'Happy New Year' lands in Dubai: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika zip in

The stars have landed. The chaos is a few hours short of commencing. But fans of some of Bollywood’s biggest names are upset after being informed the ‘Happy New Year’ premiere and red carpet will be inaccessible to all but special invitees only.

Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and the rest of the glitterati that comprise the cast of ‘Happy New Year’ landed in Dubai during the early hours of Wednesday, aboard an Emirates flight from New Delhi.

Partner in crime, Abhishek Bahchcan was flying in from Chennai where the actor spent the last 24 hours rubbing shoulders with the likes of Rajnikanth, Sachin Tendulkar and his illustrious father, Amitabh Bachchan during the on going Indian Super League football.

Shah Rukh took to Twitter to announce his arrival in Dubai, along with the ‘gang’ narrowly missing the flight due to delays on their part.

The actor stated: “And ‘HNY’ team is back to release the film where it all started, Dubai….“And we all end up where we started…” Kismet [sic].”

(Twitter: @iamsrk)

He continued: “Thank you Emirates and Delhi Airport Authority for getting us to make it in the flight. Awfully grateful all of us from ‘HNY’. Premier time!”

Film director Farah Khan added: “Delhi done! En route Dubai! The dash to the aircraft was like  a mad comedy! Buggy chase and all! Now the premiere #HNY Waiting to exhale!”

A nostalgic Sonu Sood added: “Dubai here we come for the premiere of #HNY; can’t believe it seems like yesterday when I landed in Dubai for the 1st day of the shoot and now we are ready with the release.

(Instagram: @SonuSood)

“Can’t wait for the world to see the efforts that all of us have put in. Thank you Farah Khan and Shah Rukh.”

The makers of the heist film told Emirates 24|7 earlier that 40 per cent of the project had exclusively been shot across various locales in Dubai, including The Palm Jumeirah, the Atlantis The Palm, Burj Al Arab, Dubai Airport and the Dubai Mall.

Fans of ‘King Khan’ and the rest of the star-studded cast of the film, including Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff and Vivaan Shah, were hopeful the Dubai-based project would culminate in a possibly public appearance by the stars to greet its large fan base in the country.

But such is not the case, according to organisers.

(Instagram: @bachchan)

When posed on social media whether a special fan pen has been erected for those hopeful of a glimpse of their favourite actors, Atlantis The Palm responded: “Both the red carpet and premiere are private events and are unfortunately closed to the public.”

However, for folks such as Suraj Sharma and his family, the message holds little mettle as he still hopes to visit Atlantis The Palm later tonight to catch the stars take a twirl on the red carpet event, where the premiere is being hosted.

The father of two said: “My wife and my seven-year-old daughter are big fans of Shah Rukh. I’m a little disappointed there is no public appearance but we will still chance it at the hotel in hope of seeing him. It will be the perfect Diwali gift for the entire family.”

Girija Dhani said: “My children, 11 and nine, are very upset because they have been following updates on the radio that Shah Rukh and Deepika are coming to Dubai for the premiere.

“This is all they have asked of me as their Diwali treat. We were hopeful that there would be a fan pit or some other chance to see them. Now we will make do with simply watching the film at the cinema.”

Preeti Kapadia, a college student, said: “Shah Rukh Khan is the King of Bollywood. Without him, there is no Bollywood. So what if I can’t attend the premiere, I will still wait at the hotel for him. All of us friends are going together to try our luck.”

Produced by Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies Entertainment, the heist film is set against the backdrop of a World Dance Championships being hosted at the Atlantis hotel, where a gang of six con artists attempt to steal diamonds on New Year’s Eve in Dubai.

Distributors, Yash Raj Films, has also revealed that ‘Happy New Year’ will receive one of the biggest releases for a Bollywood production across the UAE and the GCC, with Nelson D’Souza, Head of Operations-MENA telling this website the movie will be released across 75 locations in the UAE and the GCC, with 150-200 screens showcasing it when it goes on general release here on Thursday.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.