Fans of Shah Rukh Khan wait at Patna airport and (below) police lathicharge some others at P&M Mall on Tuesday. Pictures by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Dec. 13: Don ko pakadna, oops dekhna, mushkil hi nahi, namumkin hai. Patnaites learnt it today, courtesy poor visibility for flight operations.

The morning skies were gloomy. But Shah Rukh Khan fans were bubbly, hoping to see their matinee idol. The airport and P&M Mall, where the actor was supposed to take part in a promotional event for his upcoming film Don 2, were teeming with SRK fans from 9am.

King Khan was supposed to land in town by 1.30pm. His fans were ready to accord him a warm welcome four-and-a-half hours earlier.

Students bunked classes and professionals dodged bosses to catch a glimpse of Bollywood ka Badshah. There was a tacit contest among Shah Rukh fans to be the best host.

Their heart broke — around 12.30pm at the airport and around 1.15pm at the mall — when they learnt SRK could not board the flight to the city because of dense fog here. It was too harsh a reality for them. Some thought it was a ploy of the event organisers to evacuate the mall.

Bhavna (22), a student who reached the mall with her friends at 9.30am, said: “The mall people want us to vacate the place so that it becomes easier for them to host the star. I will wait here till night.”

Like Bhavna, several others were in no mood to leave the mall despite the authorities announcing that the star would not turn up.

Fans like Bhavna had reasons to do so. “I bunked my college to see Shah Rukh. I could not sleep the whole night out of excitement. I still believe he will come,” said a crestfallen Bhavna.

Like Bhavna, SRK fan Mohammad Anwar was also dejected. “I came here cancelling an important assignment at my workplace. I was on cloud nine when I came to know that my favourite star would be in town. Last night only I saw his DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge). I was just waiting for the moment to catch a glimpse of him but now I am disheartened.”

Farhan, a schoolgirl who came to the mall with her gang, said: “Shah Rukh ne dhokha diya (ditched) just like Aamir (Khan). I don’t know why they are doing this with us. I am very disappointed. The two stars have broken my heart. I hate them.”

Did that mean Farhan would not watch Don 2? “No, I can’t hate him so much. I have watched all his films. I will watch this one too — first day, first show.”

The mood was the same at Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport. The SRK fans were disappointed.

“It is disappointing for us. It was my dream to see Shah Rukh. We were so excited and elated. Now, we hear that he might not be coming. I have no words to express my sadness. I had borrowed a friend’s camera to click his pictures,” said Nishant Agarwal, who had come down to the airport all the way from Kankerbagh just to see his idol.

A few were angry.

“I don’t see any fog and flights are landing now. So many passengers are going in and out of the airport. Actors make excuses at the last moment. I was waiting for this moment for two days now. This is absolutely not done,” Akbar Ahmad, a resident of the Boring Road area, said.

True fans were dejected but not destroyed. They wished SRK best of luck for Don2.

“He (SRK) is a busy man. We know he will not come down now. But best of luck to him for Don 2,” Satyendra, a school student, said.

That’s like a King Khan fan!