“Unforeseen” circumstances that were later specified as “bad weather conditions” have forced the postponement of a gala London dinner planned by “the best British Pakistani channel” with Shah Rukh Khan as the main attraction.
Before the elements struck, the Shiv Sena had affected the climate through a warning in its mouthpiece Saamna: “It is inappropriate for Khan to be part of the event when India is observing the second anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks.”
A spokesperson for Prime TV, the organiser available on the Sky platform in the UK, said: “Shah Rukh will issue a statement — we are in a deep mess.”
The channel had continued to sell tickets almost till the last minute, confident that the actor would make it to the dinner.
Shortly afterwards, the channel attached a statement to its earlier promotional poster for the dinner: “With regret and apologies we announce postponement of the Shah Rukh Khan Gala Dinner to be held on Sunday 28th Nov in London due to unavoidable and untenable circumstances. An official press statement will be made by Shah Rukh Khan shortly today. We regret any inconvenience caused to our viewers and customers.”
From Prime TV’s statement, it appeared that the onus for the cancellation was being shifted to Shah Rukh who has been filming in Germany.
Later, a notice sent by Prime TV to those who had bought tickets sought to clear such a cloud. “Mr Shah Rukh Khan presently shooting in Berlin will not be in a position to travel to London for the event owing to bad weather conditions, which has caused a major delay in his shoot schedule,” it said.
“The challenging logistics of the crew, various permissions, arrangements and deadlines make it impossible for him to leave the assignment and travel for the event,” the Prime TV notice added.
“He sends his apologies and regrets missing an opportunity to meet all his fans. The event is postponed to May 2011. The date will be communicated to all concerned. Presently we are glad to refund your ticket monies and once again apologise for the inconvenience inadvertently caused.”
Some parts of Europe are indeed experiencing “historic-low” temperatures but flights from Berlin to London were operating as usual today.
The promotional posters had promised a fashion show. No mention was made of fundraising but, given the damage wreaked by floods in Pakistan, some were expecting to raise money for the victims.
If the dinner has been cancelled because of reasons other than the weather, few except the Shiv Sena win from this sorry affair.
It is not known how many tickets had been sold but the banqueting room of the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, one of London’s newer hotels located by the Thames, can accommodate 1,000.
Prime TV will have to refund the tickets, which will be a lengthy and cumbersome process. It will also have to pay penalty charges to the hotel and possibly the caterers.
It will not matter much to Shah Rukh that he will lose his fee, which has been estimated at upwards of £30,000. There may also be a clause for cancellation but this is unlikely to be enforced because both sides seem to be maintaining that he will appear on a future occasion.
Even yesterday, Prime TV had insisted that Shah Rukh was “a professional guy” who would “definitely” keep his promise to appear at the dinner.
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