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- Dubai 04:26 05:44 12:20 15:47 18:50 20:08
Shah Rukh Khan does it again! Yes, the Bollywood superstar arrived an hour late for 'Happy New Year's' press conference in Dubai, which by his standard is akin to being 'on time'.
But the long wait was worth a million dollars for the assembled mediapersons!
When SRK walked in wearing traditional Arabic attire and greeted everyone (Assalamu Alaikum) with his dimpled smile, all was forgiven.
"This idea of dressing up local and being a part of the family of Dubai is Abhishek's (Bachchan)", Shah Rukh informed the gathered media.
(Video credit: Kamran Malik)
The actor was wearing a black kandura with a matching black head gear and he walked directly to the microphone to apologise for being tardy.
Shah Rukh Khan's communication skills or his gift of the gab or call it his charming personality, makes him one of the most entertaining actors in the entire film industry.
He was welcomed with a huge round of applause accompanied with the customary adulations and 'ohhhs' and the 'Ahhhs' from his female fans.
Addressing the mediapersons gathered in the Silk Ballroom at the Atlantis, The Palm, SRK said; "Every time I come to Dubai - I say this - it feels like home. It's been wonderful shooting here, hectic for us, but you guys make it seem very easy, very warm and very family like."
There, he scores again!
The lead actor went on to introduce each member of his team, starting with the ladies - director Farah Khan and Deepika Padukone.
The audience was pleasantly surprised for the second time in the evening to find both the ladies dressed in abayas.
It was fairly evident by then that the entire star cast had gone local in terms of their attire. However, everyone waited with bated breath to find out who carried the kandura best.
Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah, Sonu Sood and Abhishek Bachchan followed one another in their spotless white kanduras.
It must be mentioned here that the very talented Boman Irani had not only donned the traditional attire but he looked like an Emirati as well.
"We are happy to be dressed like this... when we looked at mirror, many of us look like locals," Shah Rukh added during the press conference.
As the producer of the film, he also took the opportunity to announce a collaboration with Dubai Film and TV Commission for this film and thank everyone associated with it in Dubai.
Each member spoke about their experience in Dubai and their camaraderie was unmistakable.
Boman Irani was teased for his baritone and Abhishek tried his best to beat Boman's deep baritone. The stars also let it out that Sonu Sood was called 'Sonu Smooth', but no one disclosed the reason behind the nickname.
Farah told the gathered audience, tongue-in-cheek that whoever complimented her would receive a lenient treatment on the sets during the shoot.
When it was Deepika's turn to address, she spoke about being nostalgic in the emirate. "Dubai is very special to me. I came here first for 'Om Shanti Om' and it's great to be back again. The people of Dubai have been so warm to us. It's been amazing".
Shah Rukh again took over saying, "Dubai is a beautiful city. It has a great scenic balance of ancient and modern architecture. It's not just the shopping capital of the Middle East, but is a perfect location for a film shoot. We have been shooting for our film since September 2. Dubai is like home for me and I have loved every bit of experience of shooting for 'Happy New Year' here."
"We will make sure that we make a film that makes you very very proud that it was shot here in Dubai," he continued.
'Happy New Year' will be shot extensively in Dubai till the end of September and is expected to complete filming within a year.
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