Watching Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s Access All Areas concert unfurl in Dubai on Sunday night was like watching two strangers go on their first blind date. Here the partners involved were Khan, Bollywood’s king of romance, and thousands of swooning female fans.
But like any dinner date, the evening had its share of awkward moments (a frenzied fan who stormed the stage during the finale and tried to bear-hug Khan was plucked away unceremoniously by beefy security guards), euphoria (when Khan doled out tips to men in Dubai on how to romance a woman) and random twists (an ardent fan told him she had orchestrated the birth of her son for Khan’s birthday). Say what? (our thoughts, exactly).
But the credit here goes to the 48-year-old superstar who carefully unleashed all the drama, remaining unflinching throughout; a puppetmaster who played the crowd with moves that he knew would evoke the loudest of claps and catcalls. Even when Hazel Coutinho (the lady who had spent days negotiating with her unborn son to arrive on Khan’s birthday, November 2nd) went down on her knees and proposed to him with a dialogue that said that universe was conspiring to unite these two lovers (from his blockbuster, Om Shanti Om), he said: ‘darling, you had me at hello’. The crowds roared their approval.
His appeal had quadrupled since his questionable entry onto the stage. Wearing a hoodie and a thick cape, Khan kicked off his song and dance extravaganza as the hardened criminal character from his hit Don franchise. The tracks that he chose for his introductory act were fast-paced: Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se and Criminal from Ra.One. Fireworks exploded around him as he jumped around from one corner of the stage to the other, thrust his hips at the right intervals and uttered iconic dialogues from his blockbusters. It worked better when he ditched the baddie and played the role of the consummate ladies man — just ask Dubai-based bank executive Keerti, a fan invited onstage. With a snap of his fingers, he arranged a white wedding dress for her and serenaded her with hits such as Aankhon Mein Teri (from Om Shanti Om) and poetic verses from director Yash Chopra’s swan song, Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
“Now, can I get a $10 million (Dh36.7 million) loan from Barclays?,” he joked.
While the second half of the show was pitch perfect, the first half had its share of teething problems. The show, which kicked off at 9.30pm sharp (organisers Duvent, take a bow), faced crowd-control issues. Hundreds surged forward to get a closer look at Khan, which meant that those seated in the VIP section couldn’t see what was happening onstage.
While Access All Areas belonged to Khan, the leading ladies Deepika Padukone, Madhuri Dixit and Jacqueline Fernandez did a good job of supporting him.
via GulfNews.com.
Leave a Reply