Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony was a grand parade of B-town celebrities
The red carpet glistened in the dim light of the setting sun and the passage that led to it was as neat as the blackboard waiting for its first chalk mark. Everyone who alighted from their shimmering cars felt a sense of pride, after all they were the fortunate ones to witness the grand celebration. Narendra Modi’s swearing in ceremony to become India’s 15th Prime Minister was no lesser than any movie premiere.
The historic moment swept off the Bollywood of its feet, which also engaged in a wordy tussle sometime back over the ‘secular politics’. “Super hit, multi-star production at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Paisa vasool,” tweeted author and columnist Shobhaa De. Bollywood stars like Salman Khan, Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan, Rakesh Roshan, Hema Malini and Dharmendra, Shyam Benegal, Shatrughan Sinha, Anupam and Kirron Kher, Bappi lahiri, Poonam Dhillon, Vinod Khanna, Madhur Bhandarkar and Smriti Irani walked the isle one by one making their way to the designated seats. Clad in a beautiful silk sari accessorised with a necklace, Hema Malini sat next to Dharmendra. It was a rare outing the jodi undertook together after a long time. There were reports of tension between the couple after Dharmendra skipped wife’s campaign in Mathura.
The heavyweights such as lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Rekha and Sachin Tendulkar didn’t show up. While Rajinikanth’s wife latha appeared on hubby’s behalf, legendary singer lata Mangeshkar cited ‘poor health’ as a reason for her absence. She sent a handwritten apology letter which was tweeted by Modi minutes before his oath taking ceremony.
Thanking her, he wrote, “Thank you lata Didi. As always, your greetings and best wishes inspire me deeply.”
The oath ceremony also sparked humour on Internet. Actors Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi, who were present at the venue, became the butt of Twitter jokes. “More than Modi-Sharif faceoff, I can’t wait to see Vivek Oberoi and Salman Khan clashing (sic),” posted Siddharth Mazumdar. Another reaction came from Sweaty Kuhu, “Salman and Vivek Oberoi both attending swearing in ceremony. After all it’s ‘Rai’sina Hill (sic).” Smriti Irani impressed her fans as she infused right amount of emotions, pause with perfect diction in her oath. “Watching Smriti Irani take oath, all saas-es slapping their bahus,” wrote scribe Suparna Sharma.
Surprisingly, Bappi lahiri ditched his ornaments for a change. But the dazzling golden kurta made up for every bit of gold he is used to wearing. Vivek Oberoi endorsed BJP in Nehru jacket with a lotus print. Anil Ambani with wife Tina were also spotted.
photos Alwin Singh