Shahrukh Khan upset over the IPL controversy

Indian Premier League (IPL) team owners have so far denied in one voice that they deliberately did not bid for Pakistani players during the auction in Mumbai on January 19.

Now a prominent member has broken rank and voiced his opposition to how the entire matter was handelled. Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan has admitted that the entire matter left a sour taste in the mouth.

Shah Rukh Khan's team had the maverick Pakistani paceman Shoaib Akhtar in its ranks during the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 tournament in 2008.

Two years later, while SRK gave the player auction a miss, his fellow franchisee owners decided to give up on the chance to buy Pakistanis at all and since then they have been defending their decision.

But now King Khan has chosen not to toe the line.

"They are the champions, they are wonderful but somewhere down the line there is an issue and we can't deny it. We are known to invite everyone. We should have. If there were any issues, they should have been put on board earlier. Everything can happen respectfully," he told a news channel.

Shah Rukh's statement is bound to ruffle the feathers of other team owners, who have been defending their decision to give the Pakistanis a miss unapologetically.

"A lot of Australian players were not taken in the auction but zeroed in on that particular thing. So the idea of sensationalising the country's conscience is handlelled by the media. It is very, very important for the media to react sensibly," said Kings XI Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta.

"Are we in a situation to provide security with certain political parties and lunatic fringes constantly threatening? I don't think that is something that we wanted to take the onus for. And we were the losers," said Shilipa Shetty, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals.

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, too, won't be pleased with SRK. After all he has been blaming the media for the controversy.

"Why are you taking the case of only one country?" Modi had asked the reporters.

Clearly just as the storm was showing signs of tapering off, SRK's words are bound to find resonance on both sides of the border.

Hot Sexy Amrita Rao on FHM Cover 2010

Hot babe Amrita Rao is on the cover of FHM India's January 2010 issue. Buzz18 brings you excerpts from her interview and, of course, her hot pictures

"I have been very much a Mumbai girl...I was born and brought up in Mumbai. Our past three generations have been here. My dad is from print advertising world, he was involved on the design side, branding and the works. He has his advertising agency so I've grown up always hearing about creatives, captions, positioning, branding... As a result, I've been pretty much inclined towards art and creative field from the beginning."

"I never thought that I'd get into acting so early in life, though I've always had this hunch that I would become an actress. I started when I was very very young. I was a mere teenager and I was studying. Now when I look back, I think that is the best thing that happened to me because I have experience and yet I have youth on my side. It's so important sometimes to start young."

"I am a Manglorean, hailing from North Canara district. I have never lived there but I've been there on a holiday. I think, my community is a small community. There have been few people from my community in the film industry but they've all been very very famous... Shyam Benegal, Guru Dutt, Leena Chandavarkar, Aatmaram... which makes me very proud."

PRIYANKA CHOPRA Wins National Film Awards 2010 For Fashion by Madhur Bhandarkar

Fashion, Rock On!!, Firaaq and Jodhaa Akbar winning two awards each in various categories. But Bengali film Antaheen won the best feature film award and three more.

While Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion, a dark tale about the Indian fashion industry, won its heroine Priyanka Chopra the best actress award and got Kangana Ranaut the best supporting actress honour, Farhan Akhtar's cult music-based film Rock On!! got the best Hindi film award. Actor Arjun Rampal won the best supporting actor award for the film too.

Ashutosh Gowariker's epic Jodhaa Akbar won Chinni Prakash and his wife Rekha Prakash the best choreography award for the song Azeem-o-shaan shehenshah, a number that depicts dance forms of different Indian states. Fashion designer Neeta Lulla, who styled actress Aishwarya Rai in the film, has won the best costume designer award.

Nandita Das' directorial debut Firaaq, which was based on the 2002 Gujarat riots, has won the awards for best editing (A. Sreekar Prasad) and best art direction (Gautam Sen).

Even films like A Wednesday, Roadside Romeo, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Mumbai Meri Jaan and Thanks Maa took one award each.

While Neeraj Pandey's A Wednesday has bagged the Indira Gandhi award for Best First Film of a director, Yash Raj Films' Roadside Romeo bagged award in the best animation film category.

Dibakar Banerjee's satirical Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! has been adjudged the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment, Mumbai Meri Jaan directed by Nishikant Kamat has got the award for best special effects (Govardhan), and Thanks Maa has got Shams Patel the best child artist award.

The award for best direction has gone to Bala for Tamil film Naan Kadauul, while the best actor is Upendra Limaye for Marathi film Jogva.

Bengali film Antaheen, directed by Annirudh Roy-Chowdhary, has won four awards including for best feature film.

My Name Is Khan Distributors High On Confident

The unprecedented success of Aamir Khan starrer 3 Idiots has set a tough challenge for new releases by grossing Rs 315 crore in just 19 days. But bosses of Fox STAR studios, distributors of Shah Rukh Khan's forthcoming film My Name Is Khan, are undeterred and hope to hit the bull's eye with the movie.

"We've always been hugely excited about My Name Is Khan and we remain excited. It is fair to say that '3 Idiots' has had great success but as far as My Name Is Khan is concerned, we believe that it's a film to cut across all demographics," Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star, told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

"It has a wide appeal. It also has a very strong talent base which is coming together after eight years. It's a very powerful, emotionally engaging film," he added.

Directed by Karan Johar, My Name Is Khan features Shah Rukh as an unconventional hero Rizvan Khan, who embarks on a journey across America to win back the love of his life, played by Kajol. It shows how, along the way, his personality touches the lives of many and inspires a nation.

The film marks the coming together of Johar, Shah Rukh and Kajol after nine years after their last outing Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001).

The movie has also been in news for Fox Star's acquisition of its global rights reportedly for $20 million.

The movie will be marketed and distributed by Fox Star in India, in the US by its sister company Fox Searchlight and in the rest of the world by parent group 20th Century Fox International.

Throwing more light on My Name Is Khan, Singh said: "'My Name Is Khan is an amazing love story which has a very epic sweep to it. And of course it's got an amazing cast and crew.

"We are hugely excited and we are going to have a worldwide release on Feb 12. It will be the widest Bollywood release ever out of India."

Asked about the number of the prints, Singh said: "It's too early (for figures) as the release is in February. But rest assured given the working progress, it will be the widest release across the widest number of countries and prints."

The movie will open in theatres in India and over 40 countries including the US, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, according to Johar' Dharma Productions.

Asked about the budget of the venture, Singh promptly replied: "No. We don't go down there... We don't give our numbers."

He also refused to divulge details on the marketing strategies for the movie saying, "it's probably too early on giving out some of the information."

The movie is coming a few days before Valentine's Day. Asked why, Singh said: "The very fact that Shah Rukh and Kajol are almost like the jodi of the decade. They represent the best of love pairs in Bollywood.

"So here's a love story set against such a big canvas which is coming out very appropriately timed for Valentine's. It's almost like how far will you go for your love."