Let the drum rolls begin. Two of Bollywood’s most bankable faces — Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone — will lead a star-studded invasion this Wednesday as they jet into the UAE for the world premiere of their Dubai-set film, Happy New Year.
Joining the good-looking pair are notorious Bollywood pranksters: Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood and Vivan Shah who feature in director Farah Khan’s heist-meets-musical. The premiere is invite-only, and, according to sources, more than 300 guests from India are flying down to attend the first screening of the Diwali release.
Khan’s wife, Gauri Khan, is rumoured to walk the red carpet, while Bachchan’s wife, Aishwara Rai, has reportedly chosen to celebrate Diwali at her Mumbai residence instead of attending the Dubai premiere.
It’s no surprise that the Happy New Year crew has chosen to premiere their film in Dubai.
In September last year, a 200-plus crew stayed here for almost a month to film some of the most crucial scenes. They were seen skating at the ice rink in Dubai Mall and swimming with the dolphins at the Atlantis, The Palm hotel.
“I have always thought of Dubai as my second home. It is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world and has the best infrastructure. I love the way this city breathes. But I always had this dream to do some concrete work here. My prayers have now been answered,” said Khan at a press conference last year in Dubai. Dressed in a black kandourah, in a nod to local customs, Khan promised to make a film that would make the city proud.
“It was a creative decision to choose Dubai because in our film we need to show a very cosmopolitan city which had the most beautiful hotel in the world, big cars and of course great people. It was like choosing the city for the Olympics. For us there was only one city and that was Dubai,” added Khan.
Happy New Year chronicles the tale of a gang of robbers who masquerade as contestants in a dance competition that’s being held in Dubai. They lack any dancing prowess, but are armed with a killer heist plan.
But it isn’t Khan’s first premiere in Dubai. In October 2011, Khan and Kareena Kapoor walked the red carpet for the first screening of his superhero film Ra.One, which opened to mixed reviews. Happy New Year seems to be on a steadier footing. It reunites director Farah with her favourites: Khan and Padukone. Together they delivered the reincarnation blockbuster Om Shanti Om in 2007.
In the run up to their arrival, the hotel that’s hosting them is pulling out all stops to make this a grand event. The stars are expected to fly down on Wednesday morning, address the local press in the afternoon and twirl on the red carpet the same evening.
