Since its release, the Indian Films-Studio 18 released “Welcome” has only moved from strength to strength.

In the 2007 round-up in the UK, where the film has done the most business in the overseas market, “Welcome” ranks at No.2 after “Om Shanti Om”. “Namaste London”, “Partner” and “Salaam-e-Ishq” feature at No.3, 4 and 5 respectively.

It follows that “Welcome” is also the biggest of the four Akshay Kumar releases of 2007, and by the end of its fifth weekend, it will have created yet another record by emerging as the biggest UK hit ever of Akshay Kumar’s movie career!

“Welcome” has grossed nearly $1.8 million in the UK to date.

Shah Rukh Khan has gone where no Hindi film actors have gone before. The trade reports coming in from Kerala have it that SRK’s Om Shanti Om has been doing roaring business in Kerala.

In fact, it has done better business than their local films released during the same time. King Khan is a big hit down south too. Mind it!

Shah Rukh Khan himself desperately wants the song to go down into the Guinness book as a record of sorts. Yet the hit number was originally to have a few more famous and known faces dancing and making their presence felt. Like Amitabh Bachchan for instance who if not for Abhishek’s impending marriage would surely have been a part of the entire song sequence along with son Abhishek Bachchan . In fact Farah who left no stone unturned to have the duo says, “While both Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan have a special appearance in my film, they couldn’t make it in the Deewang i song. I wanted them to be part of the song, but when I shot the song, they were too busy with the Abhi-Ash marriage preparations.”

Aamir Khan too was conspicuous by his absence and Farah it seems had a long standing wish to have the three Khans – Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir dancing together alongside each other for the first time on the 70mm screen.

Shah Rukh Khan wanted his Main Hoon Na co-star Amrita Rao to be a part of the special song too. But director Farah Khan, we learn, had bigger plans. She wanted to have a complete Main Hoon Na segment in Deewangi song. That is to say she had hoped to have Main Hoon Na’s leading cast Sushmita Sen , Amrita Rao and Zayed Khan along with SRK to be featured together in a separate part of the song. Amrita says, “I couldn’t shoot for the song as I was busy shooting for Athidhi in Austria. Farah would call me up every time and badly wanted Sushmita, Zayed, Shah Rukh and myself to do a Main Hoon Na sequence but I just could not get out of my schedule.” And Farah went ahead with only Zayed and Shah Rukh where they do their trademark ‘head rubs’ from Main Hoon Na .

Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu who were the only senior actors who could not make it for the song though Shah Rukh and Farah wished for it desperately. Shah Rukh who was initially tagged of having a strong Dilip Kumar hangover has always looked up to the senior Devdas as his idol.

From the yesteryear celebrities, King Khan also wanted his personal favourite Zeenat Aman to add grace to the song. Not to forget Zeenat’s popular costar – the style icon Feroz Khan . Plus his son Fardeen Khan ! But both father and son were out of town.

So Shah Rukh says that what you saw in Om Shanti Om was not big – at least not as ‘magnanimous’ as he and Farah had visualized it to be, though for the audiences this was as grand as it could get. The king feels that if he could manage to get all the ones they had planned for that could have been huge. So SRK says, “Now I feel I will have to make a sequel to Om Shanti Om and request all the celebrities who missed out from the original song to shoot a song with me in the sequel”.

We would eagerly wait for ‘ OSO 2’ , Shah Rukh!

Shahrukh is very happy with the success of his entertainment company Red Chillies Entertainment and he wanted to share this success with all his employees. So recently SRK and his wife Gauri threw an impromptu celebration for all their employees and at the event apart from good food and drink.

Shahrukh and Gauri invited all their employees from Red Chillies Entertainment as well as their other employees like cooks, drivers etc to be present at a five star hotel. When the employees got there, they were all surprised as there was a huge celebration awaiting them. A few close friends of SRK who also work with him like Farah and others also came to thank everyone for their co-operation.

Shahrukh and his wife Gauri also thanked everyone for the success of Red Chillies Ent. SRK and Gauri had personally selected the menu of food and drinks. The highlight of the party was another surprise by SRK, when he began distributing bonus cheques to each and every employee present at the event.

Shahrukh Khan has personally had a wonderful year as his different role in Chak De was first widely appreciated and now recently his film Om Shanti Om which he produced and starred in was quite a hit at the box-office. Hence SRK wants to share this success with his employees without whose cooperation this success would not be possible.

Eros International, the leading integrated company within the Indian media & entertainment sector announces an unprecedented opening of Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om, produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and directed by Farah Khan. The film opened to rave reviews and advance bookings on the 9th November and has since grossed over US$19mn worldwide in its first week making it the most successful opening in Indian cinema history.

Om Shanti Om released across 1,400 plus screens globally, and for the first time saw screenings as early as 7.45 a.m. in certain multiplexes in India, making it one of the most anticipated films in recent times. Om Shanti Om’s staggering first week gross collections of US$13.5mn in India make it the best ever opening there.

The figures overseas are no less remarkable with the film grossing $1.5mn at the UK box office and over $2mn in North America in its first week. With as many as 14-16 shows planned daily in its second week at some multiplexes, Eros International is looking forward to an excellent run of King Khan’s film offering.

Kishore Lulla, Chairman and CEO, Eros International Plc said: “We are ecstatic with the audience as well as critics’ reactions to Om Shanti Om. It was one of the most awaited films of the year and we are excited that the magic combination of Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan has proved to be a huge success once again.  The superb run of the film in the first week has super ceded all expectations and we are confident of the film’s performance in the weeks to come.”

“We were expecting a commercial success but this kind of response has been overwhelming. It’s great that audiences as well as critics have appreciated the film. We had a lot of fun making this film and I am thrilled that audiences are having fun watching it too”, Farah Khan added.

The Farah Khan comedy reincarnation flick Om Shanti Om is doing wonders even in USA, as the first day’s figures show.

The presence of Shah Rukh Khan in the film has enabled it to make just over $385,000. It is being shown at a substantial 114 screens and has a per screen average of $3,377. This is a bumper opening for Om Shanti Om, and one of the best ever openings of a Shah Rukh Khan film. End of the day collections meant it was at number 14 in the Box Office charts.

Saawariya however has not fared that well. Distributed by power house Sony Pictures, it is being shown on 85 screens, but has made only $140,000. It’s per screen average is $1,647.

For the full USA Box Office report, please wait till Monday evening.

Shah Rukh Khan’s OM SHANTI OM was the most-watched film on Friday in the entire U.K., if one goes by the screen average of all 150 films [English and non-English] running in the nation. The film collected £ 114,318 on 52 screens on Friday, with the average working out to £ 2,198. Extra-ordinary.

On the other hand, there’s a wide gap between O.S.O. and SAAWARIYA in U.K. SAAWARIYA collected £ 38,254 on 46 screens, with the screen average working out to £ 832.

The audiences’ verdict is out. The box office seems to favour Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Om Shanti Om’ in comparison to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s much-touted magnum opus ‘Saawariya’.

While King Khan’s film registered 90 percent occupancy across the country on its Diwali release, Bhansali’s love story managed 60 percent.

‘Om Shanti Om’ is director Farah Khan’s tribute to the colourful and vibrant cinemas of the 70s and it has Shah Rukh is a new avatar, going shirtless and displaying his six-pack abs, while Bhansali’s film is a mystical love story set in Shimla and introduces new faces.

The audience response can be gauged from Anirban Basu, a movie buff who saw both the films. ”Om Shanti Om’ is much more entertaining than ‘Saawariya’. SRK’s film has a perfect blend of comedy and drama while Bhansali’s film is stale and boring. It is extremely slow. Apart from the lavish sets there is nothing in the film to hold the audiences’ interest.’

The difference of how well both the films would do in the coming days is also evident from the advance bookings.

With both the films in tough competition, the weekend will prove boom time for the multiplexes across the country.