Aamir (top) and the other Shah Rukh

Mumbai, May 14: If Bachchan fired from a Shotgun, Aamir has Shahrukh licking at his heels.

The Rang de Basanti actor, who is recuperating from a hamstring injury at his Panchgani home, has disclosed he has a dog which happens to share the name of Bollywood’s biggest star.

“Shahrukh is the dog of the caretakers of our house.When I bought this house it came with the caretakers,” says Aamir in his blog, while hastening to clarify that he had no hand in the naming of the pup who he “feeds biscuits every now and then”.

Bollywood grapevine is flush with stories of the needling rivalry between the Khan superstars, with SRK getting the sobriquet “King”.

The two, who have never shared screen space and also never engaged in a direct faceoff, have, however, often tried to outdo each other. “For example, if Shah Rukh is the face of Pepsi and Nokia, Aamir has gone with Coke and Samsung. If Shah Rukh launches a new actress, so will Aamir,” says a Bollywood critic.

At a public event in March, Aamir, asked by a journalist what was the one question he would like to ask Shah Rukh, had replied: “How does it feel to be number two behind Aamir?”

Shah Rukh was quick with his riposte. “Aamir is a dear friend and if he says that I’m second to him then it’s a great compliment to him…oops that was a genuine slip of tongue…I mean it’s a great compliment to me. He is 100 per cent No. 1,” he had said.

Aamir’s blog (http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog.htm) draws a large number of hits as does Amitabh’s. The Big B had recently hit out at colleague Shatrughan Sinha for insinuating that the nominations list for a film award was fixed.

Aamir, who suffered an injury while filming Ghajini, says the pup got a name because SRK the actor had shot for a commercial in the Panchgani house a few years ago. “That very day, the caretakers bought a pup and named him Shahrukh,” he writes.

Then follows a light dig with a request to Shah Rukh to be his guest at the house in Panchgani, a scenic hill-station 270km from Mumbai. “What are the chances of me buying a house which comes with a dog called Shahrukh!!! Some of my friends claim that I bought the house because of the dog. I would have to be a serious fan of Shah Rukh’s to want to do that. All I can say is that I’m waiting for him to come over,” Aamir says.

Before signing off, he throws another potshot. “Well, Shahrukh is once again begging for my attention, so let me get back to him. He is smelling too much, I think he needs a bath. ‘Heel boy, heel.”’