Rise, 'Datuk' Shah Rukh Khan

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 11 (IANS) Bollywood idol Shah Rukh Khan will now flaunt the prefix 'Datuk', a traditional title conferred by the Malaysian royalty and akin to the British knighthood.

The Indian heartthrob will receive his Datukship from the Malacca head, Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob later Saturday.

He has been listed as an artiste from Dreamz Unlimited, his filmmaking company, in the list of recipients. Shah Rukh will receive the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM), the third highest title.

He is among 77 recipients of the title.

Khan, 43, is a highly acclaimed Indian actor who works in Bollywood films, as well as a film producer and television host.

He has starred in several box-office movies and won awards throughout his career, The New Straits Times said Saturday.

Among Malaysian Indians to be awarded are Putra Specialist Hospital anaesthesiologist, P.T. Aiyaroo, Recron (Malaysia) Director Anil Rajvanshi, Baljit and Partners Managing Director Baljit Singh Balwant Singh, Jasin Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) division deputy chairman K. Karpan and Malaysian Federation of Indian Muslim Associations president Meera Mohideen Jamal Mohd.

The Malaysian awards, akin to the British knighthood, are allowed to form part of the prefix of those conferred.

Films from India, both in Hindi and Tamil, are regular fare in Malaysia, a multi-ethnic society with an estimated 2.6 million Indian diaspora, besides workers from other South Asian nations.