Dubai: Bollywood hunk Ranbir Kapoor Thursday got a welcome befitting rock royalty among the students of University Of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), but his fleeting appearance did not impress everyone.
Instead of the hour-long interaction the students expected, the Rockstar actor’s visit to the campus lasted little more than five minutes. His promotional activities stretched to jamming to Sadda Haq — the popular anthem from Ranbir’s latest film Rockstar — for a few seconds with a student musician and mouthing “I love you” to students.
“We are very disappointed because we had this entire programme including a performance from a student band, question and answer session with the star and a contest planned. But he just came and left. Students just waited for hours and hours for this,” said Naheed Malek, marketing manager of UOWD. Apparently, Kapoor’s blink-and-miss-it appearance was triggered when Kapoor saw the sea of frenzied students and panicked.
“The reason they told was that Ranbir [Kapoor] was very upset because the crowd was going crazy. But it’s a school campus, so it’s expected,” added Malek.
Anirudh Patni, who is the drummer for the university band Bolly Beats, is equally disappointed.
“We had prepared for three weeks so that we could perform in front of Ranbir. But he just came and left. I came all the way from the Abu Dhabi campus, what a waste of time,” said Patni.
The girls were far more forgiving. “I love Ranbir and I am his biggest fan,” said student Rakshita Krishna. “I finished my two-hour exam in 45 minutes so that I could see him. Even though he was there for such a short time, I still love him.” For many, breathing the same rarefied air as Kapoor was reward enough.
“He made us wait for more than two hours and just disappeared so quickly. But I still think he’s cute,” said a breathless Renuka Amarnani.
The Rockstar actor’s flying visit was not limited to the campus alone. Later in the evening, the trio comprising comprising Kapoor, debutante Nargis Fakhri and director Imtiaz Ali were expected to visit the nightclub Chi@TheLodge.