Crowds uncontrollable as SRK rocks Dubai with interactive show

Shah Rukh Khan kicked off his Access All Areas world tour on Sunday night with a star-studded troupe and performances set to hit Bollywood tracks.

Shah Rukh Khan with Deepika Padukone, left, Madhuri Dixit, right and Jacqueline Fernandez, far right. Victoria Vinnikava for The National

Die-hard fans came from the US, Europe and Russia just to see Bollywood's King Khan serenade his leading ladies on stage at Dubai Sports City last night.
They paid thousands of dirhams, sat on the floor and fought their way through bouncers to get a better picture on their phones, and hoped that the "Badshah (king) of Bollywood" Shah Rukh Khan would invite them to dance with him.
The mention of his name unleashed a frenzy in the crowd as the star kicked off his world tour Access All Areas concert in Dubai on the eve of the UAE's 42nd National Day.
And in true over-the-top masala style, there were several actresses - Deepika Padukone, Madhuri Dixit and Jacqueline Fernandez - in the troupe, plus a dozen background dancers and a whole lot of wardrobe changes.
"Access All Areas is very dangerous," said Khan to the audience from his green room where the cameras were rolling minutes before the show began at 9.30pm.
"Nothing is hidden from my audience. Thank God I have my clothes on," he joked, to screams of "I love you Shah Rukh".
Onstage, Fernandez arrived in a pink suit and silver netted headgear for the opening act. The former model from Sri Lanka, who got her Bollywood break in 2009, set an upbeat tone with songs such as Lat Lag Gayi and Aa Zara from her recent films Race 2 and Murder 2.
But the spotlight was on Padukone, who came on next after a short audio-visual of her latest hits, changing in and out of a long skirt and harem pants for her performance of the hit track Balam Pichkari from her 2013 hit romance Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani.
"I do not do too many stage shows," she said. "But the response in Dubai has been so overwhelming that I think I should do them more often."
There was no better way to introduce the timeless dance-diva Madhuri Dixit than with the song Ore Piya from her comeback musical Aaja Nachle in 2007. Her Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai sequence from her 1993 movie Khalnayak had people whistling and imitating her moves.
It wasn't until Yo Yo Honey Singh, the Indian rapper whose songs have become a mandatory addition on party albums and club-mixes, took centre stage that hell broke loose in the VIP area. Scores of people were seated on the ground next to the stage, others were standing on the sides because of a lack of chairs.
The chaos escalated when Khan was due to perform: people rushed to the front of the stage, stood on their chairs with their phones, and got into brawls over the seating arrangements.
As the actor descended from the roof to a dialogue from his movie Don (2006), the organisers struggled to maintain the crowd. Some VIP pass holders walked out because their visibility was obstructed by the mob.
By 11.30pm, the singer and compere Meing Chang, who has been warming up the crowd between the acts with his melodic renditions of songs from the 2012 films Vicky Donor and Student of The Year, had to inform the public that the show wouldn't resume unless they were seated.
Later, the songstress Neeti Mohan accompanied Chang and was dubbed the powerhouse voice of the evening after she belted out Jiya Re from Khan's Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) and the remixed Har Kisi Ko Nahin Milta from Boss (2013).
But the pièce de résistance for the crowd was Khan, who returned to the stage past midnight.
"First I would like to congratulate Dubai for the Expo2020 win," said Khan, who is performing live in Dubai for the first time since 2008.
"And I would like to wish the UAE on its 42nd National Day, too."
Honey Singh then joined Khan in a lungi (Hindi for loin cloth) for the Lungi Dance Song from Chennai Express, one of the biggest hits this year.
Khan also brought members of the audience on stage to chat and dance with him.
"Tonight I would like to do something which is obviously my favourite part of the show and dance with some of you," Khan promised.
The finale was a much-awaited dance off between Khan and Dixit, whom he had challenged earlier this week. The performance got huge applause, with the rest of the troupe joining them at the end, which was a medley of tunes from SRK's reincarnation drama Om Shanti Om (2007).
Diana Galinova had flown down from Russia to attend the show. "It is my birthday today and this is a gift from my husband," she said.
"Shah Rukh is so big in Russia. I've been watching his moves in Russian and English ever since I was a kid."
The Emirati Aisha Ali, 24, was ecstatic that she managed to catch a signed basketball that he threw into the crowd. "I will keep this so close to me," she said, giggling. "I had so much fun seeing SRK dance with Deepika tonight."
The event was organised by Red Chillies and Cineyug, with Duvents in UAE.
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