Shah Rukh Khan, one of the biggest stars in the world's biggest movie industry, wept at a recent movie preview. It wasn't because the film was a tearjerker. He cried for Mumbai's shattered sense of security after militants laid waste to it in a bloody three-day attack.The suspected Muslim militants "are trying to snatch away what normal people do,'' said Khan, who has found himself in the sometimes-awkward position of promoting a new comedy in a city reeling from the tragedy."It's small pleasures of just eating out and having a chat with your wife or your friend, of normal things like going out for a drink or a coffee or catching a movie,'' Khan told The ‘Associated Press’ in an interview.A Muslim himself, he has no sympathy for those whose beliefs turn them to violence. Mumbai's sense of normalcy "has been snatched away, and for what? For defending things they don't know fully well, for religions they don't understand and are insecure about.''Still, Khan hopes his new film will make people smile.'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', `Match Made in Heaven' is a fun family movie being released worldwide Friday. It is Bollywood's first big release since armed gunmen launched their attack Nov. 26 on India's financial capital, killing 171 people."The movie is funny. But when I watched it, I cried and I laughed and I cried because I felt that by killing innocent, normal people, they (gunmen) are denying us the simple pleasures of life,'' he said.For a city that famously works and parties hard, Mumbai's residents have been hesitant to pack movie theaters or restaurants after the attacks.Mumbai's terror began late on Nov. 26, when gunmen pumped bullets into people walking to train cars on their way home and gunned down businessmen and foreign tourists finishing supper in restaurants in luxury hotels.The nation watched on television as the tragedy played out for 60 hours before India's elite commandoes killed nine gunmen and captured one militant, ending a siege of two hotels and a Jewish center.Khan said he and the film's well-known director, Aditya Chopra, initially were not going to promote their new movie because "it just wasn't right.''"I didn't feel like saying 'Go watch a film' when people had died. What about the thousands who are affected?'' said the actor, seated in a spacious suburban office with expansive windows overlooking the Arabian Sea.But like many of Mumbai's residents, who rode trains to work soon after the attacks to get on with their lives, Khan said people need a reason to smile."I can't tell people it will get you out of your sadness, but I can assure you that the two hours and 20 minutes is going to be great fun,'' he said.In the new romantic flick, Khan plays Suri, a quiet, bespectacled small-town man in a 9-5 job who transforms himself into a hip-swiveling heartbreaker to win a small-time dance competition _ and the affections of his lady love."The hero in this film is not awesome, not someone you want to be. The hero in this film is ordinary like you and me,'' said the 43-year-old Khan whose lithe athletic frame and dimpled smile sets off fans shrieking his name at movie premiers and dance concerts around the world. "It's entertaining and very funny and we're hoping to make people smile a little and go back with some nice, good thoughts.''
