Stars st(r)uck

Aamir, Ganguly and Gavaskar looked on as jubiliant fans danced on their car's roof for nearly an hour after the match, cracking the windscreen in the process

Stars st(r)uck

Aamir, Ganguly and Gavaskar looked on as jubiliant fans danced on their car's roof for nearly an hour after the match, cracking the windscreen in the process

THE frenzy following India's historic World Cup win proved to be a bummer for Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly and Aamir Khan, who witnessed euphoric fans dancing atop their car for nearly an hour at Marine Drive in the wee hours yesterday.

At midnight, when the countrywide post-match party was at its height, Gavaskar and Ganguly, who were part of the team of commentators, left Wankhede Stadium in an SUV from VIP Gate 1.
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Cricketer-turned-commentator Sourav Ganguly is seen inside the car, driven by Afshar Khan (right), in these photos taken on a cellphone by our reporter

They saw Aamir waiting outside the stadium for his car and asked him if he wanted a ride.

"Aamir saab was outside the stadium. I think he was waiting for his car. Gavaskar and Ganguly saab asked him to go with them and he agreed," said Afshar Khan, the driver of the SUV.

"We were on our way to the Trident at Marine Drive to drop Ganguly saab and had just reached Marine Plaza hotel when we saw a crowd of fans on the road. They stopped our car and began dancing on the bonnet.
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Some of them even climbed onto the roof and began dancing there, crackingu00a0 the windscreen in the process.

All three celebrities were nervous. Aamir saab asked me not to open the window or drive quickly so that I don't hurt the fans by mistake and Ganguly saab was calling the police for help," he added.

The car was stuck in that spot for 45 minutes before the police arrived and resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the crowd. Aamir, Ganguly and Gavaskar, meanwhile, took shelter at the Marine Plaza hotel.

After reaching the hotel's fourth floor, all three waved at the crowd. While Aamir continued to cheer for the team and encouraged the fans from the window, the commentators got busy eating and talking on the phone.

'Bound to happen'

It was 3 am before Dada went to his hotel and Gavaskar and Aamir left for their homes.

Talking to MiD DAY, Ganguly said, "We saw Aamir waiting outside Wankhede and Sunny Bhai and I decided to ask him to come with us. The crowd went mad with joy, which was bound to happen."

DCP (Traffic) Nandkumar Chougale said, "The traffic situation was bad at Marine Drive because of a few unruly people. It is shameful that they treated the three celebrities like this."

Shastri's woes

Commentator Ravi Shastri, meanwhile, was upset at the logistics team for sending a sedan to pick him up at the hotel before the match. The tall former cricketer finds it difficult to sit in sedans because of his height.

"They sent a sedan initially and its low height and poor condition irked Shastri, who refused to travel in it. The organisers then sent him an SUV and he finally reached the stadium," said one of the drivers hired by the
logistics team.

Cabbies flee

The revelling crowd at Marine Drive, consisting of people dancing, screaming and blowing on vuvuzelas atop vehicles, deterred cabbies from plying in the area for fear of damaging their cars. This, in turn, caused problems for families wanting to return home.

u00a0"They are drunk and are asking us to allow them to sit on the roof. They will damage the car and it is best that we move out of the area," said taxi driver Ramendra Sharma.

"I have been waiting for a taxi for the last three hours. There are barely any cabs on the road and the drivers of the ones that we manage to find have been refusing to go," said Andheri resident Ashwin Pereira.

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