The surprise guests and those conspicuous by their absence at Shah Rukh Khan party at his residence Mannat tell many tales


Ever since Shah Rukh Khan announced his Eid bash at Mannat for his near and dear ones, the industry couldn't stop talking about it. While the who's who of Bollywood turned up at his Bandra residence on Saturday night, what raised eyebrows was the absence of certain celebrities at the party.


Neither SRK's friend-turned-foe-turned-friend Arjun Rampal was present nor was one-time close friend Juhi Chawla. But among those who were, were Arbaaz Khan and his wife Malaika.


Even Ajay Devgn and Kajol were invited but the couple did not attend. Shah Rukh's good friend Priyanka Chopra was also nowhere to be seen.


Says an onlooker, `Perhaps Arjun's absence stood out like a sore thumb. SRK had extended an olive branch towards Arjun recently but looks like that wasn't enough.

But the presence of Salman Khan's brother and sister-in-law perhaps suggested that their newly rediscovered friendship could be here to stay. Juhi's husband Jay Mehta was also present.`


Arjun's wife Mehr Jessia Rampal, who is Gauri Khan's close friend, however made up for her husband's absence as she dropped in for the party. Incidentally, when Arjun had celebrated his 40th birthday in Morocco, Gauri had attended his bash without her hubby.


It is believed that SRK personally sent out the invites for his party to all his friends from the industry. Music director duo Vishal and Shekhar were also present despite buzz about their tiff with SRK over Honey Singh's track in his recent release Chennai Express.

We hope the Lungi song was not played to entertain the guests to save the music composer from embarrassment.


Northern tadka

The lavish menu at Mannat consisted mainly of Indian food with guests apparently licking their fingers after tasting the Awadhi Mughlai fare.