Shahrukh is more popular than Pope

Bollywood has broken the cultural and linguistic barriers. Gone are those days when Indian cinema was considered just family drama coupled with song and dance sequence. Be it the placing of Salman's wax statue at the Madame Tussauds or Indian movies regularly figuring in top ten charts in US and UK, the world is taking note of India and Indian cinema. The actor who has a immensely contributed to this is Shahrukh Khan.

Weeks after being honoured with the Officer dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government Shahrukh was in Berlin for the screening of his movie Om Shanti Om in the Berlin Film Festival. The newsmen turned their cameras on Shahrukh Khan instead of the top Hollywood stars present at the event. The German media shed its perceptions of a poor and hungry India and instead took notice of the Asian cinema giant. One journalist even went on to say that Shahrukh is more popular than the Pope.

The television channels were busy narrating the success story of King Khan. In a symbolic move the leading German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung which had always been critical about India reported that people from all over Europe had come to Berlin to see their favourite star. The writer of a Berlin tabloid wrote that Shahrukh Khan is more popular than the pope and has a huge sex appeal.

Shahrukh Khan also announced his plans to direct a movie in Berlin. Eros International the official distributors of Om Shanti Om has is set to distribute 50 prints of the movie in the coming days. The theme of reincarnation in the movie also did wonders for the movie. Many Germans who are bending towards the Hindu philosophy found this an excellent opportunity to understand the Indian culture.