SRK keeps a safe distance

Wonder what’s stopping Shah Rukh Khan from promoting a 76-minute film under his banner. Call it the pressure of wrapping up his most ambitious project ever (Ra. One), getting plans in place for his home production (Always Kabhi Kabhi) or sheer aversion to the latest production from his company, Shah Rukh seems to have distanced himself from Men Will Be Men.

King Khan, who is known for his marketing strategies and having a sharp business acumen, has shockingly stayed away from any promotions for this film. Men Will Be Men is a 76-minute film under SRK’s banner which is due for release this Friday. Considering all the hype he generates around his films, it is quite surprising to see him not talk about it. “It is seeing a totally silent release and no one has any clue what the film is all about. Why Shah Rukh is keeping a distance from his own film is indeed quite puzzling. For someone who started the trend of going all out for his films since the days of Don — The Chase Begins Again, an apparent lack of interest in Men Will Be Men is baffling,” says an industry source.

The film is not even presented as a Red Chillies film. The banner mentioned on the forefront is an Idiot Box film, which is another arm of Red Chillies. “No one knows what really prompted Shah Rukh to stay away from the film, but one reason could be that he may have wanted to stay away from such surrogate advertising,” says a trade source adding, “For all you know, this could just be a short film made for TV and the makers are experimenting to test waters with a big screen release.”

Whatever be the reason, the fact remains that Men Will Be Men won’t quite have expected such a release for itself especially, after Shah Rukh’s name being attached with the project. Even the credit rolls mention Samar Khan as the executive producer, which makes Shah Rukh’s distance very clear. Well, men will be men after all.

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