He slipped into the Big B’s big shoes as Don and now Shah Rukh Khan will slip into the hot seat vacated by Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). Will King Khan send the STAR Plus TRPs soaring? Some in the big, wide blog world have their doubts, but most are optimistic about SRK’s star power.

Nat (http://mbnataraj. blogspot.com) feels that it would not be easy to match Amitabh’s “class, demeanour and diction”. “Where is the question of Shah Rukh Khan being better at it? He may, over time, develop his own following, if he can come out of Amitabh’s looming shadow.”

Amarjit (http://liquid-lounge. blogspot.com) hopes Shah Rukh will be able to “create the edge-of-the-seat suspense”. “He’s got a personality and style of his own, so it will work… Bachchan’s booming baritone will be replaced by Shah Rukh’s dimpled smile.” Till then, SRK “ko lock kiya jaye”.

For Y. Sunita Chowdhary (http://blogs.cinegoer.com) money is the matter. “No matter how much actors may blow the ‘love for the craft’ horn, trying their hardest to convince us that it’s not the lavish living that’s the driving factor, it’s ultimately all about the money... And why not? People go crazy to see their favourite star on screen twice a year and if he is appearing on TV every day, four days a week, can the fans maintain composure?”

Anant Rangaswamy (http://pigsandwings.blogspot.com) attributes the show’s success to the “the magical format” rather than the charisma of the host: “It’s the format, stupid! Whether it’s Shah Rukh Khan or Amitabh Bachchan, KBC WILL get eyeballs.”

In a blog titled “The ‘if cricket fails media plan’”, he observes that “if Team India fails to get its act together, where on earth are you going to find those missing eyeballs?… Men, Sec A, B, C, D, E, 0-99, will turn to other sources of entertainment”.

Like KBC, of course.

Asneak peek into the latest Harry Potter film has generated even more attention. An online clip of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, due to release in the middle of 2007, features a kiss between Harry and his girlfriend Cho. Blogs, expectedly, are agog.

“What, you haven’t seen the most recent Harry Potter movie trailer? What’s wrong with you?” asks www.filmsy.com, warning in the same breath about “plot spoilers” in the trailer.

Keep your fingers crossed, says www.slashfilm.com, for Hogwarts in 3D. The possibility of the film being converted to 3D from its IMAX version is being explored, according to Greg Foster, chairman and president of filmed entertainment at IMAX Corporation.

A six-and-a-half-minute preview at www.screen head.com includes interviews with the stars and the new director, David Yates. There’s also a “not very revealing plot synopsis and Gary Oldman on the intricate use of wands”.

“With the addition of Helena Bonham Carter and Imelda Staunton to a cast boasting the likes of Ralph Fiennes and Emma Thompson, the Potter franchise is becoming a repository for good British (and Irish) actors,” says the post on the website.