Cruising Star

It doesn’t take long for actor Shah Rukh Khan to grab eyeballs even when he is sharing the stage with a 100,000 pounds limited edition sports car and an upcoming F1 driver. So at the Asia premiere of the Tesla Roadster on Wednesday at the Ambience Mall,Gurgaon,it was Khan who held centre-stage even as the audience clamoured for more. “It’s always a nice feeling coming to Delhi . People here have been very kind to me,” he said,sending the assembled crowd into mass hysteria.

Dressed impeccably in a black suit,his trademark aviators in place,Khan,along with F1 driver Karun Chandok,both brand ambassadors of Tag Heuer was in the city to celebrate the 150 th anniversary of the Swiss brand,which coincided with the 15 cities’ tour of the zany new electric sports car. As the swelling crowd called out his name,Khan acknowledged them,flashing his dimpled smile,before turning to Chandok. “I have had the pleasure of being driven by one of India ‘s best F1 drivers today,” he said,even as Chandok blushed.

Incidentally,the Roadster which completely runs on electricity is capable of accelerating to 130 mph. “It can run for 400 km without any charge. We had to fly the car in from Russia for the India leg of the journey,” said Luke McClure,the test driver of the Tesla. After travelling through Europe and now India,the car will next move to Shanghai and Beijing in China .

At the event Khan was uncharacteristically at his diplomatic best. He avoided all talks over his budding friendship with fellow-actor Akshay Kumar with whom he has never gotten along well before,or the ongoing IPL investigations,choosing instead,to woo the crowd with platitudes about Delhi. “Everybody loves me unconditionally over here. It is very touching,” he gushed. If that wasn’t enough,he saved more emotional outpouring for Twitter. On his way back to Mumbai the actor tweeted from the airport: “Delhi is burning…wish there was a twitter in heaven. Could write to parents. Maybe should have gone to their burial place.”