Thaindian News

Berlin, Feb 13 (IANS) ‘King Khan’ left a trail of swooning fans at the red carpet premiere of his “My Name is Khan” here Friday night as he praised the organisers of the Berlin International Film Festival and autograph hunters alike.
“In the UK or Middle East, their cinema and audiences are quite close to Indian cinema. But thanks to Berlin International Film Festival director Dieter Kosslick and (Festival Delegate and India Programmer) Dorothee Wenner selecting ‘My Name Is Khan’, Germany has genuinely opened a window for us into Western cinema,” Shah Rukh Khan said at the premiere.

The Bollywood superstar who keeps getting mobbed in India and abroad said he was amazed by the gentleness of fans in Germany.

“The most amazing thing about the fans in Germany is that they are very gentle. Often fans can be aggressive, but here their love has a softness, gentleness, it is huggable. A girl asked me for my autograph, and when I told her I was late for a press conference, she immediately withdrew her hand. I don’t call them fans because that would be one-sided and I love them as much, they are family,” Shah Rukh said.

But the film’s response in Germany was not unalloyed.

Shah Rukh admitted: “Yesterday a German told me ‘My Name Is Khan’ is naïve. But that is the most beautiful part of the film. When we are children, we are innocent. We are taught inherent goodness by our parents about loving your fellow beings. As we grow older, we become more complex and complicated. My character’s simplicity is untouched by these complications, and it takes him to a higher plane.”