Even a Superhero needs a Bodyguard!

Trust us; this will do nothing good to the already sour relationship between the two biggest Khans of Bollywood: Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan. Salman Khan’s sister Alvira Khan has poked fun at Shahrukh Khan and his opus Ra.One.

Reportedly, after the release of Ra.One, Alvira Khan’s Blackberry status message read: “Even a Superhero needs a Bodyguard!”

While Shahrukh Khan’s fans are not taking this slight humorously, Alvira Khan’s friends feel that it was just status message and was meant for pure fun and was not targeted to take a dig at SRK.

The most controversial part is that SRK’s supporters are even claiming that Salman Khan must have been the one to have asked Alvira to put that status message! If reports are to be believed, Alvira would never put such a drastic status without the consent of brother Salman Khan. Even if Salman did not ask her to put this status message, he should not have allowed her to post it either! The clear picture, however, is yet to emerge!

Nevertheless, looks like a possible chance of friendship between Mr. G.One and Mr. Bodyguard has further taken a beating after this incident.

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Bollywood's new benchmark: Rs 100 crore and higher

Even before Bodyguard, the latest Salman Khan-starrer, was released in theatres, it had earned the “blockbuster” tag. The only thing left to see was if it would cross the Rs 100 crore mark and how soon it would achieve that.

The reason for such anxiety was not related to financial gains alone. It was also about the degree of success that the film would achive. “Rs 100 crore collection is the new benchmark of a Bollywood hit,” feels Atul Agnihotri, producer of Bodyguard. “In the last couple of years, the industry has seen several films surpassing the Rs 100 crore mark. Two of them have been Salman’s. So we had to promote Bodyguard right, because I was sitting on a hat-trick ball,” he adds.

The Rs 100 crore phenomenon at the box-office started with Ghajini, which raked in almost Rs 140 crore, thanks to Aamir Khan pumping his biceps and seeking revenge. The actor did it again with 3 Idiots, which earned yet-to-be-matched Rs 315 crore. However, Dabangg (Rs 170 crore) and Golmaal 3 (Rs 110 crore) kept the Rs 100 crore party going in 2010.

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Mere Brother Ki Dulhan nets Rs 255 mn in opening weekend

MUMBAI: Mere Brother Ki Dulhan did fairly well in its first weekend to collect Rs 255 million. However, the inevitable drop in collections has been noticed today.

Bodyguard has been squeezed dry with an extensive release and multiple screenings (as many as 2400 shows between 31 August and 9 September in a town like Ghaziabad) during its first nine days. Released mid-week on Eid (Wednesday, 31 August) it collected Rs 1.15 billion in nine days.

The collections over the second weekend have tapered down to approximately Rs 160 million and come to a trickle as of today (Monday), with some cinemas reporting poor audience due to lack of repeat value.

Bol made no impact beyond critical appreciation, collecting just Rs 13.5 million in its first week.

The Girl In Yellow Boots stays on the lower side with Rs 14 million in its first week.

Aarakshan tally at the end of four weeks is Rs 379 million.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara's eight-week total is Rs 869 million.

Murder2's total at the end of nine weeks stands at Rs 491.5 million.

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Katrina and Kareena worry about Salman

One may be an ex-girlfriend, the other is a present co-star, but both Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor are concerned about friend/co-star Salman Khan

Bodyguard is making a lot of noise all over the country, with BO registers ringing up profits like mad, never mind that the critics are panning the film – but the hero is not here to experience the high. Salman Khan has left for the United States, to get his trigeminal neuralgia treated by experts. And his lady friends are a little sad about his absence, though they are understandably worried. Kareena has been left holding the baby that is Bodyguard for a while, and Katrina…well…we can never be sure what she is holding where Salman is concerned, but their friendship cannot be doubted. Kat has made her new project with Sallu top priority, refusing plum assignments to accommodate Ek Tha Tiger. We hear that these include Dhoom:3 with Aamir Khan and the gang, and Ayaan Mukherjee’s new one co-starring Ranbir Kapoor. And since the Yash Chopra film with Shahrukh Khan will happen only next year, Katrina has time to do her thing with Salman, whenever she is needed to. And the concern is obvious, the strain is showing, people say, since she is worrying so much about her man-friend that her face cannot show off the happy-fun mood that Mere Brother Ki Dulhan promotional activities need. Now that is friendship, no?

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