Temptation Reloaded 2008 - Shah Rukh Khan is back on stage!
Temptation is back with Shah Rukh Khan
By Susanne Tirre
Slowly the blood pressure is calming down to the normal level. My ears are still ringing from the screaming and the hammering basses that had filled the air only minutes ago. I look around to my fellow AO members and it’s clear that we are thinking the same at the moment: Why has this show we were longing for weeks now has to end so soon? I feel happy and sad at the same time, happy, because I was lucky to be present at the first Temptation Reloaded Show and sad, because it ended and my thinking already started to change. Wow, there had been Katrina, Arjun and the gorgeous Kareena dancing to the tunes of Deewangi Deewangi, Ganesh Hedge, Anusha Dandekar and Javed Ali with great performances and most certainly the King enjoying himself. So I sit there on my place wondering where to find the rewind-button to see it all over again.
Found it!
It all started weeks before in May when this show was announced. We were preparing for the much awaited 3rd Family Lunch and searching for the best way to reach the heart of London and our home base when the announcement of the show changed everything. First the moderators and our own Shahid Malik seemed to be confident that a meeting would be possible, but then one after the other member expressed his or her wish to attend the Temptation Reloaded Show in Rotterdam and cancelled their participation for the Family Lunch. So it had to be postponed by the desire to see the Badshah performing live on stage.
Our happy little band of members decided to order tickets in a bunch to enjoy the show together and I was chosen to do so since I have a colleague of Dutch origin. Having the ticket thriller of Berlinale in mind (the tickets were sold out within 7 minutes and it was almost impossible to buy them) I asked my colleague to call the company very early that day only to hear that it was not possibly to order at that time. He tried several times and finally he succeeded and ordered tickets for the 13th row. We were very happy - until we got the news that Sekier Entertainment had blocked the first 12 rows for their customers. Sometimes, AO members could be very pagal and so we were, because we decided to try to upgrade our tickets and thanks to the efforts of Kerstin and Susanne we succeeded again – and ended up in row no. 2. I was a bit tense till the day our tickets arrived though Sekier had assured us that it wouldn’t be a problem, if the tickets wouldn’t be delivered in time.
It was a late afternoon and the vast place in front of the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam was almost empty, but this wouldn’t last for long, because a legend was going to take place though no advertisement or poster announced Temptation Reloaded2008 yet. It had taken 4 years to remake a new Temptation show starring Shah Rukh Khan and friends, but it was worth holding out.
The place filled up slowly while time went by and everybody was waiting till it was 6.30 pm and the entrances to the huge hall would be opened. People were queueing in 6 long rows patiently standing there and chatting about the star cast of the evening. They were speculating about the item numbers that would be performed by Arjun Rampal, Anusha Dandekar, Ganesh Hedge, Katrina Kaif, the beautiful Kareena Kapoor and the King himself, Shah Rukh Khan. And they waited for the doors to open … and waited … and waited … and waited.
Finally, at 20.15 the doors of the hall opened and slowly the people were let in. The ticket holders for the first rows had to get their tickets checked inside the hall again, but it was so worth it, because our seats were right in front of the stage. Just take a look of Ukue’s or Meike’s pics and you can see what I mean. It seemed that the preparations for the show weren’t finished when we took our seats since the dancers wearing workout outfits were still on stage rehearsing.
At about 21.00 o’clock the show was started by the cute Anusha Dandekar performing to Aaj Ki Raat. She is a very good dancer and also a good host who announced the stars and interviewed them after their performances. Arjun and Kareena rocked the house with their performances and also Katrina and Javed did a very good job in entertaining people.
The hall erupted from excitement and screaming as The King had his entry with Dard-e-Disco. It was the performance first shown at a recent awards show he presented looked absolutely stunning in his black torn shirt. After that he came back reciting a poem, but it was almost impossible to hear him through all this screaming and shouting.
Ganesh Hedge, the choreographer of the show and also a singer and actor had the hardest part of the show: performing after SRK. He did a song with Anusha and it was just great to watch him and his boyish charm. He was the best dancer this evening and performed with such an ease that it was a delight to watch. Anusha told the audience that he had finished his first movie as an actor and that it will release this year.
Following up was the most awaited part: The King in interaction with some fans. First he called a young man and a lady on stage to teach them how to romance to Main Agar Kahoon (you might have seen it in the show he did for the cricketeers) and then he called a man to dance to Main Hoon Don (again from the cricketeers show) and we all had fun watching it like SRK who had a great time playing with the audience and giving autographs and presents away. He later called Arjun back on stage and the 2 of them got on a mobile podium to be driven through the hall and throwing balls and teddy-bears into the audience. Again the hall erupted in screams and shouts when these handsome guys made their way to come near to those who were far away from the stage.
You could say that now the show belonged to SRK since after that he performed Mast Kalander with Anusha and then Pretty Woman with Katrina followed by Mitwa with Kareena. Anusha tried to persuade us that it was time for the Grand Finale which we of course tried to overhear, but unfortunately, we had no chance. Everybody came on stage to perform Deewangi Deewangi and this evening had to end. But perhaps somebody should explain to them the meaning of the German word “Zugabe” (means something like extra benefit), because sure as hell, at the 17th October in Berlin the people will scream this word and it would be really nice of the stars to oblige to this wish.
Like so many other people we went to the back entrance of the hall to catch a glimpse of the leaving stars and as you might imagine it was frenzy when SRK left the building. People screamed and pushed and the security guys were busy to hold them at bay. Mr. Khan seemed to enjoy it and like in Paris he climbed up the car to blow flying kisses to his fans and giving them the opportunity to see him properly. Then he left in the car which had to move very slowly, because so many people were blocking the way out. Also the other stars left one by one to be driven away separately and I was told that Saif had been with Kareena, but none of them waved to the fans like Shah Rukh Khan has done.
Finally we left the place and got back to our hotel, but it took a long time before we were able to find some sleep, because the pics of the evening didn’t leave us and even now I sometimes see the King in my dreams dancing and smiling in a way only he does – and then I start to count the days till October, when I will be able to see him again on stage. For all the people over the world I’ll keep my fingers crossed that there might be more shows in other parts of the world.
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