SRK painting to be auctioned in NY

Self-styled artist Anjana Kuthiala's canvas, which depicts King Khan against a Rajasthani backdrop, will go under the hammer in New York.

Move over Madhuri Dixit, it's now Shah Rukh Khan's turn to take a bow as an artist's muse. The actor had inspired self-styled artist Anjana Kuthiala enough to have her paint him in various versions - King Asoka like or in a more Grecian fashion is old news.

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What's new is that her Shah Rukh inspired paintings are likely to be auctioned in New York, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Although Shah Rukh, was not available for comment, Kuthiala is ecstatic that her painting--a 4 X 4 ½ ft oil on canvas, which depicts Khan and the figure of a woman against a Rajasthani backdrop-- is to be auctioned in New York. "It's a Paheli sort of painting as it has Shah Rukh. Actually since it was painted before the film, I'd say that Paheli was inspired by the painting."

The ball was set rolling during Khan's Temptation show in New Delhi last year when the paintings were put on display and one of it was even given away by Shah Rukh to a person from the audience.

The girl who had walked away with the painting as it turned out, was the

daughter of Kiran Pasricha, senior director of CII in USA, who expressed a desire to organise a sit-down dinner and an auction of Anjana's paintings in New York in order to raise money for creating AIDS awareness. And with Khan at the centre, it's likely to get bigger with Tag Heuer (Shah Rukh' their brand ambassador in India) eager to be a part of it.

jSingapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, where two paintings each will be sold, have been penciled in too, keeping in mind Shah Rukh's popularity in these countries. Not too long ago, Singapore had named an orchid after Khan and Malaysia happens to be the place where Khan is likely to be once the shooting for Farhan Akhtar's Don starts.