West Midnapore in Bengal had a brush with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan as he stepped into the village for the preview of a film city. It was like a dream come true for the populace of the small hamlet known as Duki where people had come from far off villages, just for a glimpse of their favourite hero.

Shah Rukh Khan was there to inaugurate the first phase of Prayag Film City here in West Midnapore district as the brand ambassador of the film city. King Khan won their hearts the moment he went on the stage, acknowledging the love bestowed upon him from teeming fans.

He said he never imagined that he would be able to survive in the film industry for such a long time - a good 21 years - and ascribed his long innings to greater opportunities available in the country now. "Because our country is progressing so fast, a lot of people like me, who perhaps don`t even deserve it, get a lot more opportunities than what actors and stars got in years past," the star, who just received the prestigious Chubb fellowship by the Yale University in the US, said.

Emphasising the importance of a film city, he said he had always wondered why a country like India, which makes the largest number of films worldwide, does not have world-class infrastructure and facilities. "The biggest dream of my life has always been to try and make an international class studio for this country, not for profit, but for the fact that India makes the maximum number of films that are seen around the world," he said.

He said the Prayag Film City is going to be a "wonder of the world". Mr. Khan said that hopefully next year he will come and shoot one of his films in the film city. "If it were ready, I would shoot here the new film that I am going to begin," he said, describing West Bengal as the most creative area "the country has historically" in terms of literature, poetry, theatre, music and sports.