Dubai: The cast of Players -- Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Bobby Deol -- played every game in the book to entertain their fans in Dubai on Wednesday.
“It’s wonderful to be in Dubai and guys it’s Bipasha’s birthday soon so watch the film and give her your gift,” said Bachchan as he interacted with hundreds of swooning fans at Global Village. They were in the UAE for the world premiere of their heist flick Players, a Bollywood remake of Michael Caine’s classic crime caper.
Bengali siren Basu addressed her fans in the style that she knows best – by goading an unsuspecting guy to do ten push-ups on stage.
“Come on, I do fifty every day, you can give me at least ten,” said Basu, adding that her stunts in the film are far more daring. Actor Mukesh, who plays hacker Spider chose to sing his way into people’s hearts.
“This is my grandfather’s favourite song and it just brings back great memories,” said Mukesh as he sang the hit Zindagi Khwab Hai. But it was not all games as they shifted to hard-sell to promote Players.
“This film has a bit of everything – action, masala, romance and stunts,” said Bachchan. His strategy seems to have worked.
“I will definitely watch the film. The whole team was amazing and friendly – especially the cool dude Abhishek,” said Neha Dadlani, who was with her family at Global Village.
Earlier in the afternoon, the cast made a dramatic entry at a press conference. Racing and skidding along a Global Village road in two Mini Coopers, the actors showed the press a slice of what’s to come in their action film.
“It was great fun and it was challenging,” said Bachchan, who later revealed that there was an expert driver behind the wheel. Their day was far from over. The Players cast later on Thursday are due to walk a gold carpet -- a reference to the bullion they attempt to steal in the film -- at the Grand Cineplex followed by an afterparty at a nightclub.
“Dubai has become such an important territory for us. It’s lovely to be back,” said Bachchan.
