The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Two shows put off, thousands disappointed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 11, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Two shows put off, thousands disappointed

By Vidyashree Amaresh

Hindi filmstars (from left) Lara Dutta, Malaika Arora, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, and Zayed Khan at the `Temptation 2005' press conference in Bangalore on Sunday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

BANGALORE, APRIL 10. For hundreds of Shah Rukh Khan fans in the city, the postponement of the long-awaited show, "Temptation 2005", came as a big dampener. Washed away by Sunday's downpour, the show will now be staged on April 24.

It was hard time for fans as they waited in long queues in front of the venue, Chinnaswamy stadium.

While some tore their tickets in frustration, many others cursed the climate. They had good reason to feel so: For, the show was to feature high-voltage performances by the superstar, Rani Mukherjee, Lara Dutta, Malaika Arora and Zayed Khan.

For hours, the audience and the media were kept in the dark about the programme. The clouds of confusion cleared only after the stars appeared on stage to announce the postponement. And to please the audience, they sang some songs that came as a consolation to the audience.

At a hurriedly convened press conference, Shah Rukh Khan said: "We were checking the technical things which went wrong because of the rain. That delayed us a bit late for the meet. We cannot control nature and now it has given us an opportunity to perform better. We now have more days to practice."

Mr. Khan chose the occasion to get nostalgic about Bangalore.

"I still remember the ice cream and the ground where I played. Nothing has changed except the heavy traffic here."

Lara Dutta and Malaika Arora were asked about their temptation and they chose Mr. Khan. The other Khan, Zayed, simply said: "Shah Rukh is himself an institution and it is a great learning experience for me to work with all these stars."

The attention turned to Mr. Khan again when someone asked him about his Padma Shri. "I don't know whether I deserve this award or not. But this award has made me more humble," he said.

Long wait

It was three-hour wait on the Chinnaswamy Stadium Road on Sunday for the fans.

Undeterred by the rain, the fans stood on the road waiting to get into the stadium for the event. The vehicular traffic on the road was chaotic and the vehicles moved at a snail's pace. The police were kept busy by the eager fans.

"We have been waiting for this event and we are excited about getting to see our favourite stars performing live. We purchased the tickets for the show three weeks ago from a Café Coffee Day outlet. It is not often that we get to see such celebrities perform so we are out with our families to witness the show," said Kisan Bansani, a businessman.

Rekha, mother of a four-year-old, was holding her baby close under the umbrella to protect it from the rain.

"I am glad that this is happening on a Sunday. I can bring my husband along. He is too busy to attend shows of this kind," said the wife of software professional.

"The event is going to be great and we have no regrets about waiting here for so long," said Kishore, who had no clue that the event will be put off because of rain.

"This is the second time we are out to such an event and we are looking forward to some real good entertainment," Kishore said.

For Yamini and her group, the event has been the topic of discussion at her college for more than a week.

"We love Shah Rukh Khan and we are glad that he is here to perform. We are just waiting to get into the stadium to take a look at him," said the girls, who could not stop giggling.

Chiranjeevi's show

The "Ugadi Utsav 2005", yet another mega event in the city on Sunday where Telugu film superstar Chiranjeevi was scheduled to participate was called off because of rain.

Irked by this, the public threw up tantrums and flung the chairs all over the Palace Grounds when the organisers announced that the programme has been cancelled.

The event was expected to draw at least one lakh people. They were annoyed that the superstar did not appear on stage to announce the new date of the event.

Those who had come to the city from Andhra Pradesh were disheartened as they now had to get back without watching their favourite star perform live on stage.

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