from the globel mail newspaper
Hot on the trail of a Bollywood star

Eager fans stake out downtown hotel for glimpse of actor Shah Rukh Khan

By APARITA BHANDARI
Special to The Globe and Mail
Monday, September 27, 2004 - Page A8

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Shah Rukh Khan was relaxing before his show. Inside a downtown Toronto hotel, in the presidential suite, the 38-year-old Bollywood star looked tired. He has been on the road since mid-August and is ready to go home.

"This is the longest I have been out of India," he said. "I had my kids with me for some of the show. But they had to go back because of school. And my wife will join me tomorrow. But it's been a long tour."

Outside the hotel, however, there was plenty of energy as dozens of Bollywood fans waited hours for a glimpse of their favourite actor, Mr. Khan, as well as others associated with his show Temptation 2004. They started gathering by early afternoon.

Some women were clutching posters, one was holding a picture of herself getting a peck on the cheek from Mr. Khan, and all of them were holding cameras. As the hours ticked by, the throng grew.

Last night's show at the Air Canada Centre was sold out. But because of the huge demand, it will be repeated on Wednesday.

"This is just a huge show," said concert organizer Altaf Kasem. "Never in the history of these shows [has it] been so big."

Temptation 2004 is more than three hours long and features six of Bollywood's top stars as six temptations: Shah Rukh Khan (as love), Saif Ali Khan (as envy), Rani Mukherjee (as lust), Arjun Rampal (as power), Priyanka (as greed) and Preity Zinta (as passion). But the one they wanted to see the most was Shah Rukh Khan.

One group in the throng outside Mr. Khan's hotel, we'll call them the Patel posse, drove in from Montreal on Saturday morning.

"We just love Shah Rukh Khan," Urveshi Patel said. "Everything about him. His looks, his acting, the way he talks. Everything. We come from Montreal for every Bollywood show there is. But we had to definitely come for this one because of Shah Rukh."

Darshna Patel, a mother of two, said that she liked Mr. Khan so much that she named her son after one of his characters.

"I was pregnant with my son when [Mr. Khan's] movie Duplicate came out," she said. "And his name in the movie was Raj. Right then I decided to call my son Raj."

Kasem Patel said people had been begging and pleading, even offering up to $2,000 for backstage passes.

"The fans try and find out when the stars are coming, where they are living, and especially for Shah Rukh Khan."

It was Sunil Patel's "connections" that helped in booking rooms at the hotel where the stars are staying.

Hotel security, however, was not letting fans wait inside the lobby for a glimpse of their favourites. So they waited outside, for hours. And they made plans.

"You guys, you just take pictures of me, because I am going to jump Shah Rukh when he comes," one young woman said.

The sight of a limousine mid-afternoon sent the group into a tizzy. Amid squeals and shouts of "Oh my God," the mob ran toward the limousine, realizing only too late that the stars were using another entrance. It was enough to discourage some fans, who finally left, but others kept on waiting.

Bobby Ali, director of hotel security said the scene was nothing compared to what would happen in the evening. Mr. Ali has had Bollywood stars coming to his hotel for the past four years.

"At night, the fans will follow the limousines of the stars, or the promoters," he said. "It's a riot then. We just try and be patient with the fans."

This is the first time Mr. Khan has produced a show. He said his goal was to give the audience a great product, although last night's show started more than two hours late due to technical problems.

"Usually, every town we go into, it's a different show," he said. "But this time we wanted to have great production value. This show can compare to any other concert -- Madonna or whatever."

He laughed when asked to describe his comment in an American newspaper of the show being like a Milli Vanilli concert.

"I was trying to explain something to an American reporter who doesn't know Indian films," he said.

"I said: Milli Vanilli used to dance and sing to someone else's songs. But the world didn't know about it. We do that too, but everyone knows about it."

Mr. Khan, who wore a grey shirt and jeans with a bright red belt, said he doesn't dwell on his life and his superstardom.

"It's only in the last two years that I've known I am a superstar," he said. "For me, the last 14 to 15 years have gone in a blink. It's only when I look at my 7-year-old son that I realize how life has gone by. I wish he would remain small all the time."

Student Sonia Butani, 19, flew in from Arizona to see the show. She was planning to go to Los Angeles, but then her cousins convinced her to go to Toronto.

With just half an hour before the show, Ms. Butani lined up to get in the Air Canada Centre with her three cousins and a friend. They were surrounded by Bollywood fans. "I have loved Shah Rukh ever since I saw him Baazigar," Ms. Butani said. "He's not really known for his looks. But he's got this awesome personality, great charisma.

"I've been drawn to his acting. He's like a great role model. I can only hope that I get a younger man like him. Sometimes I wish that I never meet Shah Rukh. I like him as Raj, or Rahul, or whatever million other names he uses [in his movies]. If I meet him, and it distorts my fantasy, I don't know what I will do."