Salman's loss is PeeCee's gain at Aiba awards

It was a night of theatrical montages and several dramatics as the glitterati of tinseltown descended on to Dubai for the Arab Indo Bollywood Awards (Aiba).

While some of the much touted ‎acts failed to materialise, including Priyanka Chopra's camel caravan, the actress traded in her four-legged ride for an aerial descent via the hot air balloon.

Yes, the very same one that superstar Salman Khan was to land in but turned down, saying in his ever articulate manner: "You know that thing, which you have to climb in and then climb out from? It took 30 minutes to take off and another 35 minutes to journey a few feet. It didn't work for me."

Well, his loss was PeeCee's gain, who arguably had the most dramatic act of the night, arriving in a glittering silver-gold dress, while audiences cheered with enthusiasm.

‎Salman, on the other hand, found humour in taking sly digs at his ‎legal troubles in India, stating: "Sajid (Nadiadwala) wants me to do 'Kick 2', but I don't have dates for five years now you see."

On cue, fans and friends laughed, while some sat appalled as the actor was convicted for five years earlier this month for causing the death of one and injuring four others in a hit-and-run case.

His jail sentence was suspended by a Bombay High Court, which also granted Salman permission to fly to Dubai for the awards night.

It's showtime

One has to give full credit to the show creative for conceptualising this four-hour extravaganza.

From Varun Dhawan's arrival in Ferrari to Parineeti Chopra's descent in an elevated butterfly shaped rig, the action on stage never let up.

Jacqueline Fernandez kicked off the show, dressed as Jasmine from Disney's Aladdin, dancing on stage to a mashup of her Bollywood tracks.

The actress painted a pretty picture in ice-blue, in a well choreographed set; albeit, she fumbled a tad when she made her second stage appearance to hand over the trophy for the Arab Fashion Icon or some such award to Manish Malhotra.

Varun came next to plug in his film, 'ABCD 2' with Shraddha Kapoor and director-choreographer Remo D’Souza, before he left for a spin in the supercar.

In fact, several celebs chose the Aiba stage to plug in their upcoming films, be it the team of 'Dil Dhadakne Do' or 'Welcome to Karachi'.

And if those plugs didn't satisfy, hosts Karan Johar and Manish Paul bizarrely attempted to plug real estate ventures here.

Aside from the alternate career prospect, both Karan and Manish kept their spirits up, as well as the humour quotient, in the sweltering May heat outdoors on the Meydan Racecourse.

Their impromptu acts and camaraderie certainly reaffirmed why the duo are often the top choice to host such live events.

‎The other acts of the night included Parineeti's mashup to give tribute to the Best Film nominations, while Meet Brothers and Kanika Kapoor crooned 'Baby Doll' in a specially composed Arabic version of the track.

However, the act of the night that everyone was eagerly awaiting was the superstar of course.

Salman arrives

From the second Salman entered the venue, surrounded by his entourage of bodyguards, bouncers, publicist, gophers and what not, chaos descended amongst fans eager to meet their screen idol.

Even as crowds surged through, clambering over chairs and each other to get past security, some lesser known celebs also found themselves barricaded out of the star enclave, before being allowed back in by production teams.

While several incidents of fisticuffs ensued, the situation peaked again when the superstar made his two stage appearances, one to hand over the award to director and close friend Sajid Nadiadwala for Most Promising Debut Director for 'Kick', and the other when he was actually performing.

Forgoing his hot air balloon ride, the actor chose to simply walk in on stage through the crowd, with screams and cheers carrying his forward to his act.

Needless to say, he impressed, gyrated, chuckled and even crooned to 'Hangover'.

And while fans hung on to every moment, the crowds surging to the front of the stage blocked views on anyone attempting to catch the act from the front rows.

While some climbed chairs, others pushed the security to perhaps breathe the same air as Salman.

The overcrowding up front was also fueled with several platinum ticketholders stating from the start of the show there was no seating for them and preferred to stand and watch the proceedings.

It was interesting to watch though as rows of chairs kept being added as celebs returned to their seats, only to find them occupied.

That's all folks...

As Salman gave his last thrust on stage, that was cue for most of the celebrities and audience members to get out of their chairs and make a beel‎ine for the exit sign.

Salman also took that moment to drop some quotable quotes on stage, including a certain Ms Katrina Kaif, stating he pairs best only with her.

While Katrina's current beau Ranbir Kapoor may or may not care for such declarations, few can take on the might of Salman Khan.

As the last awards were announced and the stage descended into darkness, the magic of cinema remained in the air, even as several platinum seat holders mourned at the inability to experience the thrill with crowds standing in their way.

Perhaps that's the way the story ends sometimes.

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