On International Women's Day, SRK decides, heroine's name shall appear first in credit titles

Mumbai : Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has decided on International Women's Day to give pride of place to the heroine's name in the credit titles of all his forthcoming films. Henceforth, in all his films, the heroine's name will appear ahead of him in the credit titles. It wouldn't matter whether the leading lady is a "senior of junior to SRK", says a press release. Shah Rukh Khan, who has an enviable following among women, is doing his bit for their empowerment, says the press release.The actor, who recently shot a short film for R Balki, released on Women's Day, is keen to change the rules of the male-dominated fraternity, one film at a time.Starting with his upcoming film Chennai Express, the credit rolls will not feature his name first, but that of his leading actress. Traditionally, since the era of the great Dilip Kumar, it has always been the male star, who has been the first one to be credited, followed by the rest of the cast and crew. Unless of course, it was a completely heroine-centric film. In Chennai Express, Deepika Padukone's name will appear before that of SRK.Confirming the story, a friend of the star said: “Starting with Chennai Express, his female costar's name will appear first. SRK has always maintained that it is the women in his life who have been the reason for his success – mother, wife, sister, daughter, co-star sand staff. This is a small but significant step that takes the philosophy forward.” Says Balki,“Yes, it's absolutely true! Shah Rukh will go on film this Women's Day to declare that his heroines' names would appear before his name in the credit titles of all his films.”Apparently, Balki and the team behind the film came up with the idea of credit-line priority for women in Shah Rukh's film and the superstar was game for it. Says Balki appreciatively, “Shah Rukh didn't hesitate for even a second. He immediately agreed to the idea of henceforth allowing his leading ladies the right to go first in the credit titles.”Though it appears revolutionary in the current context, the leading lady's name appearing before the hero is not unknown.In the films starring Meena Kumari and Dharmendra her name preceded his name in the credit titles, because Dharmendra was considered "junior" to Meena Kumar. Some films featuring Mala Sinha with either Biswajeet or Sanjay Khan also featured the leading lady's name first. Nanda also got first billing in her films with Shashi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna. However, these exceptions were made because the heroines were "senior".