Shah Rukh Khan: Birthday boy

When a certain Nita Ambani celebrates her birthday with a certain Shah Rukh Khan, it can surely be dubbed The Party. With 450 star guests in attendance, and a special appearance by Prince Andrew, this was one bash Mumbai will remember for a very long time.

Far from the fashion week action at NCPA, Sea Wind, the Ambani residence in Cuffe Parade, witnessed the fashion show of the season on the evening of November 1. The occasion: a triple celebration.

The bash hosted by Nita and Mukesh Ambani on her birthday was in honour of the soon-to-be-married couple Avni (Praful Patel’s daughter) and Prashant Deshpande (son of Congress leader R.V. Deshpande). With Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday beginning from the midnight hour, the gala was as big as it gets.

At the stroke of 12, Shah Rukh’s birthday was announced by Karan Johar, of course. The superstar was then flooded with 41 gifts from Forum 11 — a club of Mumbai’s 11 top ladies led by Nita — to mark his 41st birthday.

Shah Rukh, looking hot in a flaming red shirt, soon took to the dance floor, recreating his Khaike paan Benaraswala moves.

The Sea Wind poolside had been transformed into a “spectacular set” in shades of shocking pink, orange and black by designer Tarun Tahiliani. And the pool was covered to set up a stage that played host to a “fashion theatre” and a dance performance.

The guest list starred Sachin Tendulkar and Anjali, Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay, Shilpa Shetty, Yash Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, Simi Garewal, Subhash Ghai, Chunky Pandey, Riteish Deshmukh... the Birlas, the Godrejs, Vijay Mallya, Uddhav and Rashmi Thackeray.

The evening emceed by Juhi Chawla started with a fashion extravaganza that combined Tarun’s ensembles with Calcutta designer Raj Mahtani’s jewels. When Nita had come to Calcutta in June she had spent the whole afternoon at Mahtani’s Satramdas Dhalamal store on Park Street.

The “breathtaking” laser show saw 22 of the country’s top models — Carol Gracias, Noyonika Chatterjee, Vidisha Pavate, Sheetal Malhar, Dipannita Sharma, Sampada, Krishna Somani, Tupur Chatterjee among others — showcasing the designs.

“This was no ordinary fashion show, I would call it a fashion theatre,” Tarun told GoodLife. “It was a couture evening and the clothes were in jewel colours, mostly pinks and oranges.”

The models were draped in diamonds and emeralds. “The look was apsara like and I dressed up the girls with head-to-toe jewellery from my winter couture line,” revealed Raj.

White and black were the chosen colours for the night. The fashion theatre was followed by a dance show organised by Juhi, before her favourite hero’s birthday cake was cut. And the crowd kept grooving to DJ Aqeel’s music, including a few SRK hits, till about 3 in the morning.