SRK dons new role with Mughal-E-Azam

Sporting the super hot look of Don 2, SRK talks of preserving old classics. 

 It looked as if it was a Don 2 event. The sassy dialogues from the film stylishly mouthed, the sexy stubble combined with an unkempt pony-tailed look and his inimitable wit thrown in between, Shah Rukh Khan was literally coerced to give glimpses of what was coming in the forthcoming Don 2 ... But hang on. It wasn't Don 2 event. So SRK skillfully turned around the focus from him to the actual event, the documentary launch of K Asif's classic Mughal-E-Azam , this time by mouthing his favorite dialogue from the classic Salim tumhe marne nahin denge Anarkali, aur hum tumhe jeene nahin denge and there it was .....the evening rolled out and how!

To commemorate the fifty years of the classic, SRK's company put together this 22 minute documentary that presented clippings of the colorized version of the film. Actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Randhir Kapoor threw in their bits of suggestions, views and appreciations along with the family members of K Asif who spoke about the need of preserving this all time classic.

The stage was set and SRK, who flew down from Malaysia where he was shooting for Don 2 , assumed the role of the narrator and took the audiences through the making of the documentary and film with some personal anecdotes thrown in between.

This film was special to him, he said. And not just because of its majestic execution and exploration of a unique love story, but also because King Khan's father, Taj Mohammed Khan, shot for the film! "My father was cast in the role that Ajit played, but later K Asif saab decided against taking him. Maybe Asif saab thought my father would be good at producing children than act in movies," said King Khan amidst laughter.

Though SRK didn't understand the film when he first saw it as a child, he fell in love when he saw it again years later. "The grandeur and magnificence, the vision with which the film was shot and the purity of love and passion shown between the lovers enamored me".

SRK feels Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese inspired him at initiating the thought of movie preservation. "Martin was keen on preserving some old Hollywood classics, but what I found amazing was his interest in preserving some of our films of Ritwick Ghatak and Satyajit Ray. I thought `why can't we do it?' and that's how it all started," explained the actor.

Any plans for any of his movies to be documented. "Aree I have many more years to do many films. Lets see how things go. Maybe Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge ....I know it's not a classic and nowhere near any great classics we have in our legacy. But no harm in thinking", he said with a wink. The actor also urged that nobody should think of remaking Mughal-E-Azam . "It's the mother of all films, and Maa ki remake nahin hote ".

Other than SRK's wit, the evening also saw one of Sa Re Ga Ma's singer croon the eternal song Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya , from the film.