Monday saw London’s OMEGA House transformed into a beautiful Bollywood haven; welcoming athletes, VIPs and special guest and Bollywood superstar Abhishek Bachchan to enjoy an evening of Indian inspired entertainment and decor. Marking the beginning of OMEGA House’s second week as one of London’s most celebrated Olympic pop-up members’ clubs, guests were treated to Johnnie Walker Blue Label cocktails whilst enjoying entertainment from authentic drummers, henna artists, Bollywood dancers and bhangra musician, DJ Vix who kept the party going long into the night.
The evening saw a host of London 2012’s top athletes – including the men’s GB gymnastics team, Pete Reid, Peter Wilson and rowers from both England and Norway including Andy Hodge –celebrating their recent successes. Britain’s first gold medallists of this year’s games, Helen Glover and Heather Stanning were also seen revelling in their recent win and mixing with the other athletes.
Celebrity tailors Ozwald Boateng and Patrick Grant were seen catching up with Preeya Kalidas who was sporting a beautiful jewelled Indian head piece for the evening, whilst Australian actor and ‘True Blood’ star Ryan Kwanten also attended the party with fellow Australian Asher Keddie, before heading off to watch the basketball.
Omega brand ambassador and Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan was also there to attend the fabulous Best of Bollywood party. Before the event, the 36-year-old actor also answered questions during a Q&A session at Omega House.
The Bol Bachchan star interacted with the British Asian press as well as Indian press who are in London to cover various Olympic events and spoke about a variety of things including of course Bollywood and the Olympics. Here are some highlights from the Q and A.
Indian film fraternity members get recognised by the west
“We are a large nation. We are everywhere. I think it is about time they stood up and recognised us. I think they have used the film industry a lot. I mean this with complete humility but the film industry is one of the greatest ambassadors for our nation, our actors especially and thankfully (laughs). I think it is a great way to get attention of a nation and also to recognize. I believe that when a nation is doing well economically, all other aspects of that nation go up on the foreground. Today, India is a power to reckon with. Maybe not in the Olympics so far, but in terms of visibility, most definitely. I remember the last cricket world cup in West Indies, I read a statistic, I don’t how true it is but India crashed out the viewership by eighty per cent. On BBC news, they were very happy with the twenty million views they got for the 100 metres finals. That is a bad day in India (laughs). We have a large amount of people. India is a market that is demanding attention today from a lot of companies. Even if you take Omega for instance, we are very bullish about the Indian market. It is still in its infantile stages but can grow to be very big. Why just Indians, people from the subcontinent are all over the place, doing really well and it is high time that people stood up and gave us our due attention.”
Brand Ambassador – Omega
“My association with Omega goes back several years. I have lost count. Omega to me is like family and it is a very proud moment for me to be here. It’s a proud moment for me as an Indian to witness the Olympics. It’s is my first Olympics ever. I have never seen the Olympics live and it is a great privilege. I thank Omega and their team for allowing me to see so many wonderful events. We had the fun task of work, which was to see Usain Bolt win the 100 Metres final. I am looking forward to seeing much more events.” Abhishek attended an Olympic match at Wimbledon, the 100 Metres final at the Olympic Stadium and a Basketball match during his visit to Britain.
Bachchans involved in the Olympics
“It is wonderful to be part of the Olympics. First of all, thank you to the City of London for bestowing such a wonderful honour on my father by asking him to run with the Olympic torch. It was a huge matter of pride to see an Indian running through the streets of London with the Olympic torch. Omega is the official timekeepers and has been for the last twenty five Olympics which is a testimony to what they feel about Omega and our attention to detail and precision. It’s wonderful to be here. I am not an athlete participating. I was at the Olympic stadium and I have to say that the park is beautiful. It was wonderful see so many people there and it was so organised. The highlight of the evening was not the 100 Metres final for me, it was to see the Indian flag flying in the stadium.”
India’s performance in the Olympics
“I have been a sportsman in my younger days. I was a basketball player which is an Olympic sport. I still feel in Indian we look at sports as a recreational activity. People have to understand there is a career in sports. I think sports are an important part of our daily curriculum, especially in school. I look forward to the day when we can compete with the heavyweights of the sporting world. I am not angry about it. I don’t think we should be angry. I would much rather celebrate that person who is participating in the Olympics than be angry about their performance. Angry is the last thing I would want to be with any of our Olympians, whether they have won or not. I want to be encouraging. I think positivity is the way. Anger has never got anyone anywhere.”
Abhishek Bachchan is now in Chicago filming Yash Raj Films’ Dhoom:3 with Aamir Khan.
We have some exclusive images for you from the fun event! Check them out!
