Stampede in Bangalore during Barfi promotions

12 Sep 2012

On Monday at the Phoenix Mall in Bangalore, excited crowds broke free of the barricades separating them from the three stars of the evening, Priyanka Chopra, Ileana D'Cruz and Ranbir Kapoor, and nearly swooped down on them before Ranbir formed a protective cordon around the two ladies and fled-literally fled-with them through the back entrance of the mall.

Shuddering at the very mention of the incident a prominent member of their entourage said, "Anything could've happened. It was the most horrific incident of fan frenzy I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty. The mobs just broke the barricades and descended on Ranbir, Ileana and Priyanka."

Ironically, the biggest draw that evening in Bangalore was Ileana who goes virtually unnoticed in the North Indian cities.

To go back a bit, the three stars of Barfi were supposed to reach the Mall in Bangalore at 4 pm. "But when it was time we were informed that the security bandobast was not adequate to handle the crowds. We were asked to wait and additional police personnel were called in. By the time we were told it was safe to reach the mall it was 5.30 pm. When we got into the mall there were around 40,000 people shouting and screaming. We didn't realize that besides Ranbir and Priyanka, Ileana was a massive draw for the Bangaloreans," says the source.

Within seconds all hell broke loose. Says the source, "The minute the stars waved and said 'Hello, Bangalore,' the crowds surged forward, broke the barricades, and began heading towards the stars. Anything could have happened."

It was Ranbir who saved the day. "Ranbir acted swiftly and bundled his two co-stars out of the back entrance. The way the three of them Ranbir, Priyanka and Ileana ran out of the mall."

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