The timing is significant-the two films Om Shanti Om and Saawariya are slated for Diwali release and SRK, always ahead of the pack, has learnt his lessons in media relations well. It could be that playing Kabir Khan in Chak De! India reiterated the advantage of playing the underdog or it could be that he learnt from the outrage that follows a skirmish with the media. Either ways, the actor producer is not taking a chance.

Becoming accessible to friends and favorites in the media around the time of a film's release is de rigueur- even the most elusive, reluctant star, to borrow a phrase from Dickens, “is willing,” Nothing new about that except the clever bit making appear as though requesting their support and then pitching himself - a passionate actor - film maker - against the invaders. It works like a charm.

True to his word, Khan has gone to town using every available platform to wax eloquent about his six - pack, why and how he acquired them, the brand new heroine of his film Deepika Padukone and all else related to his forthcoming film. Reality shows round have been done by both the Om Shanti Om and Saawariya teams and there was recently even a fashion show devoted to the former.

Whether it is the war of words between Bhansali and Farah Khan and Deepaika Padukone's liaison with Ranbir Kapoor, all news related to these two films has been chronicled in great detail. So far, the media footage for both the films has almost been equal but as the release date draws close, the blitzkrieg is likely to get even more intense.

Besides the latest from bollywood is that Shah Rukh Khan and South Indian director Shankar are not working with each other. What it effectively means is that SRK will no longer be part of Robot and is currently unemployed.

Robot had created a lot of stir in Bollywood as it was being touted to be one of the most stylish and slick movies ever to be made. The film was supposed to go on the floors by early next year. The director Shankar has so far only made one Hindi film, Nayak, with Anil Kapoor. SRK and Shankar are believed to have have parted ways because of creative differences.

What next for SRK? The actor is believed to have taken seven months off for Robot. Now that he is no more doing the film, he is effectively unemployed for the next seven months. The actor confirms that saying that Raju Hirani's film is not happening and Don 2 will only go on the floors towards the end of 2008. So there is no film of SRK that’s going to hit the screen in near future and that makes Shahrukh more desperate to make Om Shanti Om a hit.

The King Khan had claimed he is jobless for next eight months as he is neither doing the Rajkumar Hirani film nor the sci-fi thriller, Robot to be directed by Sivaji maker, Shankar. It was reported that Vidhu Vinod Chopra's accusations had made him leave the Hirani film.

The Om Shanti Om star has often been accused of playing it safe by preferring to work only with his close circle of filmmakers that includes the Chopras and Karan Johar. While he had often refuted these accusations this latest example proves otherwise. He had the perfect opportunity this time with very unlike Shah Rukh Khan roles in Rajkumar Hirani's film based on Chetan Bhagat's best selling novel, Five Point Someone and Shankar's Robot but he seems to have wasted it.

Now he is back to his friend and pal Karan Johar and is doing his film, My Name Is Khan, which is about how people with Muslim names are viewed with suspicion internationally after the terror attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. SRK is extremely excited about this project and has been equating his personal experiences as a Muslim traveler abroad with the film's subject but the film is not going to start before the end of next year and till then Badshah will have to wait.

Shah Rukh even rubbishes the claim that he was going to be part of Yash Raj Films’ ‘ Dhoom 3’. Just because his films with Yash Raj were successful and he had a good working chemistry with Aditya Chopra, did not mean that Shah Rukh was going to star in all of their films.

His upcoming film ‘ Om Shanti Om’ was intentionally set in the 1970s to make it more realistic in having a lot number of songs and dances to attract the masses. The movie also has some trademark dialogues from the bygone era of 70s like ‘ Mujhe bhagwan ke liye chhod do’ and ‘ Beta maine tere liye kheer banayi hai.’ But at the same time it’s competing with the magnum opus Saawariya which has Sanjay Leela Bhansali at the helm of affairs whose every film is a masterpiece and even King Khan himself is yet to give a as powerful performance as Devdas which was made by Bhansali. So its natural to see nervous SRK this time round leaving nothing to chance for he knows in this industry nothing succeeds like success and there is little place for mistakes.