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du Spin on King Khan Has Fans in Dialling Frenzy

DUBAI — How will fans react when a superstar makes his mobile number public? Obviously, they will spin into a dialing frenzy.

Something similar happened on Monday when UAE telecommunication provider du released an advertisement that listed Indian superstar Shahrukh Khan’s mobile number alongside endorsement of a product brand. Three other celebrities from the Arab world are also endorsing the campaign.

More than 8,000 calls with over 1,000 personal voice messages were recorded for the four celebrities, including Khan, du said in a statement on Tuesday. However, it was not clear whether the campaign including all the four celebrities ran on the same day. “The number of calls almost went up 200 per cent on the second day itself,” said du.

While several fans and movie buffs expressed disbelief and questioned the validity of the number, du said the number was genuine and not a marketing gimmick.

For those who dialed the number, a taped message in Khan’s voice greeted them in Hindi. “Hi this is Shahrukh Khan. I cannot take your call right now. Please leave your message and love.”

Interestingly, the message did not say that Khan would call back as any normal voiced message would do. But by the end of the day, much to the disappointment of fans, no calls were
going through.

“Due to the overwhelming public interaction since the launch of the plan two days back, we have been facing some technical difficulties and in some instances individuals may have found it difficult to get through Khan’s number. We have optimised our system and have addressed these issues. Customers across the UAE can now continue to leave their personal messages for their beloved cine star uninterrupted,” explained du.

“Hi Shahrukh, its Mani, I am a huge fan of yours and I love your film Dil Wale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge Gey. I have watched it several times Please call
me back.”

This is the message Mohammed Noman, a salesman working in Dubai left for Shahrukh in the hope that he would get a call back. Several others ardent fans left similar messages.

“When I first saw the number in the advertisement, I didn’t believe it. Then I thought, there is no harm in trying… Shahrukh might answer,” gushed Shireen Masood, a Dubai-based student and a self-proclaimed fan of Khan.

“I was pleasantly surprised to hear his warm voice greeting me,” she said. “So I left a message in the hope that he might hear it and may reply personally,” she added.

Ashish Mishra, a marketing executive in Dubai, expressed similar sentiments. “The moment I heard about the number, I called up immediately. I expected the phone to be switched off, but I felt happy when I heard his voice.”

Three other celebrities from the Arab entertainment world including the creator of the animated housewives series, Freej, Mohammed Saeed Hareb, leading Emirati jewellery designer Azza Al Qubaisi and famous Lebanese TV presenter George Kurdahi are also part of the ad campaign.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.comw