Author: Mehul Thakkar
Publication: Mumbai Mirror
Date: December 4, 2011
URL: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=15&contentid=20111204201112040241431899715736b
Introduction: Some of them did not even know
who the actor was, "but Rs 300 for an hour is easy money"
By the time Tom Cruise landed in Mumbai on
Saturday evening, a couple of hundred eager fans had managed to line the pavement
across the airport's VIP exit, even though the time of his arrival had not
been made public.
As the Hollywood star emerged from the gate,
in a blue shirt and aviator sunglasses, the air was buzzing with screeches
and elated, incoherent howls.
There was banner-waving, and much cheering
and chanting. Cruise, who's been travelling around the world to promote his
new film Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, is used to such a reception wherever
he goes. This time, however, there was an Indian twist to the tale.
The crowd gathered at the airport had been
paid to be there by the organisers of his trip, with the price ranging from
Rs 200 to Rs 400, depending on how 'experienced' each member of the cheering
squad was.
A few of the 'fans' were not even sure who
they were welcoming, despite chart-paper placards reading, "we love Tom
Cruise", "Tom - chak de India", and "Tom Cruises".
Three girls from Mankhurd, among the most
vocal members of the crowd, for example, did not exactly know what Tom Cruise
did. "We're not certain," one of them told Mumbai Mirror, "but
Rs 300 for an hour outside the airport is not bad."
More enquiries revealed that the trip's organisers
had hired an agency that specialised in arranging for crowds for celebrity
events.
An official from that agency, who was present
at the airport, said that each person was paid an average of Rs 300 to be
a part of the crowd and cheer for Tom for 15 mins. "We asked them to
reach here by 4 pm as we were told that he would arrive at 5:15," the
official told this newspaper on condition of anonymity.
As far as the police were concerned, however,
the paid crowd had its advantages. "Mobs that randomly gather to see
celebrities can be extremely unruly and tough to control. A hired crowd is
better. It behaves itself and listens to us," said a security officer
outside the terminal.
When contacted, a top official from Wizcraft,
the company organising Tom Cruise's India trip, denied any knowledge of a
'paid' arrangement. "We are not aware of this. Your information is incorrect,"
Sabah Joseph, one of the directors of the company, said.
Cruise was at the airport for no more than
10 minutes. He waved at the crowd, posed for photographers, and was whisked
away to the Taj Mahal hotel in Colaba, where a rooftop party was held with
a guest list including Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif.
Tom Cruise had landed earlier on Sunday in
New Delhi, from where he went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, accompanied by
his MI4 co-star Anil Kapoor. A special screening of the film will be held
for 1,500 fans at IMAX, Wadala on Sunday.
