Women are the leaders of India: Shahrukh Khan

• Posted in : Bollywood,News
• |
• February 8th, 2013.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has said women are the future and that "one needs to have women to have men", so they must be respected.

"It is important to talk about women who are making progress, taking our country forward and it is time to celebrate a little bit of brightness and positivity. You need to have women to have men," the 47-year-old said here Thursday night at the launch of the Link Lady collection of watch brand Tag Heuer.

The evening also celebrated the power of women by felicitating four Indian women achievers, who have excelled and contributed tremendously to their respective fields.

Among those commemorated were Sara Pilot, for her contribution to charitable causes through her organisation Cequin; Pia Singh, for her work in the country's luxury retail sector; Ritu Beri for being the pioneer of Indian fashion; and Olympic Bronze medallist Saina Nehwal for excellence in the field of sports.

Shah Rukh, looking dapper in a black suit, said it's time to celebrate the women "who are the leaders of India".

"It has been a few months now that we are witnessing all the news against women in India. Now everyone wants to come out and vehemently oppose the atrocity that happens with women in our country and around the globe.

"I think these are the negative feelings that are happening, so it becomes more important to have few sparks of brightness, beauty and goodness," said the actor, who kept to his late-coming tradition, and turned up two hours later than the scheduled time.

The evening started with aerial and ground ballet performances, followed by the unveiling of the watch collection by Shah Rukh and TAG Heuer president and CEO, Jean-Christophe Babin.

Those who attended the event included Omar Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah, Shashi and Sunanda Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, Manav Gangwani, Anupama Dayal, Varun Bahl, Rohit Gandhi and Sanjay Kapoor.

Friday, 08 February 2013 23:12

pioneer

Brand ambassador SRK stole the show by tying watches on the hands of women pioneers. Eram Agha attended the gala

Shah Rukh Khan does it all the time. Make women go jelly silly. At the launch of a latest line of luxury Tag Heuer watches, guests moved around from one corner to another hoping to ingratiate themselves with the go-betweens. I overheard a guest asking socialite Ramola Bachchan, "Would you please introduce me to Shah Rukh Khan?" To which she adroitly replied, "Oh, let me meet him first." Remember Shashi Tharoor's heart-warming statement on love? Well, we witnessed another loving gesture here. Wife Sunanda called up his office saying, "Unse kahiye yahan aajaye' bahut elegant mahaul hain yahan ka. Egypt wala function chhod de. (Ask him to come here instead of the Egyptian do, the ambience is elegant here." One call and we saw him complying to his wife's wishes.

Much before his arrival, the Abdullah clan came, sat and clapped through the event. Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Sachin Pilot, Sara Pilot were present. Sara was one of the four women chosen for the achievers' award. I asked the senior Abdullah if he had a watch fetish. "I have no collection of watches. Ask my son... I just gave him this watch which I bought 10 years ago and it has never given me any reason for complaint," he said.

All this chatter quietened when ballet dancers wafted in aided by aerial harnesses and and tiptoed on the ground against a backdrop of white. Still, guests couldn't wait for their favourite actor to take over the stage. Once he did, he got all the attention. CEO Jean-Christophe Babin launched the stunning Link Lady collection over cocktail canaps.

But what is SRK if not for his gracious treatment of women. So four names chosen for the awards were announced first ' Sara Pilot for her contribution to charitable causes; Ritu Beri for her work in fashion; Pia Singh for redefining luxury retail and Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal for making badminton such a phenomenon. Mr Khan floored these women by singing a song for each, exclusively composed by him.

Adorning Sarah Pilot's hands with the watch, King Khan sang, "Sara jahan se achcha kaam hai tumhara!" and rounded it off with a cheeky comment. From now on, I am your manly sister." The guests were in splits. He got Pia Singh's attention with "O Pia Pia, kyun bhula diya?" and applauded her for dictating the rules of business in a male-dominated world. The third lady to be given away the exquisite watch was Ritu Beri and the song she got from SRK was, "Kaali ghata chhayi, prem ritu aayi' aayi aayi mujhe teri yaad aayi." But for Saina Nehwal, he played the knight, going down on his knees and holding the microphone for her. He even shared an anecdote: "My colleague Deepika Padukone's father and badminton legend Prakash Padukone approached me praising Saina and requesting sponsors for her. But IPL was on my mind then. Today I feel proud of Saina," he said. And to sort of make up for not conisdering her in his radar, he had her in splits with the song, "Saina bolo, bolo!"😆

Warming hearts on a cold Delhi evening, the true blue Delhi boy admitted to missing it in a humid Mumbai. He added humorously, "I am feeling very cold right now, so please don't mind if I stutter a little because many people say that's my style"😆