Indian actors and actresses who are one or two films old were getting star treatment, with starry-eyed fans rushing towards them and asking for their autographs. With the big names of Bollywood such as Sharukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Amitabh Bachchan skipping the IIFA show, the fans had to be content with these small-time stars. They in turn were only too happy to be accessible to their fans and were enjoying their moment of glory in Sri Lanka.
A few hundred Sri Lankan Bollywood fans who thronged the Cinnamon Grand hotel hours prior to the ceremony last night had their dream come true. They saw the stars for real.
Bollywood stars who arrived in vehicles in front of the hotel heeded their fans’ appeal to sign autographs and pose with them for photos. Most of the stars were doing their last minute shopping before the mega event. Dankotuwa ceramic –ware seemed to be a hot favourite shopping item.
“They were very friendly. I got autographs from all the stars who went to the hotel except from Aftab Shivdasani. He couldn’t give me his autograph as he had hurt his hand,” an ecstatic fan Anand Gujarati says.
Malaika Arora Khan, Kunal Kapoor, Govinda and Dia Mirza were just some of the stars who dazzled the public thronging in front of the hotel.
“Unlike in India, they are more accessible here. In India, we would not have been even allowed to enter the hotel. But, here we can stand next to them and talk to them outside the hotel doors,” Rashmi Mishra, an Indian who works here says.
College-going girls Navada and Malsha were prepared to wait for hours to see Hrithik Roshan and Salman khan. “We have been here for hours, saw many stars but couldn’t get a glimpse of Hrithik and Salman. We will leave this place only after we catch a glimpse of them,” Navada says.
And no they are not attending the IIFA event. “It’s too expensive for the common man to go for such an event,” she adds disapprovingly.
Conversations with their Bollywood heart - throbs are interrupted each time a car stops in front of the hotel to drop a star. No sooner one emerges, he or she is encircled by fans pleading for a photo opportunity or autographs.
One of the fans waiting outside the entrance was Rashmi, who would shout out a star’s name the moment one entered the hotel or got into a vehicle. The actors would turn around and wave at her.
Asked why she did that, she says enthusiastically, “I just want them to look at me.”
There were some who were waiting close to the hotel from morning. “I was here from the 7 in the morning. And it was totally worth it,” a happy Anand says.
However Priya another fan says, “It is sad that many of the popular actors are not coming for the event.”
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