SRK charms the French, backs their football team inthe World Cup

The venue was Taj
Mahal Palace Hotel, one of the most important
Mumbai landmarks and the evening was dedicated to
King Khan. The French Minister for Foreign Affairs &
International Development H.E. Mr. Laurent Fabius
had come all the way to Bollywood to confer on Shah
Rukh Khan his nation’s civilian honor Chevalier de la
Légion d'Honneur. Chevalier (Knight), the start-up
rank in the Légion d'Honneur, the highest civilian
awards of France, is conferred for ‘minimum 20 years
of public service or 25 years of professional activity’.
However, what overjoyed the French guests sitting in
the audience was when SRK spoke a few lines in
French such as ‘merci beaucoup’ (thank you very
much). They lustily cheered him after his brief French
speech. And then came the humor part of it. He said
that he had written those lines in Hindi to be able to
read them and speak in French. He called it as a fine
example of Indo-French cooperation. He also wished
the French football team victory in the World Cup and
said Sab ki vaat laga do’ (Beat them hollow).
(Rajesh Kumar Singh is Editorial Consultant for
Festivals and Markets for BollywoodTrade.com.
He is a filmmaker, critic and market analyst)