Here’s big news: If everything works out as planned, both Amitabh ‘The Big B’ Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan may well share stage space together in namma Chennai this September. As part of the massive gala that the South Indian Film Chambers of Commerce (SIFCC) has planned in Chennai to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema, both the big names of Bollywood have been invited for the event. “We have invited both of them and we are awaiting their response eagerly,” said a top official with SIFCC. If they accept the invitation, they will take part in the finale of the three-day event to be held at the YMCA ground in Nandanam. And the good news for fans of King Khan is that he may well make the trip to Chennai - Indications from sources close to SRK are that he may be juggling shooting dates around in September for the event, after all. Incidentally, both Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have been visiting the city separately over the past few years, but almost always for different purposes.

While SRK was last seen in Chennai rubbing shoulders with Kamal Haasan, shaking a leg with Vijay and making jokes about his upcoming Chennai Express, at an awards function, Big B was here a few months back for a wedding. Shah Rukh Khan is also something of a regular at the M A Chidambaram stadium as he tours with the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL team, every season. Sources in the SIFCC told City Express that they had also sent invites to all the other top actors, filmmakers and technicians from Bollywood, but were keen that Big B and SRK should attend. “The dates have been tentatively fixed as September 1-3 but will only be finalised once the President of India gives his date availability.After that everything will fall into place,” said a well-placed source with SIFCC. Earlier, SIFCC President and prominent producer C Kalyan had said that Chennai was a natural choice of venue for holding such a massive celebration of cinema because South indian films were literally born in Madras, decades ago.