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| AGONY AND ECSTACY: Iqbal Khan (framed) surrounded by screaming fans at the Maldives show | So far we have heard about traumatic fan experiences of the telly actors but here's a tale of a fan who was punished by her husband for seeking a male actor's gaze.
Actor Iqbal Khan (Angad) of Sony's Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai fame, was flown to Maldives last month for a concert in the island's capital, Male.
Titled Angad and The Sultans show, and organised by the largest lifestyle department store on the island, it was held on September 17 as part of a popular carnival.
Crowd went berserk
Khan performed live on the remixed title track of Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai and had to repeat his act for a second and third time by popular demand, as the crowd of 5,000 went berserk and refused to see other artistes on stage.
Says Khan, "I had no clue about the fact that Indian soaps are so popular in Maldives. I got the worst shock of my life when I saw the locales cheering aloud and would not budge from their demands. I was sharing the stage with a popular rock band, The Sultans, but the islanders were raving about me more than the band. The crowd was superb to perform before. It was a very rewarding experience."
Sin and the sinner
Post his performance, the women at the concert made a beeline backstage to pose for pictures with the actor, and Khan obliged. Seeing his wife standing with Iqbal Khan, a 40-year-old islander took her to court, seeking a divorce on the grounds of luring and attempting to get comfortable with a foreigner and questioning her modesty.
However, a few days later, the islander had withdrawn his appeal for a divorce and did not pursue the case.
Says Khan, "The show was a one-day affair and I came back to India the next day. But my coordinator called me to say I had the potential to create a rift between married couples there!"
Media gives it a miss
Confirming the reports, Zaheer, managing editor of Haaveru (a daily) says, "Indian television programmes are very popular with folks here. An incident like this did happen but we didn't cover the issue. We didn't speak to the couple; it's very difficult to obtain their names now."
The organisers said, "Indian artistes have always been a great hit with our islanders. Such remote incidents do happen but they're stretched by the fans who roll out such gossip for pure fun."
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Blast from the past
In May 2003, the opening of Maldives' largest lifestyle store, Evince, saw Ronit Roy, Hiten Tejwani and Simone Singh in the island nation.
To get a glimpse of these popular actors, a middle-aged woman went up to the roof of a building opposite the store for a better view, but could not get down until the following morning when locals assisted her.
Later, when a magazine followed up the story and interviewed the lady, she said she didn't even know how she got up there! | |
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