Malaysian state plans to hold Shah Rukh concert

A Malaysian state hopes to hold a concert next month by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan who had promised to shoot the film Happy New Year in the country.

A Malaysian state hopes to hold a concert next month by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan who had promised to shoot the film "Happy New Year" in the country.

Malacca state conferred the award of Datuk, akin to British knighthood, on Khan last December. It hopes he will keep his promise to shoot for his next film "Happy New Year".

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Assuming that he will combine a concert with the shoot, plans are afoot to get Khan to perform Dec 11 in Malacca.

Malaccan Chief Minister Mohammed Ali Rustam, who was instrumental in Khan being made a Datuk, Tuesday said the state would seek private sponsorship to help organise the concert in conjunction with the UN World Assembly of Youths 60th anniversary celebrations.

The event, he added, would be held at Stadium Hang Jebat in Krubong to enable many fans to catch their Bollywood idol in action, The Star newspaper reported.

"We are trying to get a private company or maybe several more to sponsor the event.

"It will be worth their while as they can get international publicity if Shah Rukh Khan endorses their products," he told reporters here.

He said state representatives had recently met the star in India to discuss how to promote and develop the local film industry.

Shah Rukh said he was not keen on setting up a studio here due to time constraints.

However, he said he would be glad to assist the state as an adviser, Rustam said.

Amid protests from local artists and celebrities, Rustam convinced the Malaccan royalty last year to confer the award on Khan and the title of 'Datin' on his wife Gauri Khan.

Besides Khan, several Bollywood stars and their films are popular in Malaysia where their popularity goes much beyond the eight percent ethnic Indian population.