Kolkata Film Festival gets SRK for free

Kolkata: Bollywood `baadshah` Shahrukh Khan, who charges a hefty fee even for a few minutes of dance at high-profile weddings, has agreed to be a part of the upcoming Kolkata Film Festival (KFF) for free.

On the insistence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the superstar agreed to be one of the special guests at the inauguration of the state sponsored film fest to be held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium this Thursday. "We are not paying him anything at all due to budgetary constraints. He has agreed to come on his own," said information and cultural department secretary Nandini Chakraborty. With Rs 2.75 crore, KFF`s budget has however taken a massive jump this year. Last year, the erstwhile Left Front government had alloted only Rs one crore. The state government has provided Rs 60 lakh while the rest of the amount has been rasied through corporate sponsorships from PSUs like SAIL, GAIL, IDBI, SBI, etc, said KFF officials. Ever since Shahrukh bought the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008, he has been taking special interest in the city and never misses any opportunity to fly down here. Besides SRK, actress Sharmila Tagore, Nandana Sen, film directors Santhosh Sivan, Anant Mahadevan and Ketan Mehta will add a dash of glamour at the eight-day fest where altogether 150 films will be screened from 50 countries. PTI