The sea of people and the never ending queue Wednesday evening were something that organisers of the ongoing Osian cine festival at the capital's Siri Fort auditorium never expected -- and were completely unprepared for.
It was quite ironical that Konkona, one of the main stars of the film, was stuck outside the closed gates with the rest of the masses. And when the gates did open to allow entry, the crowd got unruly, resulting in a mini stampede with the talented actress right in the middle.
There was a lot of pushing, pulling and heated exchange of words with the media too left high and dry.
A harried and clearly rattled Konkona somehow stumbled into the auditorium after getting a taste of Delhi's rude mob behaviour.
Actors Rajat Kapoor, Koel Purie and noted film critic Aruna Vasudev (who is also one of the organisers of the festival) were stuck inside the venue, as the guards warned them of them crowds outside.
Said a guard: "There wasn't such a crowd even for the inauguration of the festival for which actress Manisha Koirala had come along with actor Milind Soman."
Once inside the auditorium, it was completely packed with cinema buffs willingly occupying spaces on the aisles.
Naseeruddin Shah's entry on to the stage was greeted not just by claps, but also by whistles and catcalls, taking the actor quite by surprise!