Fans bemoan SRK's late appearance

DUBAI // It wasn't all sweetness and light on the night of Shah Rukh Khan's charity dinner.

Some fans felt shortchanged when the Bollywood actor arrived late, making an appearance just before midnight.

Disappointed fans said Khan spent 30 minutes at the venue while they waited for two-and-a-half hours to catch a glimpse of him.

Khan did apologise for being late without saying what had delayed him. "Thank you Dubai for everything and I'm really sorry we are late but we have been very tense about the film," he said. "When I was coming up here, one lady said, 'You're late, you're late!' I told her I was sorry. Actually she sounded just like my wife."

His comments drew muted laughter. Indian fans are often swept up by the charisma of Bollywood actors and usually forgive stars for their tardiness.

"There are children here - it's unfair to keep anyone waiting for so long," said Mohan Sharma, a long-time fan from Ajman who was at the dinner with his family well before the 9.30pm allotted time on Monday. "In the end everyone was happy to see him, but why make people wait?"

Fans who had travelled from other emirates and overseas had hoped Khan would set a better example to his young fans about being on time.

"It's not good for my son because he adores Shah Rukh and copies everything he does in the movies," said Basmah Zain, a Lebanese expatriate. "Now he will think it's fine to be late because his idol is late."