Shah Rukh Khan breeds surrogacy rumours

India’s media is in speculation over-drive since last week, when a Mumbai-based paper, Mid-Day, announced that a Bollywood superstar is due to have a child through surrogacy, with all eyes on Shah Rukh Khan. The actor, however, is yet to confirm whether he is expecting his third child with wife Gauri in July through surrogacy. The couple have been married for 22 years and have two children.

The report had extensive quotes from an unidentified industry insider claiming it was Gauri’s decision to go in for surrogacy and that preparations were in full swing at their sea-facing mansion, Mannat, to welcome the bundle of joy. It also went on to say that Bollywood’s power couple were consulting the same doctor that actor Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao had enlisted when they opted for surrogacy.

Khan, who’s busy promoting his Eid release Chennai Express in Mumbai, did not entertain personal questions during press interactions. When tabloid! met him this weekend in Mumbai, VJ Anusha Dandekar, who was the anchor for the trailer launch on Thursday evening, made it a point to pick film-related questions only.

Khan may not have confirmed the development or made these rumours legitimate, but this piece of news has spawned several other interesting news items. It now has a life of its own.

On Monday morning, reports claiming that Khan was expecting a baby boy were doing the rounds. But before we could digest that piece of information, the Indian Radiological and Imaging Associations (IRIA) was up in arms about how the actor knew about the sex of his unborn child. Sex determination tests in India are illegal.

“We have written to the state health department to find out how the actor came to know about the unborn child’s sex when sex determination is illegal in India,” Dr Jignesh Thakkar, coordinator for the Pre-Conception Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, IRIA was quoted as saying in the report. This piece of reportage has the makings of a Bollywood masala film. Now we wish the hero of this real-life drama, Shah Rukh Khan, who has a 15-year-old son, Aryan, and 13-year-old daughter, Suhana, would just stand up and clear the air.