It
can
now
be
told
that
Shahrukh
Khan
almost
skipped
the
IPL
award
show
last
Friday.
Following
Income
Tax
department's
raids
on
the
offices
of
his
team
Kolkata
Knight
Riders
as
well
as
his
production
house
Red
Chillies,
the
actor
wasn't
sure
whether
he
would
be
able
to
make
time
for
the
award
function.
Also,
the
actor
known
for
his
clean
reputation,
wanted
to
distance
himself
from
all
the
muck-raking
IPL
scandal.
Says
a
source
close
to
the
actor,
"He
didn't
want
to
ditch
the
organisers
at
the
last
moment.
He
told
them
to
look
for
a
replacement,
as
he
felt
he
might
not
be
able
to
keep
his
commitment.
The
panic-stricken
organisers
then
approached
Shahid
Kapoor,
who
refused
saying
he
was
busy."
The
organisers
-
the
Morani
Brothers
(also
good
friends
of
Shahrukh)
-
pleaded
with
the
actor
to
bail
them
out.
"They
kept
trying
to
convince
him
to
agree
to
honour
his
commitment
Thursday
night
through
Friday
morning.
The
actor
finally
relented.
But
on
the
condition
that
the
act
would
be
trimmed
down.
SRK
was
to
host
a
segment
in
the
middle
of
the
show,
but
he
arrived
at
the
venue,
almost
close
to
curtains-down
time
at
9.30
pm.
The
show
ended
with
his
act.
Change
of
plans
Khan
was
to
host
a
segment
with
eight
cricketers:
Sourav
Ganguly,
Sachin
Tendulkar,
Rahul
Dravid,
Yusuf
Pathan,
Mahendra
Singh
Dhoni,
Yuvraj
Singh,
Adam
Gilchrist
and
Virendra
Sehwag.
After
a
break
of
15
minutes,
he
was
to
repeat
the
same
act
with
eight
more
players.
But
his
act
eventually
was
without
a
break.
And
with
just
the
first
lot.
An
eyewitness
reveals,
"Even
though
his
act
was
last
minute,
it
was
the
best.
He
got
Sourav,
Dravid
and
Bhajji
to
dance
to
Love
Mera
Hit-Hit
and
his
other
hit
songs.
However
there
was
a
hitch
in
the
end,
following
which
the
actor
left.
The
source
continues,
"SRK
teased
Yuvi
about
his
female
fan
following
and
said
they
only
stuck
to
him
because
of
his
Casanova
image.
Yuvi
retaliated
by
saying
that
women
ran
after
him
(and
not
Khan)
because
he
was
stuck
to
Karan.
There
was
a
hush
in
the
audience
at
this
comment
but
Shahrukh
being
a
good
sport,
handled
the
situation
well.
But
he
made
his
displeasure
known
backstage
and
staged
a
walkout."
The
final
act
was
to
have
the
IPL
team
owners
come
on
stage
with
their
teams.
While
everyone
came
on
stage,
SRK
was
missing.
The
general
assumption
was
that
he
had
walked
out
as
he
was
upset
with
Yuvi's
crack.
However
Shahrukh
maintains,
"I
had
made
a
commitment
as
a
professional
-
I
would
do
my
job.
And
I
did.
I
left
post
show
because
I
had
a
shoot
waiting.
I
had
to
finish
it."
Story first published: Monday, April 26, 2010, 11:42 [IST]