Given how much he seemed to enjoy performing here, and the private party organised post-concert, clearly, the city — and its celebs — came up roses for the legendary musician
For all his reputation of being the ultimate bad boy and temperamental rocker, Axl Rose was at ease as he spent time with the rock fans of Bollywood at the concert after-party on Sunday night.
After performing a hugely entertaining three-hour set, the frontman of iconic rock band Guns N’ Roses, Axl, made his way to Royalty, a suburban nightclub famous for hosting some of Bollywood’s crème de la crème parties. While the Platinum section (priced at `10,000) at the concert was largely occupied by the film industry’s famous faces, several of them made their way to the party as well. Most excited of them all was actor Sanjay Dutt, who was thrilled to have finally got a chance to watch the band and interact with the vocalist thereafter. Dutt even got his picture taken with the rocker who, he maintains, is one of his favourite musicians. “I have been a Guns N’ Roses fan for over 20 years. It was superb watching their performance, no doubt. But it was even better meeting Axl in person at the party after the gig. I’ve waited so many years for this, so spending time with him was really a dream come true,” an elated Dutt said after the party.
An eyewitness at the party said, “It was a small party that soon turned out to be so successful that the organisers had to finally stop entry after a point.” Those who have interacted with Axl’s core management team said that they hadn’t seen Axl be so relaxed and having so much fun in almost 20 years. “For some of the band members, it was a first as Axl has for the longest time projected himself as an island unto himself. It was Axl and then the rest of the world. So to see him having such a good time, totally uninhibited, without a trace of his infamous temper and tantrums, was truly amazing,” said a band crewmember.
Also present at the do was Salman Khan, making it quite a moment as the best of Bollywood’s rockstars bonded with Axl. The GN’R singer was so absorbed in the moment that until 2 am, he seemed to be grooving to the music and chatting with those around him. He was to take a charter flight to Delhi at 2.45 am but showed no signs of getting up till after 2 am. Considering Bollywood scrambled to share their 15 seconds with Axl, it was a pleasure and in parts flattering for all those present to see a rare side of the media-shy singer. Good show, Mumbai.