Shah Rukh will be seen quizzing three celebrity duos on the show – Bollywood’s sizzling couple Malaika Arora Khan and Arbaaz Khan, the brother-sister duo Farhan and Zoya Akhtar and last, but not the least, best pals Farah Khan and Karan Johar.

Keeping with the mood of the occasion, the king of romance will make a grand entry amid heart shaped balloons as he sings to the title track of “Main Hoon Na”.

The evening offers fun, romance and drama as Shah Rukh gets to test the bond of love in various relationships – soul mates, siblings and just friends sit on the hot seat to match their wits with Mr. Computer.

Amid all the tense moments Shah Rukh in his own distinct style will lighten up the atmosphere often dashing his quick wit and tickling humour. He will make simple requests to Arbaaz to sing and woo Malaika to the tunes of ‘Dilbar mere kab tak mujhe’.

As soon as the loving couple will complete their term they will leave, but not before grooving with the host to the cadence of the song “Chaiyya chaiyya”.

Zoya makes a few revelations about her brother that had him laughing with embarrassment. Finally, it will be a laughter-riot as Karan and Farah will take to the hot seat and will ensure that everyone is in splits with their friendly and not-so-friendly ribbing on the show.

The three celeb-duos will donate all their winnings to various charities and causes that they hold close to their hearts.

Arbaaz and Malaika will donate the amount to St. Anthony’s Home for the Aged, Zoya and Farhan will give it to Nivara Hakk Welfare and Karan and Farah will contribute to Bal Jeevan Trust.

A survey by an independent media agency says that mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan way ahead of Shah Rukh Khan as ‘a choice of host’ for Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Optimum Media Solutions (OMS), Mudra’s independent media agency, conducted a study titled EAR (Estimation of Audience Response) by taking the ‘Junta’s Vote’ on their perception of the much talked about third season of KBC.

Interestingly, the ‘junta’ has vouched for Bachchan in terms of ‘a choice of host’. The study points out that “Big B is clearly way ahead of King Khan, across generations, cities, gender and SECs. Nothing, or no one, beats the on-screen presence and charisma of Amitabh Bachchan.”

The highly anticipated show has raised multiple questions regarding King Khan’s competency as a quizmaster with obvious comparisons to the Big B. In this respect, OMS has attempted to foretell the fate of KBC and has outlined the core objective of the survey, to estimate the response level of the viewers towards watching KBC with SRK as its anchor.

Even though the study suggests that among all categories of viewers Bachchan remains the original choice as a host for the show, a large section of the sample (71 per cent) are willing to give SRK a chance before writing him off. Coupled with 21 per cent who will definitely continue watching KBC, a very high 92 per cent of viewers polled are going to ‘try’ the first few episodes of KBC.

This poses a scary thought for Star Plus, which has thrown in big monies (an estimated Rs 130 crores solely on sponsorships) for the revamped KBC.

Expectedly, a major chunk of the SRK loyalists consist of females, Delhiites, and the up-market segment, which bodes well for the advertisers aiming at women and higher SECs. Although 20 per cent of viewers polled are likely to remain loyal viewers, there are still 50 per cent of viewers who are ready to flirt with other options. This can be seen generally as the fallout of initial skepticism about the change in host for a ‘host-centric’ program like KBC.

What clearly emerges from this study is that, though compared unfavourably vis-à-vis Bachchan by all audience groups, the new host is definitely worth a bet for advertisers for the first few episodes, when the audience will ‘check-out’ SRK on the ‘Hot Seat’. Which is why this ’sampling’ phase will be so crucial to the show.

It also appears to be a long-term win-win situation for advertisers targeting Women and the Up-market segment of the population.

Optimum Media Solutions president Chandradeep Mitra said, “Given that the day of reckoning for Star Plus is drawing nearer with the impending launch of KBC-3, advertisers and the media fraternity is waiting with bated breath for the final verdict of the Indian viewers. Will they accept the ‘Badshah’ as the successor to the ‘Shahenshah’ in the ‘Hot Seat’? Will they still be as loyal as they had been in the previous seasons of KBC? Will it be another successful venture for the Star Plus and be viable enough to rake in the advertising ‘moolah’? Will it redefine Indian television viewing yet again by its star-glitz? All these can only be speculated upon as of now, and for an improved prediction, one needs to go to the viewers to feel the initial pulse and receptivity of the Indian audience.”

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has scotched media reports of his spat with mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan, saying that it was all baseless.

A section of the press had reported about the Bachchan-SRK cold war to which the actor said, “Yes, even I have read this in the newspapers. We are grown-up educated people and working professionals. In Hollywood, do you hear news like Tom Cruise bashing up Brad Pitt? Then why is such stuff carried by you here?”

SRK was at Hotel Lands End to announce his comeback to television as a new avtaar with the biggest game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).

“I never left TV. The journey from Fauji, a serial on the small screen, to KBC is like a home-coming. This show will have a great emotional connection,” SRK said.

SRK said it was unfair to compare him with Bachchan as the latter’s contribution to the world of entertainment is immense.

SRK will be reportedly paid Rs 70,000 per episode, while Bachchan used to be paid Rs 40,000 per episode.

WHY SRK’S KBC LOGO IS RED

Shah Rukh Khan seemed to be in an unbelievably good mood at the press meet for Kaun Banega Crorepati in Mumbai. Not only did he crack jokes but he also responded with characteristic humour to questions like ‘Why is the KBC logo in your case red, while it was blue in Amitabh Bachchan’s version?’

Sample Khan’s response to this: “Amitji is like God in our industry and we keep him above everyone else. His stature is as high as the sky. And thus, the color is blue. In my case, I am desh ka Lal, thus the colour is red!”

Quite innovative, one must say.

Bollywood superstar and Pepsi’s brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan boarded Pepsi’s “Blue Billion Express” train on Sunday to cheer the Indian cricket team when India beat England by four wickets at the ICC Champions Trophy match at the Sawai Man Singh cricket stadium in Jaipur.

Shah Rukh, who took a ride on a train after seven years, was accompanied by his “Don” co-star Priyanka Chopra, who also endorses Pepsi.

The 11-bogey special train done up in blue and white with a catchline that resonates through all of Pepsi’s ad campaigns – “Oooooh Aaaaah India, Aaaaah Yaaaaa India!” – written on it chugged out of Delhi’s Safdarjang station early Sunday with about a 100 cricket fans.

The platform looked like a set from a Bollywood flick with blue and white balloons adorning the platform, and girls and boys dressed in the Pepsi uniform dancing to the catchline song. Turbaned waiters served snacks to passengers, and Pepsi products could be picked up for free.

The “Blue Billion Express” – clearly India’s biggest road show ever – is the first major brand-specific communication that Pepsi has come out with after high level of pesticides were allegedly found by Centre for Science and Environment.

On the importance of sports, the actor said: “We should encourage our youth to plays sports, if not for anything else, then for its team spirit. I think games should not be glamorised, but commercialised.

“There should be enough money in the sport, so that we can have ‘professional’ sportspersons. No parent should be able to question the choice of his child’s decision to become a sportsperson.

Asked about his favourite cricketer, he said: “I have a lot of favourites. And some of them are good friends too. But I think it is we who make or break a team. It is fans who can make a team win by cheering them.”

“We will win this cup and the World Cup too … Inshallah.”

Comparing a cricket match to a Bollywood film he said the tension was the same in both. Before the match is played or before the movie is set for release – there is this big question mark about the end result.

Priyanka, dressed in a white top and short denim skirt, said her favourite cricketer was Rahul Dravid. “He is my favourite, and also looks great, which only helps,” she laughed.

She said she gets “mad” each time the Indian team loses a match.

Pepsi’s marketing head Punita Lal said: “Pepsi has unbottled the passion of cricket in India. The game has never been about fans, it has always been about stars. For the first time a big brand is focussing on fans.”

A special feature of the train was a cricket museum created inside it, displaying exclusive cricket memorabilia such as the ICC Champion’s trophy and a cricket bat that belongs to star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on display.

Mumbai’s ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton hotel witnessed quite a few film and television stars when Mushtaq Shiekh unveiled his new book, Still Reading Khan, a biography of Shah Rukh Khan.

SRK, who launched the book, got especially emotional when a video clip showed images of his earlier home in Delhi — the home where he lived with his parents before he moved to Mumbai.

“The best part of today’s function was when I saw my old house in Delhi,” he said. “It brought back memories of my mom and dad. I wish they were alive to see how much importance is given to me.”

The clip also showed SRK’s friends and colleagues like choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan, her brother actor-director Sajid Khan, producer Viveck Vaswani (in whose home SRK stayed for a year when he first came to Mumbai), filmmaker Subhash Ghai, director Farhan Akhtar (who’s directing SRK’s latest film, Don), Juhi Chawla’s husband Jay Mehta and SRK’s sister Shabeena Khan talking about the star and Mushtaq.

Later, SRK laughed about Sajid’s comments and said, “Sometimes I think that all I have is a big car and a big house, and nothing else.”

After the book was launched, Shah Rukh invited his directors like Farah Khan, Aziz Mirza, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, Abbas-Mustan on stage to cut a cake.

When the event was about to wind up, Ekta Kapoor, a close friend of Musthtaq, made her entry. Interestingly, Mushtaq wrote Balaji serials like Kya Hadsa Kya Hakeekat, Kahiin Toh Hoga and Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii for two years.

Mustaq’s 450 pages 4-kilo book is priced at Rs. 3000 and is basically a pictorial account of Khan’s journey from his early days to now.

“There is so much to SRK, Just one book is not enough, I think round about 90-95 books will do justice,” Mustaq recently said in an interview. According to him, the book is the story of a survivor, a winner, an ongoing story of success.