“It is shocking how the best parties have been on the last nights,” Mehr Jessia Rampal had told t2 on Friday, expecting the Anamika Khanna showing on Monday to be a superhit one. Had she been there for the last IPL catwalk in Calcutta, she would have been disappointed. The fashion quotient was high, but the fun quotient was sadly low.
No Shah Rukh Khan with his starry entourage, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar chilling with family in Mumbai and even Dada missing in action meant that the front row was nothing that it was meant to be. Fingers were still crossed. Maybe SRK is downstairs at Dublin, partying! As the buzz grew louder that the King had taken off for Mumbai at midnight, shoulders drooped. “But why so much security if Shah Rukh is not here?” wondered one ardent SRK fan, desperate to make the most of the last night of partying with the stars.
Dublin, the hotel’s night den, was almost a fortress with enhanced security at the gate. Those who managed to clear the two checkpoints saw:
•Dada partying. Dressed in a black T-shirt and blue denims, Sourav Ganguly stood chatting with Jay Mehta, with a securityman standing guard.
•Chris Gayle missed the fashion show as he turned up a good 15 minutes late, peeked inside Pala, did not find his team-mates and marched towards Dublin. He was spotted at the bar opposite the entrance. He later helped himself to some roti, fish and chicken.
•Dav Whatmore first stood on the staircase landing by the dance floor and chatted with his wife Catherine. He later took to the floor when girl from Housefull started playing.
•Murali Kartik was Wasim Akram’s messenger boy for the night as he requested DJ Harish to play Tere liye (from Prince).
•Ashoke Dinda hit the floor, completely in the mood. He straightaway jumped onto the table opposite the DJ console.
•His team-mate Iqbal Abdullah couldn’t wait to hit the floor. His chosen spot to show off his pelvic thrusts? The ledge near the floor.
•Gayle, Mandeep Singh and Ishant Sharma got into the groove when I Can’t Make Up My Mind started playing.
•Sharad Kapoor, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Shane Bond, Devang Gandhi, Manoj Tiwary, Rohan Gavaskar and Charl Langeveldt were also in the swing of things.
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| Wasim Akram | Owais Shah with guests |
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| David Hussey with his wife | Ishant Sharma |
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| Abhishek Jhunjhunwala | Iqbal Abdullah and Murali Kartik |
 Stuart Binny | |
White was the dominant colour in the KKR camp. If SRK showed the way at the last party, it was seen on Wasim Akram, Jay Mehta and Ishant Sharma on Monday. David Hussey was all smiles. “The team is celebrating, but it is disappointing.” And what does he like best about being in Calcutta? “The people are all so friendly,” he smiled. Stuart Binny of Mumbai Indians, former Indian cricketer Roger Binny’s son, was in high spirits despite the nine-wicket loss to KKR. MI, after all, had already topped the league. So, what’s working for them? “Everyone has contributed,” he smiled. What about one man who has contributed much more than the others? “Sachin (Tendulkar) is special!”
