SRK beats up Shirish Kunder - Page 36

MUMBAI: The clash between two Bollywood celebrities took on a violent note early Monday morning, when actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan allegedly came to blows with director Farah Khan's husband Shirish Kunder at Sanjay Dutt's party at a popular nightclub in Juhu, which was attended by A-listers. After being stalked by Kunder right through the party, Khan as he was about to leave, lost his cool and allegedly pinned him onto a sofa and slapped him.

Although Farah spent the better part of Monday railing against her former 'best friend' SRK for slapping her husband and attacking him for "no reason", she and Kunder will not be approaching the police. Kunder on Monday evening tweeted: "We have no intention of filing an FIR or a police complaint." Both Dutt, who had attempted to separate the two, and SRK are maintaining a stony silence.

The incident took place around 4.15am on Monday at a party hosted in Dutt's honour by the owner of the nightclub following Sunday's Filmfare Awards. Eyewitnesses give conflicting accounts of the nature of the scuffle: some say the duo came to blows, others say the actor simply slapped Kunder.

Shah Rukh arrived at Dutt's party around 3.15am. A few minutes into the party, the superstar hit the dance floor and began dancing with Dutt, his wife Manyata and a group of friends. He was in a good mood, and even posed for pictures.

An eyewitness present at the party said, "Shirish Kunder kept hovering around Shah Rukh and followed him onto the dance floor, but the actor simply ignored him." The relationship between the two was at an all-time low after Kunder had criticized SRK's recent film 'Ra One' on a microblogging site. He had posted an insulting, 'I just heard a Rs150 crore firework fizzle' remark online.

"Khan refused to acknowledge Kunder at the party. Even when Dutt escorted SRK outside the venue to introduce him to a close friend, Kunder unabashedly followed them," said an eyewitness. "Kunder placed himself right behind SRK and murmured something into his ear." It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel, or in this case, Khan's back. "An annoyed SRK, who was actually preparing to leave the party, turned around, held Kunder by the scruff of the neck, and forced him to sit on a sofa near the nightclub's exit," said the guest.

After a heated exchange of words, SRK slapped Kunder. Dutt, who was aware of the acrimonious relationship between the two, rushed to defuse the situation and pulled them apart. Here eyewitness accounts differ with many claiming that Dutt allegedly responded in like when Kunder pushed him roughly.

Farah, who had not attended the party, maintained that her husband did nothing to provoke SRK. She said, "Those who were present told me that the attack was completely unprovoked. Shirish didn't even know that Shah Rukh was at the party."

In a mass sms sent to the media, Farah said: "Shah Rukh has always told me that physical abuse is the worst way to sort out a problem. It means the attacker has either a personal or professional crisis going on. It saddens me to see him doing the same."

This is not the first time that Kunder has taken a swipe at SRK. At another Bollywood party, Kunder had criticized Ra One, sources told TOI.

The party quickly wrapped up after the fracas: Dutt and his wife Manyata left in one car, while builder and owner of the club Baba Dewan and SRK left in another vehicle.

The party had been hosted by Dewan for Dutt following the success of the latter's latest release Agneepath. Apart from Shah Rukh Khan some of the A-listers who attended the party includedAmisha Patel, Ajay Devgan, Priyanka Chopra, Karisma Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan Vivek Oberoi and Arshad Warsi.