and proceeded to go to them and show them how it was done. These Locals had no clue who Ajith was and thought he was a set boy or spot boy and allowed him to ride the bike. Ajith soon showed them how to do a wheelie and they were impressed.

One of the youngsters - a Young man named Pratap Shingwekar who was from the Stuntmans association even told the Actor - that he could become a very important stuntman if he could do certain stunts with the bikes in some films. Ajith was amused.

At 8:30 AM - it was announced that the shooting was cancelled due to technical issues and would commence the following day. However SRK had already driven down to the shooting spot and when he saw Ajith riding with the locals - although he vaguely recognized Ajith - he did not think a budding south indian actor would be roughly dressed and play around with spot boys and locals and did not give a second look. The only person who knew who Ajith was was Ajiths driver (The Rental Car driver). When SRK asked one of the Managers - he said in Hindi “Koi Madraas se Shooting ke liya aaya hain” (Some guy has come for the shoot from Madras) and SRK assumed he was some kind of Asst Director or Technician to Sivan.

Once Ajith heard that the shoot was cancelled - he had to go back and he asked Pratap if he could drive the bike back to Indore to get the feel for it. Had Pratap known who he was he would have handed the bike in a second but Pratap had no clue who Ajith was except maybe a spot boy or some technician and hesitated . Ajith offered him a Cheque and Pratap who distrusted cheques finally shrugged and agreed.

Ajith drove on his bike racing on the highway passing SRKs car and racing ahead. SRK was affronted and ordered his driver to pass Ajith. SRK honked his horn a few times until Ajith stopped. SRK without getting out drove past Ajith and began to yell at him from the Window basically saying “How dare you pass me by? Suppose my driver had swerved and hit someone or we had been in an accident? You know who i am? I will make sure you are tossed out from the set” (Assumed Conversation. Basically SRK was ranting and raving)

SRK however cooled down a minute later and apologized. It was the delay of the shoot that had caused him to get annoyed. He was due to leave for London in a few days. All the while Ajith had not spoken a word. SRK offered Ajith a drink of Mineral Water and Ajith shook his head. All the while the two had communicated with gestures and SRK even left after telling Ajith in english “I showered a lot of choice hindi words. Luckily i dont think you understand Hindi…or even English”

However the minute SRK left - Ajith was fuming with Anger. He had been minding his own business when the Star had come in his way and had basically yelled at him for nothing. Ajith decided at that very minute to leave for home and cancel the shooting no matter what happened.

Santosh Sivan Pacifies the Crew

It was when SRK returned to the hotel, had cooled down and was replete with Cigarettes (It is rumoured he had forgotten his smokes which was why he was so upset earlier) when he found out that the person he had yelled at had Indeed been Actor Ajith.

He also found out that Ajith could speak flawless English and very good Hindi which means he must have understood every word that SRK had thrown at him.

He related everything to Sivan and Sivan decided to Pacify Ajith but this was where SRK proved he was a Gentleman.

SRK apologizes Openly

Even as Ajith was deciding to pack his bags, SRK knocked on his door and came along with Sivan and four others. He openly apologized without any ryders. He revealed why he had been so angry and Ajith whose initial reaction was to rebut any show of friendliness thawed. Its impossible to be angry with a big actor who humbles himself by apologizing directly.

Ajith and SRK had dinner together and it was believed to be SRK who advised him not to act in Bollywood movies but to Focus on Tamil Cinema. While they would not be great friends - they would always maintain and keep in touch. SRK would invite Ajith to his Box during IPL matches in Chennai (Which Ajith often turned down due to Crowd issues) and Ajith would act in a remake of Main Hoon Naa called Aegan. During the shooting of Vivegam - SRK congratulated Ajith on his muscles.

What Happened next?

Ajith became a huge star in Tamil nadu and became an A+ Lister by 2013

Asoka ended up becoming a huge flop and SRK incurred Rs. 5.70 Crores worth of Losses.

Ajith was paid Rs. 20 Lakhs for Asoka even though he had initially agreed not to take a fee because the Producer insisted.

Pratap Shingwekar sold his Bike to Ajith because the Actor loved the Bike. He rode the Bike from Indore to Chennai. Shingwekar later became a Stuntman and settled down in Dubai. He was one of the stuntmen for the movie Deewane Hua Pagal (Or something like that) in 2005.

Due Credits- https://balusboxoffice.quora.com/When-SRK-met-Ajith-Kumar

Rajinikanth to release Indian 2 intro - Anand Devarakonda next - SRK Dunki Drop

 

Today evening at 5.30, Rajinikanth is releasing Indian 2 intro in Tamil, Mohanlal in Malyalam, Aamir Khan in Hindi, Kich Sudeep in Kannada and SS Rajamouli in Telugu. It has Kamal Haasan and Shankar as director with Anirudh’s music. DOP is Ravivarman.

Prabhas Salaar teaser has high voltage action scenes and trade mark of Prashanth Neel directorial touch. Netizens feel that SRK Dunki might take a hit . Priyanka Mohan announced that dubbing for  Captain Miller has begun.

Studio Green K E Gananvel enters Tollywood with `Duet’ starring Anand Devarakonda of Baby fame in the lead. Mithun Vardaraja Krishnan former associate of A R Murugadoss is the director and G V Prakash is the music Director. Ritika Nayak is the leading lady. She acted in Vishwak Sen film Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam ( 2022)

Rajkumar Hirani, hailed as a master storyteller has the most watched and endearing films to his credit and this time he is all set to treat the audiences with another charming gem, full of heart and humour, Dunki.
 
DUNKI is a delightful collaboration between two of the most loved artists of our generation, SRK and Raju Hirani! The film aims to bring back the sweetness and nostalgia of cinema, evoking cherished memories.
 
The DUNKI DROP 1 unveiled today, gives us a glimpse into the wonderful world of Rajkumar Hirani, it’s a heart-warming tale of four friends and their quest to reach foreign shores, it charts the arduous yet life changing journey they are about to undertake to make their dreams come true. Drawn from Real-Life Experiences, Dunki is a saga of love and friendship that brings together these wildly disparate stories, and provides hilarious and heart-breaking answers.
 
The video unit takes you on a whirlwind roller-coaster with colourful characters portrayed by an exceptionally talented ensemble cast that includes, Boman Irani, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Vikram Kochhar, Anil Grover, starring along with Shah Rukh Khan.  
 
It also gives a glimpse into an enchanting, heart-warming and a unique tale that marks the return of storytelling to cinema and is all set to unfold for audiences worldwide this Christmas!
 
A JIO Studios, Red Chillies Entertainment and Rajkumar Hirani Films presentation, produced by Rajkumar Hirani and Gauri Khan. Written by Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani and
and Kanika Dhillon, Dunki is slated to release this December

Nayanthara - Vignesh marriage on Netflix is confirmed !!!

Netflix has gone on record that the Nayanthara - Vignesh Shivan marriage along with a documentary on the lives of the two celebs will be telecasted. Tanya Banu, Series Head of Netflix was quoted saying  they are eagerly waiting to stream the event on their OTT and revealed that the the docu series is produced jointly by Rowdy Pictures of Nayan- Vikki and Gautham Menon ( who shot the event and edited the available material to make a series ). This puts to rest the reports that Netflix had cancelled the agreement with the celeb couple after photos of the event surfaced on the net. The reports indicated that the streamer had sued the couple for breach of agreement . It was reported that Rs 25 crores was the telecast rights.

There was also a talk that the celeb couple had made the wedding more than they intended as they expected to get Rs 25 crores from Netflix. The hghest OTT price for a Nayanthara centric film so far has been Rs 15 crores. From Shah Rukh Khan to Rajinikanth turned up and previous day sangeeth had many top musicians and singers of A R Rahman's KM School.

Katrina Kaif - Vicky Kaushal wedding rights were sold to Amazon Prime for Rs 80 crores was denied by the platform. The first such deal was the Priyanka Chopra wedding photos that were published in People and Hello Magazine with International readership. The amount the couple recieved in dollars was equivalent to Rs 18 crores ( at that time exchange rate).Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie wedding was sold to these magazines for  $20 million in 2014 and the money was donated to charity by the couple. Two years later, the couple called Brangelina divorced .

 Those in OTT trade say that Rs 25 crore is laughable as no OTT can make that kind of gains from an actress whose popularity is confined to Southern States.  A NO Disclosure Agreement was taken from all the selected guests by the couple for the OTT.  By this, no body can talk to media on record about the goings on in the wedding hall.

Anyway for Vikki - Nayan fans it is good news !. August end is Onam or for Pooja festivities in September ?

Update : Prithviraj's Kuruthi on Amazon for Onam-Marakkar - Mohanlal film not to release on August 12 th

 

With Marakkar not for Onam theater release, Prithviraj's Kuruthi is the first biggie to come for Onam . To be premiered on August 11th in Amazon Prime platform, ‘Kuruthi’ is directed by debutant Manu Warrier and scripted by Anish Pallyal. Murali Gopy had said that ‘Kuruthi’ would be one of the most important mainstream movies in today’s times. Will more follow ?

Release of  Marakkar  , the Rs 100 cr budget Mohanlal – Priyadarshan directed period film, will not release on August 12^th. This was confirmed by director Priyadarshan. He said that the Covid situation in Kerala was bad . The theater association has promised that theaters will not screen any film for three weeks from the date of release of Marakkar, whenever released, he revealed. It means that Kerala theaters will have no Onam release.  Priyadarshan confirmed that Marakkar would release only in movie halls. This would have a rippling effect  on other films that are waiting for release in Kerala. Dulquar Salman's Kurup and Prithviraj film Kuruthi  are next on the list. Whether this would trigger a rush towards OTT platforms has to be seen ?.

Priyadarshan revealed that he was planning a sports drama based on boxing with Mohanlal. He said that it was like `Raging Bull’ and Lal has to shed 15 kgs and then add it later. While he is to direct films with Superstars like Mohanlal and Akshay Kumar , he was quoted as saying – “The industry has changed. I think this is the last era of superstars. Whoever is enjoying today, Shah Rukh to Salman to Akshay… they should be thankful to God. Tomorrow, the superstar will be the content.”. He remade Katha Parayumbol (Malayalam) as Billu with Shah Rukh Khan in a cameo and Irfan Khan in the lead. The film bombed badly. Priyadarshan remade his own film Thalavattom in Hindi as Kyon Ki with Salman Khan. Inspired by One Flew over the Cuckoos Night, the film was termed one among the worst remakes in Bollywood. Only with Akshay, he has given hits.

Priyadarshan’s latest release Hungama 2 ( remake of Malayalam film Minnaram) released on Disney Hotstar was called `distressing dated’ by Hindustan Times, `Creates a ruckus but for nothing’- Times of India and `A sloppy Comedy’ by NDTV. He is to do a cop thriller film without songs for Ratan Jain of Venus . This will be a quickie before he moves to Akshay Kumar.

 

We told U on June 27th 2021 - Now official - Nayanthara to be heroine of Shah Rukh Khan

Our post on June 27 th - Nayanthara is to play the lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan and it is certain says sources in director Atlee's camp. If this happens, then Nayanthara will be the second actress from Mollywood who would be starring  opposite a Superstar Bollywood hero. The only heroine to do so was Late Padmini who acted as heroine opposite the  then Bollywood top draw- Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Ashok Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar.  See link below. 

https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/06/after-padmini-will-it-be-nayanthara-who.html

After Padmini ,will it be Nayanthara who be the Mollywood heroine to rule Bollywood ?

Nayanthara is to play the lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan and it is certain says sources in director Atlee's camp. If this happens, then Nayanthara will be the second actress from Mollywood who would be starring  opposite a Superstar Bollywood hero. The only heroine to do so was Late Padmini who acted as heroine opposite the the then Bollywood top draw- Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Ashok Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar.

Though many Malayalam actresses have acted in Bollywood and some are still continuing to do so, it was Padmini who was paired with the top draws of Bollywood in the 60's onwards. No heroine who started ou tfrom Mollywood has graduated to being the heroine to any top Bollywood hero. Many acted with the heroes but not as the main lead. Today, Vidya Balan who is a Malayali is on the top rungs of Bollywood. She however did not have her roots in Malayalam films. Todays Nithya  Menen, Priyamani and many other's are in Bollywood but none have ever been heroine to any of the Khans who rule Bollywood. Previously too Shobana and Revathi too acted in Bollywood films.

Padmini and her sisters known as Travancore sisters and coming from Thriruvanthapuram found their way from Malayalam films to Tamil- Telugu and Padmini finally made her mark as the RK heroine.  From Kollywood, the actress to make her dominant presence was  Vyjayanthimala, Sreedevi  and JayaPrada while Tamil girls like Hema Malini- Rekha  who did not have any Kollywood roots ,held sway. 

Mayanthara who started with Malayalam films after becoming top draw in Tamil- Telugu still works for films in her mother tongue. She recently acted in Nizhal opposite Kunchacko Boban ( now steaming on OTT). In Tamil, she is in Raainikanth's forthcoming film `Annaatthe' and Chiranjeevi film ( remake of Lucifer). She is also a producer and backs arthouse films. Currently she has signed a Malayalam film Paatu ( Song) directed by Premam fame director Alphone Puthran. It has 11 songs and Fahad Fazil plays the male lead.

Today, she commands a solo draw at the Box Office. Atlee who has worked with Nayanthara in Vijay's Bigil had suggestted her to SRK. Atlee and Passion studios together are producing two films with Nayanthara. One of them is directed by a debutant and has signed Kicha Sudeep for a negative role. She has signed two films for Dream Warriors of S R Prabhu. She and her BF Vignesh directed film is almost complete. It has also Vijay Sethupathi and Samantha in the cast.