Shah Rukh 'plots' to kill Amitabh

Tired of stale rumours, Shahrukh Khan the king of Bollywood, suggests some fresh ones to help gossipmongers. How about my plot to kill Amitabh Bachchan, he says.

After staying away from the media glare for months due to his chock-a-block schedule, Bollywood's most adorable star has resurfaced to clarify his alleged enmity with the veteran superstar.

"We hate each other. Right now we are planning to hire assassins to kill each other.

"I have even decided to take on Yash Chopra by destroying the negatives of all his films. That is how bad it is. My assassins are all over Mumbai and even outside Mr. Bachchan's house attempting to take over," Shah Rukh told CNN-IBN network in an interview.

"I think newspapers and channels should just freshen up. They should try to bring up some fresh scandal stories, like me having an affair with Abhishek Bachchan. That would be more interesting," he said with a straight face.

Shah Rukh also spoke at length about the July 11 terrorist attack in Mumbai that killed at least 200 people.

"I had just come back from London when I heard about the blasts. It is immensely sad. It is an understatement to say that it was a bad thing to happen. I feel really sad.

"People who were absolutely innocent and had not done any harm to any one had to die in a heinous act by some cowardly terrorists. It's not going to serve any purpose. These people are psychopaths, I think."

The actor had some original take on the piracy problem plaguing the film industry, "There are certain things that are beyond your control, like the rains in Mumbai. Either you can keep on being concerned about them or you can do try doing something about them. I can do neither."

The issue of plagiarism too does not upset the star who admitted taking inspiration from Hollywood flicks.

"I too get inspired by a lot of Hollywood films and the action sequences that I see in foreign films. I think I have done a few films which might have been direct lift or take-offs from the climax of some foreign films.

"Like in 'Badshah' there were some sequences inspired from a Jackie Chan film. And it was my suggestion. So, I won't deny that I haven't stolen ideas. There are only limited subjects. So, there are going to be overlap of story ideas."

Asked him about his forthcoming autobiography, he said: "I didn't get the time to write it. Anupama Chopra, a wonderful and much more accomplished writer than I can ever be has written a book which is likely to come up in 2007.

"But I have a deal with my publishers, that I will write a book on myself some time. I have already written major portions of it. As soon I get the time, I will finish it. I have just few bits and pieces to finish now."

Shah Rukh is geared up for his next release, "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna", about marriage and infidelity, in which he plays a somewhat negative role after a long time.

"I am completely uneducated in the matters of infidelity. All the education I got about it was from (director) Karan (Johar)."

Shah Rukh is excited about playing the title role in the remake of the 1970s hit "Don". "The remake has no comparison with the original hit. It will not be that great, but it is indeed a dream come true for me to play that legendary role."

His philosophy in life? "I enjoy it without being overwhelmed. I had said this about 'Devdas' as well. If you are going to run with Carl Lewis, you feel relaxed because you know you are not going to win. So, just enjoy the fact that you are getting the chance to run with Carl Lewis."