Daily News Magazine from India & around the world.

The FIFA World Cup may have ended but Paul the Octopus’ brush with stardom is far from over.

The Germans may want to cook him for dinner, the Spanish may want to ordain him as a saint, but among Bollywood’s superstition- ridden filmy frat, the oracle octopus has found a new set of fans after correctly predicting results of matches at the just- concluded World Cup.

“ I am desperate to send scripts to him now!” said Karan Johar, who has been delivering money- spinners and has mostly stuck to film titles starting with the letter K for luck.

Of course, it could all be in jest.

But even Ajay Devgn, known for his intense image on screen, has joined the Paul fan club. “ It would be fun to have him in Bollywood. That way I would consult him before signing a film if it will become a hit or not!” Ajay said.

Shekhar Kapur, who has been regularly tweeting about Paul, wrote on his page on the micro- blogging site: “ There is a deep sea search for Paul the Octopus’s twin brother who predicted that his brother wld be famous ( sic).” In another tweet, he said: “ Paul ordained by Spain. People voting to christen him St Paul of Football. After all he can bless 8 people at the same time.” Aamir Khan tweeted: “ Paul beat me, but it was not a fair contest, he ( has) got 8 hands. Dear Paul, aap purush nahi … Octopus ho .” And on her Twitter page, Mallika Sherawat wrote: “ Paul may be a symbol of the many limbed holy ones.” Stand- up comedian Vir Das tweeted: “ I christen myself Paul the OctoDas. My prediction — no one cares.”

The only Bollywood celebrity who seems to have taken the whole matter a bit too seriously is Amitabh Bachchan. Although Big B is known to be superstitious and has been a follower of gemology, he disapproved of Psychic Paul on his blog.

“ Predictions of the Octopus Paul have brought superstition right onto the front pages. The octopus had predicted a Spanish victory and so it was. This is quite amazing and ridiculous at the same time.... Paulie Baba zindabad . Didn’t kick a single ball and lifted the World Cup,” he tweeted.