A bash to celebrate the enormous success of Singh Is Kinng was held at a five-star hotel in Mumbai on Monday evening……the do was attended by the producer, director and cast of the film including worldwide distributors, Studio 18.

Also in attendance were guests like Dino Morea, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Prakash Jha, Mukesh Bhatt, Kunal Kohli, Aadesh Shrivastava and others.

A champagne toast was raised by Vipul Shah and Akshay Kumar to another kinng, Abhinav Bindra, who brought India honour by clinching a Gold Medal for Rifle Shooting at the Beijing Olympics.

Credit for Pictures: Viral Bhayani

The Indian Films-Studio 18 released Singh Is Kinng took home the box-office gold internationally, emerging as the biggest Bollywood title of 2008 and the numero uno in the career of its protagonist and superstar Akshay Kumar. (Interestingly, Kumar’s all-time No.2 performer, Welcome, was also released by Studio 18 in December 2007.)

In addition to the key overseas markets, US/Canada, UK and UAE, Singh Is Kinng saw a wide day-and-date release by Studio 18 in Trinidad & Tobago, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Mauritius, Fiji, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Australia and New Zealand, among other countries.

Distributed on 275 prints in these markets, Singh Is Kinng mopped up more than INR 12 cr (approx. US$ 3 million) just in its opening weekend.

In North America, on 112 prints (including 28 in Canada - the widest release for a Bollywood film ever), Singh… popped open to a thunderous response ringing up an estimated $1.2 million.

In the UK & Ireland, on 70 prints, it grossed £62,533 on its previews and notched a solid £430,748 over the weekend, taking its cum. to a gigantic £493,281 and placing it at No.7 in the UK Top 10 chart. In terms of per theatre average for the weekend, Singh Is Kinng devoured the prevailing Hollywood blockbusters in the UK, much the same as the US, where it was ranked at No.15.

In the Middle East, on 33 prints, the gross was in excess of 2.02 million AED.

Singh Is Kinng, produced by Vipul Shah’s Blockbuster Movies, features the hit duo, Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, ably supported by Neha Dhupia, Om Puri, Kirron Kher, Sonu Sood, Javed Jaffrey and others. It features a much-hyped collaboration on the title track with legendary rapper, Snoop Doggy Dogg.

After the super success of Jab We Met, Welcome & now Singh Is Kinng, Indian Films - Studio 18 has an impressive slate of international releases in 2008, which include Sanjay Gadhvi’s Kidnap, starring Sanjay Dutt and Imraan Khan, Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal Returns featuring Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitly and Tusshar Kapoor, and Anil Kapoor Productions’ Shortkut, toplining Akshaye Khanna, Amrita Rao and Arshad Warsi.

Be it NAMASTEY LONDON or the forthcoming SINGH IS KINNG … the incorporation of Punjab seems evident in Vipul Shah’s films. And while his latest production is for a universal audience and all communities alike, the emphasis on Punjabi characters, Punjabi lyrics and even a shooting schedule in Punjab cannot be overlooked!

Laughs Vipul, “I am a Gujarati but I think I was a Punjabi in my last birth! On a serious note, I’ve always been fascinated with North India. As a child my father took us to North India for vacations. So I’ve seen it extensively and find that culture very captivating. Punjabis are gregarious, hospital and big-hearted people! Everything about them is grand - their fashion, food, music…… And I think that makes for great viewing! Also, both Akshay and I felt that as people tend to make fun of Sardars in their jokes, let’s break that impression, and present the real heroism and spirit of Punjab. If you track their history, you’ll realise that the Punjabis are a very ‘dilayre’ community. Singh is Kinng celebrates the spirit and passion of Punjabis in an extremely entertaining manner and within the confines of a big commercial Bollywood extravaganza. It is a film that you can sit back and enjoy!” He also reveals, “My forthcoming film after Singh Is Kinng will also have a Punjabi flavour in it!”

Singh Is Kinng is out internationally on Thursday August 7 and is an Indian Films - Studio 18 release.

It was reported not long ago that the famous Goa-based singer-composer Remo Fernandes was to soon direct a film for Vipul Amrutlal Shah in which newcomer Harman Baweja was to act. Funny thing with stories though, sometimes they just turn out to be false rumors. Such was the case here.

When Fernandes was contacted he was not only completely unaware of the fact that he was soon to don the directorial cape, but termed the story rubbish. He also expressed his disapproval of Shah’s unprofessional attitude in mentioning his name in connection with the venture. “I haven’t got an offer to direct any film, and even if I would’ve got an offer from Vipul’s production house, I would have chosen not to work with him.”

Why the distain you may ask? Well, remember back to 2002 when Fernandes and Shah worked together on the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Aankhen. According to Fernandes, things didn’t go so well between the two. “I had the worst experience working with Vipul Shah during Aankhen and would never ever like to work with him again,” he fumes.

Guess the idea of Fernandes directing this film or any other by Shah’s production house is pretty much … Goan, Goan, Gone!