Shah Rukh`s Pakistani cousin comes bearing gifts from Karachi

Peshawar: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan`s Pakistani cousin Noor Jehan is looking forward to a reunion with him after over a decade, when she visits India next month.

Noor Jehan, a resident of the Shah Wali Qataal area of Peshawar, last met Shah Rukh when she travelled to Mumbai in 1997. She is hoping to meet the `King Khan` of Bollywood when she visits India to attend the wedding of a relative. "I am going to New Delhi in the first week of February and will stay there for around 10 days. I shall approach Shah Rukh and if he spares time for me, I will proceed to Mumbai from New Delhi," she said. "I am proud of my cousin and have named my child after him. Shah Rukh has given us pride and recognition," Noor Jehan said. Keeping in mind Shah Rukh`s love for the city of his ancestors, Noor Jehan said she would take some special gifts for the star, including Peshawari chappals and a silk suit. During an earlier visit to Peshawar, Shah Rukh bought a pair of chappals that he used for about seven years, she said. Noor Jehan said when her brother Mansoor visited India in 2001, Shah Rukh had asked him to bring a pair of chappals. Mansoor took three pairs for him, she added. This will be Noor Jehan`s second visit to India. She last visited India in 1997, when she and her husband Asif Shahab stayed with the star for around one month. Taj Mohammad, Shah Rukh’s father, was the youngest of five brothers. Noor Jehan`s father Ghulam Muhammad, popularly known as Gamma, was an eminent Peshawari who opposed the Partition in 1947 and was associated with the Congress party. Noor Jehan said Shah Rukh had been in contact with her for the past few years. "Earlier, we lost contact as Shah Rukh kept changing his phone numbers and, because of his busy schedule, he could not keep in touch with us," she said. She said she got Shah Rukh`s phone number from Surinder Kapoor, the father of Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, whose family too has its roots in Peshawar. Surinder Kapoor often keeps in touch with people in his hometown, she said. Recalling her last visit to India, Noor Jehan said Shah Rukh received her warmly and his response was very cordial and affectionate. "Though he has not met his relatives (in Peshawar) for quite a long time, he keeps himself apprised of our well-being whenever he meets our relatives in UK, America or any other country in the world," she said. Shah Rukh had visited Peshawar in 1978 and 1979, his relatives said. Noor Jehan said the star loves Peshawar because he has roots there. "Shah Rukh also wishes to visit Peshawar and he had conveyed a message to us that if he visited Pakistan even for a single day, he will come to the city of his father," she said. PTI