Stardust Awards: Iulia Vantur Was Shah Rukh Khan's Plus-One On Stage

New Delhi: The creme-de-la-creme of Bollywood lit up the Mumbai skyline as they arrived for the Stardust Awards on Monday in their fashionable best, won prizes, cheered for colleagues and gave us several blockbuster filmy moments to cherish. The awards gala was attended by celebrities like the members of the Bachchan clan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sridevi, Priyanka Chopra and Sonam Kapoor, sending the paparazzi into a tizzy on the red carpet. However, surprising as it may seem, it was Romanian actress and model Iulia Vantur who stole the limelight when she arrived on stage to co-present an award with Shah Rukh. Iulia is rumoured to be dating Shah Rukh's Karan Arjun co-star Salman Khan, who was photographed on the red carpet separately.

Iulia, stunning in a strapless red ensemble, was escorted onto stage by Shah Rukh Khan. The 51-year-old superstar's lightbulb presence was dimmed just a touch by Iulia, who announced Karan Johar as winner of the the Best Director trophy. Shah Rukh was his usual jovial self, cracking a joke or two as he does.
 Karan Johar won Best Director for his October release Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which featured an ensemble cast comprising Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor. Shah Rukh featured in a brief cameo in the film. Congratulations, Karan.
 

.@iamsrk & @IuliaVantur present the most awaited, #SansuiColorsStardustAwards Best Director award to @karanjohar for #AeDilHaiMushkil! pic.twitter.com/SHHosm0Pod

— COLORS (@ColorsTV) December 19, 2016

There were loud hoots and cheers from the audience as Shah Rukh Khan appeared on stage once more to collect his Best Actor Award for Fan. The spotlight was on presenter Aishwarya, who sashayed down the stage in a dream-like pale blue gown to hand her Ae Dil co-star the award. Shah Rukh starred as Aishwarya's estranged husband in the Karan Johar-directed movie. They have previously worked together in films like Josh and Devdas.
 Earlier, this is how Iulia set the red carpet on fire:
 Salman Khan, 50, and Iulia Vantur, 36, have reportedly been dating for some years now. Iulia has often been spotted at Salman's family events such as birthdays, festivals and other get-togethers. However, it was also recently reported that Iulia was apparently done with Salman's apparent refusal to commit but these appeared to be just rumours when Iulia showed up at Sohail Khan's elder son Nirvaan's birthday party on December 15. Iulia and Salman were both at the party, though they weren't photographed together.
 Iulia was also spotted partying with new parent Kareena Kapoor Khan and with Salman:
 

 

#terracenights #home #noplacelikehome

A photo posted by Amrita Arora (@amuaroraofficial) on Nov 27, 2016 at 3:05pm PST

Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan headlined the family picture at the Stardust Awards, daughter-in-law Aishwarya and wife Jaya:
 The flashbulbs could not stop popping when the Bachchans dragged Shah Rukh Khan into their picture:
 Shah Rukh Khan was last seen in Dear Zindagi, which released on November 25, and is awaiting Raees, scheduled for January 25. Meanwhile, Iulia Vantur has sung solo numbers for Himesh Reshammiya's album Aap Se Mausiiquii.