Bollywood badshah Shah Rukh Khan knows how to win over his rivals but the B-town professional no.1 has an eye for new talent and is always 'ready' to give them the space and opportunity.

The case of Kanika Dhillon says it all. The girl from Amritsar who started her Bollywood stint as an assistant director of Farah Khan's 'Om Shanti Om', will have her first novel 'Bombay Duck Is A Fish' launched by King Khan today at Taj lands in Mumbai.

Says the elated Kanika, "He is among the few people who nurture young talent in the industry, without looking at the background, the experience, age and other such things. He is one of those few who is so clued in with what the younger generation likes and dislikes...and that's what makes him what he is!"

Kanika has also penned the screenplay and dialogues of Shah Rukh Khan's most ambitious 'Ra.One'.

The book traces the journey of small-town girl Neki Brar, who like countless other star-struck people, leaves her cushy corporate job and comes to Mumbai to make it big as a Bollywood filmmaker.

And like many, Neki too is enamoured of King Khan. Neki's story is quite similar to Kanika.

A well-read girl, who graduated from Delhi University's St. Stephen's College, she went on to study at LSE with a major in media and communication for the sake of her parents, for whom her filmmaking ambitions were an 'embarrassment'. But Kanika clarifies that her book is only 30 percent of her own life.

"My book doesn't capture how Bollywood works. It captures the human emotions behind wanting to meet your own destiny. It is a human story about passion, love, faith, betrayal, success and all those emotions that one comes across in the path of achieving their dreams," she said.

With Shah Rukh portrayed as a phenomenon in her book, it was only appropriate that she wanted the superstar to unveil the book. And Kanika is more than glad that he agreed without hesitation. 'I have been working with Shah Rukh for five years. But the feeling was fantastic when he said yes to launching my book. It was a big news for me. For two days, I couldn't believe he would launch my book, but he has been very encouraging on every platform," says Kanika.

All this has motivated Kanika enough to start work on her next book 'Kalma' - a true story of a Muslim girl.

Khantastic we say...