RIYADH — Three prominent actors Adnan Sajid Khan aka Gullu Dada, Akber Bin Tabar and K.B. Jaani enthralled the Riyadh audience with their hilarious standup comedy while Ehtesham Quadri sang old and new Bollywood songs at a Indian Music and Comedy show, organized along with the prize distribution of India's Independence Day Cricket Tournament Prize, by All India United Society (AIUS). Anil Nautiyal, first secretary at the Indian Embassy, presented the trophies to the winning team and congratulated the AIUS for organizing a colorful tournament to mark India's Independence Day. Dr. Mohammed Ashraf Ali, AIUS president, welcomed the gathering and Mohammed Rafeeq, vice president, conduct the proceedings. Gullu Dada was at his best when he delivered his popular dialogues from Hyderabadi movies. People's laughter reverberated in the hall when he said ‘aayen' in his unique style. His stand-up comedy filled with hilarious stories and rib-tickling jokes made the evening memorbale. Along with Akber Bin Taber they presented their famous dialogues. Other comedy artist K.B. Jaani presented several jokes in Hyderabadi style. while Quadri sang a number of hit songs. The four artists were invited by Muzafferuddin to perform exclusively for the Indian community in Riyadh. Other organizers included Mohammed Rafeeq, Mohammed Shabaz Farooqui, Syed Mozam Ali and Dr. Mohammed Ashraf Ali. Adnan Sajid Khan started his career in 2007 with ‘Fm' — ‘Fun Aur Masti' in which he played a local don, ‘Gullu Dada', and the name and character has since stuck. Adnan's portrayal worked in 13 films of which five got rave notices by Hyderabadi audience namely ‘Fm Fun Aur Masti', ‘Gullu Dada Returns', ‘Family Pack' and ‘Gullu Dada Three' and ‘Stepney.' Adnan said people still recall his dialogues and ape his style in delivering it. "My style of saying ‘aayen' is very popular among youngsters, even now." He says his popularity is all due to his fans, now spread across the world. ‘Gullu Dada' Fan page on Facebook has nearly hundred of thousands of followers from many countries. "This is the first time I'm performing in Riyadh and the audience has been supportive and encouraging," he said. He thanked the organizers for giving him an opportunity to entertain the people who have been living far from their country and missing their culture. Gullu said that his upcoming film "Dawat E Shaadi," which will be released on March 4 by Rajshree Production. "This is the first time we are releasing film in North India," he said. Abdul Waheed Khan a Indian living in Riyadh for the past three decades, said, "This is the first time I attend a cultural program and the trio's performance was awesome and beyond my expectations and I enjoyed a lot with my grandsons." After the performance Gullu Dada and his team spoke exclusively to Saudi Gazette. Gullu Dada said in one year we are producing 7-8 Hyderabadi films and the budget of a film is from 30 to 35 lakhs. He added that our films are released in Talengana, Andhra and Karnataka states and the viewership of our films is better than Hindi movies. He added that though the Industry uses Deccani language industry which is a regional language like Bengali and Bhojpuri but the government does not consider these films as regional language films and charges us 20% entertainment tax. He requested Telangana government to consider industry as regional language industry so only 8% tax would be put on us. Gullu Dada's advice to the young generation is to make the acting profession as a hobby and not depend on this industry as it is very hard to survive. Local Singers from Riyadh Mirza Omer Baig, Syed Sayeed and Jeddah's Syed Abdul Rafay also performed. Earlier Hafiz Aleemuddin recited verses of Qur'an to start the proceedings. Several associations and individuals visited the RPL ground and distributed trophies on the invitation of Mohammed Rafeeq, CEO, Mumtaz Sports Academy, THG group, Mir Muzafer Ali, General Manager, Jahan Jewellers, ex-chairman Seva School Imtiyaz and Desert party Syed Moazam Ali.
