Shahrukh Khan's live performance in Dhaka

All roads led to Army Stadium as the decked out status was everything set to welcome the 'King of Bollywood' Shahrukh Khan on December 10. Endless resolute fans of the 'Bollywood Badshah' held up with bated breath to get a sight of their favourite 'hero'. Most of Shahrukh's Bangladeshi fans are seemingly youngsters. Of them the number of female fans might surpass that of men. They had so far viewed Khan's charming representation on the little screen, and didn't desire to miss the opening to perceive him perform live in Dhaka.

The show, titled 'King Khan Live in Dhaka' was organised by Antar Showbiz. A team of performers, which included Bollywood, stars Rani Mukerjee, Arjun Rampal and Isha Koppikar joined Khan in the three-hour live performance. Bangladeshi singer Parvez opened the show. Parvez started with a high-pitched melancholic rock song “E Jibon Hariye Jaye”.

Chairman of Antar Showbiz, Swapan Chowdhury with his wife Nasreen Chowdhury, took the stage and delivered speeches. A visual presentation featuring Bollywood actress Isha Koppikar was on next. The performance featured dances routines from films “Qayamat” and “Don” (2006).

Arjun Rampal arrived on stage in style -- on a bike. The actor sported a guitar and performed to the song “Rock On” and “Aap Ka Kya Hoga”. “How is Dhaka? I love you,” Arjun yelled in Bangla. He also said, “Couple of days ago I suffered a back injury, but I had to come to Dhaka. I didn't want to disappoint you all.”

The ravishing Bengali belle Rani Mukerjee danced to a medley of some hit songs from her films, including “Saathia”, “Hum Tum” and “Shava Shava”.

Dazzling the audience with her cordial smile and girl-next-door charm, Rani spoke to the audience in Bangla and said, “You folks have been supporting me since the beginning of my career. I want your love and support more in the days ahead, so that I deliver better performances.”

Silence prevailed as footage of Shahrukh Khan went on the screen. Khan with his entourage of performers appeared on stage at 8:47pm. The mega-star performed a segue of hits -- “Love Mera Hit Hit”, “Dard-e Disco” and “Abhi Na Jao Chhor Kar.”

Audiences were chanting “Shahrukh”, “Shahrukh” as he disappeared from stage, leaving them craving for more of the star. Wearing a white shirt, Khan appeared again on stage after a while and said, “Ami Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-er deshey Bharatbarsho thekey onek onek bhalobasha aar shubhechcha boye enechhi.”

“I've heard of Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jasimuddin. I love Runajee's (Runa Laila) music. That's why I'm in Dhaka,” he added. As per Khan's request, a couple from the audience joined Khan on stage and interacted with him.

Khan also delivered dialogues from his films “Devdas” and “Baazigar” on the show. The highlight of the night was a duet by Rani Mukerji and Shahrukh Khan. The performance included “Tujhey Dekha Tho Ye Jana Sanam”, “Tum Paas Aaye”, “Tawba Tumharey Ye Isharey”, “Koi Mil Gaya” and “Mitwa”.

Later, all the artistes performed to the song “Om Shanti Om.” A rendition by Neeraj Shridhar wrapped up the show. Boishakhi TV aired the event live. Though several press conferences and features published in newspapers claimed that Shahrukh Khan will vote, and inspire his fans to vote, for the Sundarbans (largest mangrove forest in the world) to be included in the Natural Wonders List, he didn't do so. The audience did not seem satisfied with the overall management of such a major event. Some fans also misbehaved, disrupting the experience for the rest of the audience.

Katrina, Arjun love making scene was absolutely essential - Jha

"Raajneeti" has finally got a UA certificate but not without some vital scenes, including Arjun Rampal.

And Katrina Kaif's "aesthetically shot love making scene" that director Prakash Jha says was "absolutely essential", being edited out.

"It was a very aesthetically shot love making scene. Arjun and Katrina are two very beautiful people.

And they made love to the camera. The Tribunal (Film Certification Appellate Tribunal) felt it was a bit too explicit for a ‘UA’ audience. I didn’t argue," Jha told IANS.

Jha’s weeklong battle with the censor board ended Wednesday with the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal in New Delhi viewing.

"Raajneeti" and granting it a ‘UA’ certificate. The director had challenged the censor board’s decision earlier last week to grant.

Raajneeti an ‘A’ certificate with cuts. Jha sees the reduction of the Katrina-Ranbir love making scene as a blow.

"The love scene was absolutely essential. Unlike other directors I had not shot extra footage so.

That the censors could take away whatever portion they liked. I had shot the love making scene exactly the way it was meant to be. I've had to reduce it by half.

"It's a disappointment to all of us. I've also had to beep out the F... word uttered by Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Rampal in two different places in the plot. Ex-justice Usha Mehra, who headed the Tribunal, requested me to do away with the F... word. But it didn't make a difference," he said.

Ajay Devgn, Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar and Manoj Bajpai too will be seen "Raajneeti". Releasing June 4, the political thriller will be the behind-the-scenes look at politics, strategies behind election campaigns, scandals and much more.

Apparently, the censor board had earlier objected to two sequences - one showing the rigging of elections by fitting ballot boxes with specially designed gadgets and the other showing a female politician offering sex in exchange for an election ticket. "An ‘A’ certificate brings on a specific mindset on the audience. They think the film has sleazy content. So I preferred to let the film be referred to the Tribunal," said Jha.

Also Arjun's volatile character in "Raajneeti" shouts lurid and graphic expletives Hindi at a police officer. These remain intact while the 'f' word is gone. Several recent Hindi films like "Omkara" and "Ishqiya" were plastered with expletives but got away at the censors with an A certificate.

John Abraham, Arjun Rampal in Hollywoods American Empire

Hollywood production American Empire will have three-four Bollywood stars, according to reports. Filmfare nominated John Abraham (Dhoom), Filmfare winner Arjun Rampal (Rock On!!), and Ashmit Patel (Banaras) are reportedly starring in it and BAFTA nominated Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) is rumored to be in its cast.

Directed by Andy Armstrong (Planet of the Apes), written by Kevin D. Ward, cinematography by Joao Fernandes (Conversations with God), and produced by Edge Filmworks, it is slated to be released on February three next. Its tagline is: “Betrayal is a contact sport…” Its other cast includes Nina Dobrev (Merry Madagascar), MTV nominated Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight’s Tale), an Leslie Mann (Knocked Up). Filming locations of this “R” rated dark comedy are Tampa and Ybor City, both in Florida (USA).

Its story revolves around underworld, politics, crime, and stealing, reports suggest. Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed has welcomed this teaming-up of Hollywood and Bollywood and hopes that these collaborations would become more commonplace in the future.