Saturday Aug 25 7:25 PM
Steven Baker, Bollywood Trade News Network
Shah Rukh Khan is in celebratory mode. The actor's latest release has been declared an All Time Blockbuster. Not recent Yash Raj production CHAK DE! INDIA, but that other high profile SRK project, Anupama Chopra's book 'King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema'.Released in India August 9th, the title is already a top grosser in the domestic market, and is performing well in packed book-shops across the country. In Mumbai, Om Books International with Radio Mirchi, celebrated the success of the book, with a reading from both the author Chopra, and its lead actor Khan.
The book has surpassed sales of 10,000 copies within its opening two weeks of release, delighting fans and critic alike. Chopra laughed, 'I think it's a little tacky for an author to be crowing about sales'. This left it to publisher Ajay Mago, from Om Books International, to confirm the collections.
The event was attended by a metro audience of friends and industry insiders, including many characters that played supporting roles in the book. Anu noted 'there is a list of over 80 names that I interviewed. Everybody had really fascinating stories to tell. From the film industry of course there was Yash Chopra. Karan (Johar) was a great help. He knows him very closely, and he was able to help me access many other people that Shah Rukh is friends with. Everybody contributed to different parts of the book'.
All eyes are now on Shah Rukh Khan's performance in the overseas territories. Released to a US audience on August 2nd, Chopra has been on a promotional tour that has taken her from New York to Los Angeles. The author reported, 'I don't have any US sales figures yet. That usually takes a little longer because it's such a huge market'. But with the overseas star power SRK has, when receipts are out, they are expected to show the hit running to full capacity. Next for The King of Bollywood, trade pundits are looking to the lucrative UK market, where the title is scheduled for a September 6th release.
(Steven Baker is a UK writer who divides his time between London, Delhi, and Mumbai. Best known for his writing on the Hindi film industry, his work regularly appears in a range of Indian, NRI, and international publications. Steven Baker is presently the Co-ordinator of the British Council's Creative Writing course in New Delhi. He has also appeared in 15 Bollywood films).
