Speculation is rife in Bollywood circles about who the 'Rahul', whom the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's operative David Headley wanted to target in Mumbai, could be.
Headley, a Lashkar operative arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Chicago, told the investigators that his prime target in India was an Indian actor named 'Rahul'.
Among the actors with the name are Rahul Bose, Rahul Khanna, Rahul Dev, Rahul Roy and Rahul Mahajan. But why would the Lashkar want to target any of them?
Unless, one goes by Rahul being the popular screen name of an actor, like 'Prem' was for Salman Khan or 'Vijay' for Amitabh Bachchan.
The only top-notch actor who has played 'Rahul' in many films is Shah Rukh Khan.
In Darr he was Rahul Mehra, in Yes Boss he played Rahul Joshi, in Dil Toh Pagal Hai we saw him as Rahul, in Zamaana Deewana he essayed the role of Rahul Malhotra, in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai it was Rahul Khanna, in Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, in which he made a special appearance, he was Rahul. And in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham he was Rahul Raichand
The question is, is he the 'Rahul' the Lashkar would like to target?
Earlier, too, when the underworld wanted to target Shah Rukh Khan they used the codename 'Hakkla' for him since his character Rahul Mehra in the film Darr stammered (remember K..k..k..Kiran?)
A spokesperson for Shah Rukh Khan merely said the actor was away in London.