Shahrukh left IPL awards because of Yuvraj?

By: Upala KBR, Mid-Day

It can now be told that Shahrukh Khan almost skipped the IPL award show last Friday. Following Income Tax department's raids on the offices of his team Kolkata Knight Riders as well as his production house Red Chillies, the actor wasn't sure whether he would be able to make time for the award function. Also, the actor known for his clean reputation, wanted to distance himself from all the muck-raking IPL scandal.

Says a source close to the actor, "He didn't want to ditch the organisers at the last moment. He told them to look for a replacement, as he felt he might not be able to keep his commitment. The panic-stricken organisers then approached Shahid Kapoor, who refused saying he was busy."

The organisers - the Morani Brothers (also good friends of Shahrukh) - pleaded with the actor to bail them out. "They kept trying to convince him to agree to honour his commitment Thursday night through Friday morning. The actor finally relented. But on the condition that the act would be trimmed down. SRK was to host a segment in the middle of the show, but he arrived at the venue, almost close to curtains-down time at 9.30 pm. The show ended with his act.

Change of plans

Khan was to host a segment with eight cricketers: Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yusuf Pathan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Adam Gilchrist and Virendra Sehwag. After a break of 15 minutes, he was to repeat the same act with eight more players. But his act eventually was without a break. And with just the first lot.

An eyewitness reveals, "Even though his act was last minute, it was the best. He got Sourav, Dravid and Bhajji to dance to Love Mera Hit-Hit and his other hit songs.

However there was a hitch in the end, following which the actor left. The source continues, "SRK teased Yuvi about his female fan following and said they only stuck to him because of his Casanova image. Yuvi retaliated by saying that women ran after him (and not Khan) because he was stuck to Karan. There was a hush in the audience at this comment but Shahrukh being a good sport, handled the situation well. But he made his displeasure known backstage and staged a walkout."

The final act was to have the IPL team owners come on stage with their teams. While everyone came on stage, SRK was missing. The general assumption was that he had walked out as he was upset with Yuvi's crack.

However Shahrukh maintains, "I had made a commitment as a professional - I would do my job. And I did. I left post show because I had a shoot waiting. I had to finish it."