By:
Screen
Weekly,
IndiaFM
Tuesday,
October
23,
2007
The
weekend
was
a
somber
one
-
Laaga
Chunari
Mein
Daag
and
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
are
no
comic
capers,
so
entertainment
came
from
unexpected
quarters
-
Shahrukh
Khan's
witticism
at
HT's
leadership
summit.
There
was
no
dearth
of
quotable
quotes,
politically
correct
or
otherwise,
from
SRK.
Ruling
out
a
move
to
politics,
he
said,
“I'm
too
materialistic,
too
selfish,
and
too
capitalistic.
Besides,
I'm
too
good
looking."
He
also
enlisted
for
the
media's
support
by
playing
patriotic
“I
use
the
media
when
I
have
a
film
coming
up-like
now.
Om
Shanti
Om
will
be
competing
against
a
Sony
Columbia
-
Tri-star
film,
so
I
have
told
the
media
that
I
don't
have
30
or
40
crores
to
spend
on
the
publicity
like
Sony
and
I
have
asked
them,
“Will
you
help
me?"
The
timing
is
significant-the
two
films
Om
Shanti
Om
and
Saawariya
are
slated
for
Diwali
release
and
SRK,
always
ahead
of
the
pack,
has
learnt
his
lessons
in
media
relations
well.
It
could
be
that
playing
Kabir
Khan
in
Chak
De!
India
reiterated
the
advantage
of
playing
the
underdog
or
it
could
be
that
he
learnt
from
the
outrage
that
follows
a
skirmish
with
the
media.
Either
ways,
the
actor
/
producer
is
not
taking
a
chance.
Becoming
accessible
to
friends
and
favorites
in
the
media
around
the
time
of
a
film's
release
is
de
rigueur-
even
the
most
elusive,
reluctant
star,
to
borrow
a
phrase
from
Dickens,
“is
willing," Nothing
new
about
that
except
the
clever
bit
making
appear
as
though
requesting
their
support.
And
then
pitching
himself
-
a
passionate
actor
/
film
maker
-
against
the
invaders.
It
works
like
a
charm.
True
to
his
word,
Khan
has
gone
to
town
using
every
available
platform
to
wax
eloquent
about
his
six
-
pack,
why
and
how
he
acquired
them,
the
brand
new
heroine
of
his
film
Deepika
Padukone
and
all
else
related
to
his
forthcoming
film.
Reality
show
round
have
been
done
by
both
the
OSO
and
Saawariya
teams
and
there
was
recently
even
a
fashion
show
devoted
to
the
former.
Whether
it
is
the
war
of
words
between
Bhansali
and
Farah
Khan
and
Deepaika
Padukone's
liaison
with
Ranbir
Kapoor,
all
news
related
to
these
two
films
has
been
chronicled
in
great
detail.
So
far,
the
media
footage
for
both
the
films
has
almost
been
equal
but
as
the
release
date
draws
close,
the
blitzkrieg
is
likely
to
get
even
more
intense.
At
present
the
scales
certainly
tilt
in
favor
of
OSO,
what
with
SRK's
witty
rejoinders
and
director
Farah
Khan's
humorous
asides
and
behind-the-scenes
anecdotes.
And
of
course,
the
six-pack
abs.
Unfortunately,
the
how-Sanjay
sir-tutored-and-trained-me
lines
don't
appear
to
be
working
quite
as
well,
Neither
do
Sonam's
drastic
weight-
loss
saga
(though
she
could
well
turn
out
to
be
the
scene-stealer)
or
that
bit
about
Ranbir
dropping
the
towel.
Maybe
they
need
to
give
their
publicity
campaign
a
new
spin-the
suggestion
of
a
romance
between
the
actors
is
ruled
out
since
they
have
already
declared
themselves
childhood
friends.
Perhaps
a
story
about
a
fictitious
rivalry
or
some
such
would
help?
Or
they
could
take
a
cue
from
the
keep-them-guessing
couples
John-Bipasha
and
Kareena-Shahid.
As
till
the
time
the
films
are
released,
my
vote
for
the
most
entertaining
publicity
campaign
could
certainly
go
to
OSO.