In the heat of the moment
Party Brawls
Actor Sanjay Dutt’s Agneepath success party at Aurus, a Mumbai club, came with stuff that could make history, perhaps scripts too, in Bollywood. 
The brewing trouble between Shah Rukh Khan and director Shirish Kunder took a violent shape and it was perhaps the first time one heard of SRK being involved in a fist fight.
The point remains that the combination of alcohol and egos at a party can result in much trouble and Bollywood isn’t exempted either.
Metrolife spoke to City-based party organisers and party-goers to check what they do to keep trouble at bay and the party going.
“When you call for a party, where alcohol is being served, there is always a chance of a brawl breaking out,” says Rafiushan Pasha, proprietor, Plug Fashion, who is involved in organising various nightlife events in the City.
“A lot of filtration of the crowd takes place at the invitation level to avoid such trouble. There is also filtration at the club level on the basis of things like dress code. Security at a party is also very important,” adds Rafiushan.
He also believes in keeping alcohol caps where the party organisers work in sync with the bartenders and the DJs to ensure that the party remains healthy.
When a brawl does break out though, there is only one solution, he says, “I tell people to take the fight outside. If they are friends, they understand. It is important to keep the party going for the rest of the people.”
Issues are hardly limited to alcohol alone.
Egos come into play and then brawls are hard to contain.
Most people agree that bouncers play a necessary part in such cases and security must hardly be compromised with.
Abhishek Aggarwal, an events organiser, says, “We always expect a brawl. Crowds need to be screened well during invitations and friends who bring friends along need to be screened too,” says Abhishek.
“When we see the chances of a brawl breaking out, we go up to the person and try to explain. We ask him to either leave immediately or behave. I have seen an incident in the past when the guy was too drunk and repeated warning didn’t work. We had to engage the hotel staff at that stage and get him thrown out,” he adds.
Party organisers aren’t the only ones affected when brawls break out.
The evening turns ugly for most present and celebrations are most often forgotten in an attempt to pacify those involved.
Neil Chauhan, a marketing manager at a City radio station and an avid party-goer says,
“It is impossible to have foolproof plans to avoid a brawl. The combination of alcohol and the male ego is quite deadly. One needs to have the willpower to walk away from trouble.
Besides, there is a reason why clubs have bouncers.”
Anil G V, retail consultant and party-goer, also believes that walking out is the best solution.
“I stay away from brawls if I am not involved. Everybody is under the influence of alcohol and |there is no point in doing something you will regret the next morning. If there are ugly comments passed on a girl though, I would do what SRK did,” he says.
