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19 March 2024

Why Shah Rukh emotional, Deepika crying in Dubai

Cast of Bollywood movie 'Happy New Year' all set for Dubai press conference before the world premiere. (Twitter: Farah Khan)

Published
By Bindu Rai

Tears flowed unchecked as Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani and Farah Khan faced media in the prelude to the world premiere of ‘Happy New Year’, while Shah Rukh Khan called it an ‘overwhelming and emotional’ journey that had come full circle to Dubai.

Mere hours before the star-studded cast was to walk the red carpet at Atlantis The Palm for a final twirl in the spotlight, the fate of the film’s box office collections seemed a distant second to the poignant camaraderie that had Irani refer to the ‘Happy New Year’ journey as a “more than a cinematic experience, it has been the grandest and most magnificent human experience.”


Unspooling like a Bollywood melodrama in real-life, the tears welling up in Farah’s and Deepika’s eyes suggested the two ladies were in complete agreement.

‘Dubai is home’


The predictably media savvy Shah Rukh also adopted a sombre countenance, choosing instead to thank the city of Dubai and its people, saying: “It is an overwhelming and emotional time for us. But people will be proud of how we have depicted Dubai. When I come to Dubai, it is not even my second home; it is home. I have a house here. I really love this place.”


He continued: “I will not say we made a film in Dubai that will make this city successful; this place presents itself as a beautiful city and we are riding on that beauty. We are riding on the beauty of its people. It is the new hub of the world. And it is us who will benefit from it.

“I feel more at home here than back home sometimes. I am glad that Farah made a film that was essentially set in Dubai, it had a purpose for being here.”


Farah, who has admitted in the past that she wrote the script of the film keeping this city in mind, further added: “This is one of my most favourite cities. We are so emotionally connected. When we wrote the script, there were six characters and the seventh was definitely Dubai.”

Shah Rukh also revealed that the team was eager to bring the ‘Slam’ world concert tour to Dubai later this year.


Emotions run high

The cast denied that the heist film, which has been shot extensively in the Atlantis as a New Year’s Eve climax, bears any resemblance to Hollywood’s ‘Ocean’s 12’.

Actor Abhishek Bachchan called the team ‘Farah’s 7’, adding that working in a multi starrer is always a better end of the deal.


He further stated: “Multi starrers are a lot more fun when you have a group of like-minded actors but the greatest part of the scheme no one is competing. We respect each other’s space. The last year and half we spent nearly every day together. This will be hard to repeat.”

A relatively quiet Boman finally broke down at this juncture of the press conference, composing himself long enough to say: “A year later now and this moment will be the last official thing we will do as a team. After this last official team outing, we will be part of the festivity that will follow. So before we step any further, I want to tell everyone here, ‘I love you and I will miss you’.



“More than a cinematic experience, this has been the grandest and most magnificent human experience; for years to come. Shah Rukh may be the second richest actor in the world, but when it comes to sharing, we are all the richest actors the world has seen.”

Shah Rukh, however, was quick to clarify: “I am not the second richest actor in the world. If I was, I would retire already.”

Behind the scenes

Aside from acting and producing the film under his Red Chillies Entertainment banner, Farah confessed that Shah Rukh was also involved in the film’s editing.

The actor clarified further, saying: “A film is a product and it needs help of its tools, which can be the technicians or sometimes, its actors. It is very seldom that actors go down for the edit, and trust plays a very large part in this scenario. We left ourselves in the hand of our mother hen, Farah. No one knows us better than Farah and she has done the best for all of us.”



Meanwhile, the relatively quiet Deepika confessed that she felt ‘protected’ in this male-dominated cast, being the only female lead in the film.

Quizzed on her belly dancing moves that has made ‘Lovely’ all the rage on radio stations, the actress further said: “I have seen a lot of belly dancing videos in the past. But as far as instructions on choreography are concerned, you can’t ask for better than Farah Khan [who is now a self-confessed retired choreographer].

“‘Lovely’ has been one of the most difficult performances for me. It was physically very strenuous. I had to work out extensively, watch what I was eating.”



The actress continued in her deadpan expression: “However, if there was an inspiration for the belly dance itself than that came from Boman Irani. When you see all the songs, all you see is his belly dancing. That was truly my inspiration and my motivation.”

While the next week will decide the film’s fate with critics and the global box office, asked if she was ready for a sequel and Farah replied: “Anyone has an idea for sequel? Meet up with me after the premiere. I am more than ready.”

Pics: Bindu Rai