Haar kar jeetne walon ko baazigar kehte hain — SRK in Baazigar. Kolkata Knight Riders might have lost to Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens on Saturday night by nine runs, but that did not stop the Knights from qualifying for the play-offs and then having one big after-party well into Sunday morning!
All the action shifted from Eden Gardens to ITC Sonar late on Saturday. After all, this was the first time this season that Shah Rukh Khan was in the house, and the team had managed a Top 4 spot after the last group match. Reason enough for the waves and flying kisses from the B1 box balcony to be turnt up to some heavy-duty partying.
The venue was not Dublin this time, with the clubbing spot at ITC Sonar is under renovation. So, it was Destination Pan Asian as the Asian cuisine restaurant of the star hotel was transformed into a makeshift nightclub for a special (K)night.
The party kicked off around 1.30am, with Knights Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn, Kuldeep Yadav, Chris Woakes, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Umesh Yadav... all trooping in. But nothing really happened till King Khan joined them closer to 2am. With wife Gauri, elder son Aryan and his gang, SRK was clearly in the mood. Co-owner Jay Mehta, Bolly actor Sanjay Kapoor and KKR CEO Venky Mysore joined in but captain Gautam Gambhir was not spotted.
All eyes were on you-know-who to take the energy meter of the party to a different level. And he did not disappoint.
Dancing to a special playlist peppered with his hit dance numbers — think Yeh kaali kaali aankhen... Chaiyyan chaiyyan... Laila main Laila... — and urging everyone else to join in and have a blast. “The best part about having SRK in the house is that he will ensure that everyone present has the best time. In his absence the players mostly catch up over a drink or just chill but when he is at a party he will encourage everyone to dance and make sure everyone is part of the fun. Last night’s party was the best this season because the vibe was so good all thanks to SRK!” said a regular at IPL after-parties for the past 10 years.
Son Aryan was the leader of the younger chill gang at the party. Among the songs that he and his friends swayed to were the latest international party hits like Shape of You (Ed Sheeran), We Don’t Talk Anymore (Charlie Puth) and Starboy (The Weeknd).
Among the Knights, Jacques Kallis and Sunil Narine were not seen dancing away, but teen throb Kuldeep Yadav was seen burning the dance floor to some favourite Punjabi numbers. But the surprise element of the party — just like his batting at the top of the order — came from slam-bang Chris Lynn. Not content being just another party player, the Aussie went behind the console and churned out songs like Don’t Let Me Down (The Chainsmokers) and Faded (Alan Walker), making it one lit party that went on till the night faded away.
Text: Saionee Chakraborty, Pramita Ghosh and Rwitoban Deb
Pictures: Pabitra Das
