That he is a bigger draw than Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise with the diaspora in the UK and the USA, is an earlier-known fact. This time Shah Rukh Khan has gone a step ahead. His latest film, Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan, has become a global phenomenon.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “It has taken the biggest opening ever for a Bollywood film in the UK, and also in USA. This reiterates the fact that Shah Rukh is King in the overseas market.’’ The film has also taken several other foreign markets by storm. It has broken the record for the biggest initial for a Bollywood movie in the UAE. And is the first Hindi film to release in Egypt across eight theatres. Then, in the first week of March, the film will also release in nine theatres across Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

This summer "My Name Is Khan" will be playing for a non-NRI audience in theatres across the US.

And the version of "MNIK" that American audiences will get to see will be different from the original film released so far in India and overseas for the NRI audiences. Shah Rukh Khan confirms this decision to shorten the film for American audiences.

"Yes, we are cutting the length of the film for the American audience. Their requirements are different from the traditional audience for Hindi cinema. We're in this way extending the life span of a Hindi film with first a worldwide release for Indian audiences and then phased out releases for non-Indian audiences," he told media.

094 x SRK at Cinemax for MNIK promotion
001 x My Name is Khan print ad
001 x My Name is Khan movie still

    

001 x My Name is Khan press conference (Berlin)
007 x My Name is Khan premiere in Berlin
011 x Pradeep Dhoot's son's wedding

    

Sorry for the delay in posting the premiere pics. I went to see MNIK. :D

046 x My Name is Khan premiere in Berlin
011 x SRK, Kajol & Karan returning from Berlin (MNIK premiere)

  

006 x My Name is Khan press conference in Berlin

    

052 x Berlinale International Film Festival 2010 - My Name is Khan

    

Shah Rukh Khan's wife Gauri defied the Shiv Sena threat and stepped out to see Bollywood superstar's film My Name Is Khan at a local theatre on the opening day of its release.

Gauri, 39, who broke her silence in the tense Shah Rukh-Shiv Sena stand-off, said her husband is "very happy" with theinitial response to the film after remaining "sad" yesterday following the controversy over the release of the eagerly awaited picture.

A co-producer of the film herself, Gauri urged cinegoers to catch up with the movie saying it is a "beautiful" picture.