The rise and rise of Baba Siddiques iftar party

Mumbai had received its first official rains of the season last Sunday and while traffic jams turned life turtle the cityrsquos rich and famous were awaiting entry to Bandrarsquos Taj Lands End From the entrance of the fivestar closest to film star Shah Rukh Khanrsquos bungalow Mannat to beyond the lobby area a line of fancy cars waited bumper to bumper for their turn to drop off theirwellheeled passengers till the red carpetOnce the VIPs spent their time on the red carpet giving their due time to the media actors Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan were escorted by Baba and his son Zeeshan to their seats at the 80feetlong table For those who couldnrsquot get close enough an LED screen was installed at another endAs the press photographers cornered to a zone behind a metal barricade clicked furiously journalists asked ldquoWhat are you wearing tonightrdquo Former Bandra MLA Baba Siddique and son Zeeshan allowed sufficient press time before whisking their guests away from the red carpet Press a public relations team rumoured mobile jammers to ensure that photographs and videos werenrsquot leaked during the event multilayered security and an equal number of men and women in khaki outside the Taj gates stood ready for a possible rescue opThe SRKSalman embrace at the 2013 iftar after an argument at Katrina Kaifrsquos birthday party in 2008 soured things had propelled the annual do to the social event to watch out for The next year too their hug made headlines This year however Shah Rukh Khan came to the party late Much after both Salman and Katrina had left It wasnrsquot an awards night or a wedding reception It was Baba Siddiquersquos annual iftar party which has in the last few years gained enough social prominence for the whowillattenditwithwhom speculations to kick off before the invites reach the guestsThis year 1500 people were invited to the Siddique iftar party The event was hosted in a tent on the Taj Lands End groundsSiddiquersquos iftar parties are as old as his association with Bandra and the Congress Party The Bandra Boy as he calls himself wonrsquot reveal his age One can presume that he is in his 50s like his friend actor Salman Khan who he refers to as buddy He does say that he studied at St Annersquos School while Khan went to St Stanislaus and graduated from MMK College He started as a Congress karyakarta and was close to the then MP from the area actor Sunil Dutt He was voted to the Mumbai legislative council becoming a corporator in 1992 and 1997 and became an MLA in 1999 He was later voted again to the seat in 2004 and 2009Born Ziauddin Baba one can say is just following in the footsteps of his mentor Dutt who was also known for his iftar parties seen as a Congress strategy to maintain ties with its Muslim voter baseBut even away from the flashbulbs Siddique admits to a love of entertaining people The iftar is just a public extension of that passion Even so itrsquos not a recent phenomenon ldquoI have been holding Eidmilans since the 1980srdquo he says referring to the breaking of the final fast before Eid ldquoPhir woh bandh ho gaya The iftar parties have been held for a while nowrdquo Son Zeeshan who joined the Youth Congress even as he pursued a degree in global management at Londonrsquos Regentrsquos University says the iftar shifted to its current venue six years ago Before that it used to be held at Mehboob Studios and then at Sheesha Sky Lounge on Linking RoadYet till 2013 although it got regular attendance from the Khans of Bollywood the Siddique iftar was just another event hosted by a politicianWhat changed is the momentous embrace between actors Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan who until then had been nursing a feud after a spat at the latterrsquos former girlfriend Katrina Kaifrsquos birthday party As they say history was made on July 21 2013 In his salmoncoloured tee Salman tapped the ponytailed SRK who turned from his plate and gave his oncefriend a hug The picture spoke for a thousand headlines and allowed for many bytes over the few weeks What it also did was also propel the annual Siddique affair into a mustwatch event on the cityrsquos social calendarThe hug repeated itself the next year as wellThough the two stars couldnrsquot come together in 2015 it still created its share of headlines in the glossies mdash there was the picture shot of Siddique Sr handing over an invite personally to SRK and a list of who came and sat next to whomIt was also the first time that women were invitedldquoLast year we threw the event open to women and families after Reshma Shetty Salman Khanrsquos manager Salman and baby Salmanrsquos sister Alvira said we should do sordquo Baba addsThe slow increase in the number of guests means that the venue is bursting at its seams Zeeshan who will turn 24 this year says that for the last two years the iftar moved from the ballroom at the Taj to the grounds where a Germanmade tent specially bought since it is water fire and windresistant was pitched over the last three weeks While the press and photographers were allowed entry in the seating area now cameras were restricted to the redcarpet zoneHe laughs when we ask if the number of guests who attended were 250 or more ldquoMore like 1500 Itrsquos 300 more than last yearrdquoThis year to ensure that there were no gatecrashers invitees were sent a swipe card along with the invite which they had todrop in at the entrance Not that this applied to the betterknown guestsTypically says Zeeshan preparations for the big bash begin two months before the event While formal invites are sent only two weeks prior to the slated Sunday evening therersquos a team that will send text invites and confirm attendance earlier on While Baba supervises most of the details a core team of around 12 including family friends and Zeeshan helps execute the planSiddique can rattle off the menu without consulting anyone He says he personally sat with the Taj chefs to thrash it out There were seven starters that helped those who had arrived on time wait it out mdash kebabs mutton samosas paneer tikkas and roti pe boti mdash diced mutton chunks on small pizza bread It was the best dish on the starters menu The main course with another eight dishes wasnrsquot limited either The desserts literally ldquotook the cakerdquo The shahi tukda was the best we have tried coated in sweet milk Then came the rabdi and malpuasWhile the Siddiques insist that there is no seating plan the divide is a bit obvious to an observer Inside the hall draped in gold and white with the qirat playing in the background some guests took seats at the round tables each able to seat five guests and scattered across the hallThe VIP guests like Salman who entered after 8 pm were escorted to the large 80foot long table guarded on by bouncers to keep thosewhomattered at a safe distance from the crowdAn LED screen at the hall bridged the divide though Even if you couldnrsquot get up close you could figure what was happeningAt 830 pm when actor and Salmanrsquos former girlfriend Katrina Kaif entered dressed in red she was greeted by Baba and Zeeshan and escorted to her seat mdash strategically close to Salmanrsquos There seemed to be a collective inward take of breath in anticipation of what was to come Katrina suddenly finding herself surrounded by the Khan family exchanged pleasantriesldquoJoh parde pe nahi dikha hai itne saal mein who abhi dikh raha hairdquo a person from the crowd who was standing on tiptoe was heard saying as Katrina leaned lazily against the back of a chair while Salman remained a few feet away socializing holding sister Arpitarsquos infant in his armsAs they say paisa vasool