Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; July 28, 2014)

It is well known that Shah Rukh Khan is going the distance for his Diwali release, Happy New Year. This includes a series of concerts across the US and Canada in September and the tour will see him travel to these places along with his co- stars, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani and Vivaan Shah. Titled Slam! — The Tour, a poster of the show was recently unveiled.

Apart from the actors, the poster also has snapshots of director Farah Khan, Malaika Arora Khan (who has done a cameo in the film) and Baby Doll singer Kanika Kapoor (who has sung a track in the film). What, however is really interesting is Honey Singh’s picture on the posters, considering that Vishal- Shekhar have composed the music for the film.

In fact, Honey Singh and Vishal-Shekar share an acrimonious past. Last year, the composer duo was upset when SRK had roped in Honey Singh to sing the Lungi Dance track for Chennai Express. Vishal had even launched a verbal tirade against Honey on Twitter. In an attempt to express their disappointment, the composers even skipped an episode of Indian Idol Junior (where they were judges) when SRK came on the show to promote Chennai Express.

Says a source, “It is strange that Vishal-Shekhar, the film’s music composers, are missing from the concert. Instead, Honey Singh will be performing at the shows.”

On July 23, SRK stated on Twitter, “SEDUCE u... LOVE u... AMAZE u... go MAD with u! SLAM The Tour from the Happy New Year Team.” (sic)

The source adds that Honey Singh’s presence has raised many eyebrows. “The concert organisers are looking at including popular tracks from SRK’s earlier films. This is perhaps why Honey Singh has found a place along with the Happy New Year team.”

Vishal-Shekhar and Honey were unavailable for comment.