SRK: kabhi khushi, kabhi ghum
Our mole spotted the great Bollywood star SRK in London, looking like a wreck. Apparently, SRK and his glamorous wife Gauri own a large house on Park Lane, one of London’s swankiest addresses, close to The Dorchester hotel. Normally, SRK doesn’t venture out of his house without a security detail and elaborate ploys to avoid publicity and the public. This time, he seems to have been in a nasty mood, for when he left the house, he slammed the front door behind him. The door opened again and two members of his staff rushed out to try and draw him back into the house. He shook them off and walked down Park Lane alone, crossing the road into Hyde Park. The two minders followed at a discreet distance. But our mole, who’d been standing outside SRK’s mansion in the hope of getting a glance, was also on the trail.
Once in Hyde Park, SRK walked around aimlessly, found a bench and slumped into it. Then he began to smoke. And smoke and smoke — three ciggies in a row. He was clearly agitated, looking thin and dishevelled. His hands shook as he handled his cigarettes. From somewhere in his hoodie, a mobile phone rang and rang. But SRK didn’t answer it. When it didn’t stop ringing, he took it out and smashed it to the ground. That’s when the two minders leapt into his vision, retrieved the phone and tried to make him stand up. He pushed the minders away, screaming abuse at them. By then, he was beginning to attract attention. One desi looking woman stopped close to him, gawping. SRK screamed at her, “what the eff are you looking at?” She scurried away. The minders were desperate by now, “sir”, “sir”, “sir” .... they kept up a litany, trying to lure him back to the house. He pushed them away again. They retreated to a distance, but still kept him in their sights. SRK now slumped forward and put his head in his hands, elbows on his knees, in a dejected pose. He sat there like that for a good 10 to 15 minutes, and finally got up and began to walk slowly back to his house. The minders followed silently.