An evening with stars in UK

October 5 was an evening of glamour and glitter for all the fans gathered inside the world famous O2 Arena, located on the bank of river Thames flowing through the town of north Greenwich. The arena has a seating capacity of 18000 and the seating arrangement is arranged in a circular fashion with the stage at one end of the circle. Depending upon the requirement of the show and the performers, the stage extends into the belly of the circle.The arena has witnessed all that is worth witnessing in the world of celebration. But this evening belonged to Bollywood. Not any ordinary Bollywood personality but the one and only King Khan had arrived in London to rule the crowd. And rule he did.
It was the much-awaited SLAM Tour showcasing the best and the biggest of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Maliaka Arora, Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani, Farah Khan and Sonu Sood. I hope I have remembered all of them. Bollywood fans from all over the UK had paid a handsome price for the tickets and now here they were watching their onscreen role models with much excitement and ardour, without worrying about frivolous matters like age and gender.
To be able to see onscreen idols in flesh was an opportunity of life time for many. Being from Bombay, the home of Bollywood, I often get asked have you met a lot of cine stars. And with a little embarrassment and to the askers' surprise, I admit that I have seen none. Maybe my lack of interest in Bollywood while I lived in Bombay is the reason but I had never thought about it or wished for it even remotely.
UK has made me fall in love with Bollywood like never before. So, like thousands of other fans, I was eager to catch a glimpse of these heavenly stars. The show started on time; it was a big achievement in itself, given the reputation of Indian artists and Indian audiences.
The event was flawlessly choreographed. The stars made their entries in style that was befitting the occasion. And they were greeted with roars that could have been heard for miles if the show was out in the open. I couldn't take my eyes off any of them. With so many highly celebrated actors and actresses on the stage, it was becoming difficult to choose a favourite. We didn't want to miss any gesture, any move made by any of them and it felt as if we were spoilt for choice. Deepika Padukone was hot and Maliaka Arora was sizzling. Madhuri Dixit was like a breeze of cool air. Abhishek Bachchan won the fans with his humble and humorous attitude, coupled with his dance moves. He looked amazingly fit. Boman Irani and Farah entertained the audiences by casting themselves as a couple where each thought they were far better than their partner.
It goes without saying through all this fun and frolic, the SRK remained the King. His entry witnessed the epitome cheering from the crowd. His stage presence added another string in the bow of the evening. He behaved with the confidence and stance of a true "Bazigar".
My anxiety that the show was going to be a touch and go affair was totally unnecessary. They promised they were there to entertain and they were good on their word, if not better. They danced and danced and danced. Solo, duet and group dance, they did them all. They did the "lungi", "Chhaiya" and the "Dhoom" dance. The "Pardesi girl", "Munni" and "Mohini" of yesteryears kept the audiences on their toes with dance.
The O2 Arena must have been a rare experience! At times the cheering was loud enough to make me feel as though the roof would be blown away.
Sadly, like all good things, even this evening came to an end but not before we felt it was worth every penny we paid, every mile we drove and every minute we spent to be there.