The biggest concert extravaganza of its kind took place on Sunday evening, at the O2 arena, when the biggest stars in Bollywood performed to a sell-out audience. It marked a decade since superstar Shah Rukh Khan took to the London stage for the 2004 mega hit concert Temptations.
The eagerly anticipated Lycamobile Slam+ The Tour was kick-started with a special press conference at the five-star Montcalm Hotel in Marble Arch. In attendance was Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, Director Farah Khan and newcomer Vivaan Shah, all who feature in the new film Happy New Year, releasing on 23 October.
The show was an added achievement for Shah Rukh, who was honoured with the Global Diversity Award 2014 by the British parliament, for his contribution to cinema, on Saturday 4 October.
At the press conference, Shah Rukh said, “I am very grateful and extremely humbled by all the achievements that have been bestowed upon me. Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve them but I’m just very thankful that I’m in the position where people say they want to pick me.”
Co-star Abishek Bachchan extended his congratulations to Shah Rukh at the conference and said, “He continues to make us very proud as Indians.”
Speaking about the Tour and his return to the UK stage, Shah Rukh said, “I am blessed to get a lot of love and support from people around the world. This is our way of giving this love back and thanking you all. I’ve never performed at the O2 so it will be the first time and inshallah it will be great.”
Abishek added, “the last time I was at the O2, I was with family and now I’ve come with an even bigger family. It’s a lot of fun. We’ve had a wonderful time making the film, and we have a lot of fun on stage.”
Newcomer Vivaan Shah spoke of the honour it was to work with such talented actors. “Working on the film has been an absolutely life-changing experience so touring with them has just taken it to another level, because to stand on stage and to perform with them...it’s the most amazing experience. It’s a huge honour to be here.”
When asked if it was easier to work with Shah Rukh for the second time, Deepika Padukone said, “yes, it does make it easier because every time you work on a film with a new co-star, you go through the process of getting to know them. With Shah Rukh, we have that comfortable relationship where if he says something to me, I’ll never question him.’
Speaking about the film, Shah Rukh said, “It’s been great fun, when you make a film like this and you have a team like this… I think its just a good excuse really to enjoy yourself. We’ve been hanging out together for the last year making this film, so it was easy to be with a set of people who are like family.”
When asked what they would miss most from their journey together, Shah Rukh quickly replied, “I think we all will say the same, we are going to miss each other. The madness of Farah on set, she’s an amazingly wonderful director. We fight with her, argue with her but we love her. But really this is going to be sad, the whole feeling on Saturday that we won’t be seeing each other afterwards…”
To which director Farah Khan, became tearful. Calling for a tissue, she abruptly said, “I just realised its coming to an end!”
Sonu Sood added, “I think, as they say, we’ve saved the best until last. This is officially the last big bang before the release and it’s going to be very emotional, I think we’ve all been going through little moments with the box of tissues because this is the culmination.”
The mood quickly lightened up, however, when the actors were asked what each of them brings to the show. Boman laughingly replied, “I bring the sex appeal!”
When asked how she chooses her roles, Deepika said, “Every film we do is an independent decision. For me primarily, because it is a script I enjoy, it’s a story I want to tell, I want to be a part of an exciting project. There’s nothing more important than enjoying the process of making a film.”
Abishek added, “I feel every film has its own destiny and trajectory and you shouldn’t chose a film based on what the marketing is. You chose a film because the character inspires you. Sometimes, with me more than other people, I chose films because if it’s got my friends in it, I want to be a part of it. We’re not in control of the fate of our films, but we are in control of making the process of making that film very memorable.”
