4 very very short stories

4 very very short stories

• Someone must have seen him, because the police were at his door. It must have been that kid who ran into the gates of his old house with its wildly overgrown garden silent, dark and burnt yellow.  They found his diary under his bed. The diary revealed the sordid family history and they found out the secret too. The family had been cursed since the day they bought the house. Half the names on the list had already been crossed off. He had kept his mother alive in his thoughts. Perhaps too alive to be normal.

• The house dwarfed every other house in the street. The sound of breaking stopped them.  The lights appeared out of the darkness.  They turned and hurried back up the stairs.  It wasn't as if anyone had got hurt before they left or had they? She stared into the darkness at the lifeless bodes. He didn't let on that he was petrified.  They knew what had to be done as soon as the door closed.  Then the house blew up. It had been done and in the end it didn't matter.

•  Manipulating people is so easy ​and he had been doing that for so long now.   He was ​ always​ desperate for money. His vices demanded it from him.  ​He ​said to her, "This might seem like it’s about me, but it’s not. If I hadn't been there I would never have believed it. ​After she’d told me it was high time I knew it was time to claim my family legacy, but grandmother turned me away and pulled out the box from the closet and handed it to me to give it to you....to give it to YOU????"..Silence….. He never imagined he could kill somebody but he ​had…

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• Anyone ​who finds this, please do not blame the drugs.  I know​  my time had come. All families are the same and each family is unhappy in its own way and in my case I was the reason.  The black sheep and they were definitely fed up.  They did not believe me any more.  I told them last night that I might be gone sometime soon.  Here I am now.​There are two gates to the new world; one  leading to a path that is white as snow and ​ then there is the other one where a fire is burning on either sides of the pathway. I am waiting my turn!!!

Registered with Film Writers Association - 2016

Kapil Sharma, I am not a stalker!!!- Hira Mehta

Laughter is the best medicine-who ever said that. Some might say that laughter is a medicine to hide a hurt, some say it frees me from sadness, some say it is an exercise to keep happy. So let me think this through. I got it.. Laughter is Kapil Sharma and his team for me and my infection has not been cured yet..................... and hey, I don't want a cure. I want to be infected more.. so waiting now for The Kapil Sharma Show.....

but I am not a stalker.....just a genuine fan of the show because that's the only show that brings a smile to my face...I have tried watched other laughter shows (need I name) while Kapil Sharma has been off air, but they are so so dumb and silly ...that I might just die laughing (and by that I being sarcastic).....

I have not missed a single episode of Comedy Nights with Kapil show of course..........but then let me also count how many times have I got truly infected in person. In the audience for episodes starting with Farah Khan, Shekhar Suman/Adhyayen Suman, Shilpa Shetty & Raj Kundra/Harman Baweja, Sonakshi Sinha in the awesome deep orange outfil ( and hey,I asked a question too), Karishma Kapoor & Armaan Malik, Rekha, Ranbir Kapoor/Deepika for Tamasha........ Salman Khan (love the guy) /Nawazuddin Siddique (such a down to earth person)....I recall raising my hand to say I would be happy to call Salmaan Khan "bhaisaheb" to much laughter and ribbing by Kapil Sharma.....and why not cause I am not a giddy headed person who loves a particular star....anyone that entertains becomes my favourite......... and then what can I say about the awesome Shamitabh episode with Amitabh Bachchan/Dhanush/Akshara (Yes,I ran on stage to dance with Mr. Bachchan too). You may ask how I managed to be there so many times. Well, I'm not telling.... but where there is determination there is a way....... My only regret is not being able to be there for the ABCD2 episode to see my absolute favourite dancing stars (by the way ABCD is that one film that I have seen first day first show all alone in a theatre...and by all alone I really mean in all my growing up and present years and  yes I cried tears of joy at every dance performance (damn those 3D glasses) ..... 

Each time has been something more memorable than the other....and what's more surprising is that I never got that photo with Kapil Sharma too (except for the TV grab)....not once in all the times I went there..........So much energy on the sets....Kapil would come out and play drums sometimes...sing his favourite "mere mehboob kayamat hogi" (goosebumps) and talk to audience...and sometimes even give a dose in good jest to audience if they tried his patience .. My friends teased me that I was stalking him each time I landed there....... but no way, because watching Kapil and his team in person was like being a part of the Sharma family and besides there was so much more laughter to experience and so much more footage to see performed live on the sets than that which gets edited into a capsule for TV......  after all there is nothing more breathless than watching a live performance....

Let me share some moments I remember....The first episode that I was to attend was the Sonu Nigam one and there I was all excited and ready to leave when I get a message that its cancelled.....totally disappointed only to realise later that a fire had burnt down the set......but there I was at the first episode with Farah Khan and even got a photo with Dadi and Bua...... And then there was that episode when the pyros shot up in the air as Rekha entered onto the stage and break..some sound issues ...again the stage was cleared up and once again fanfare, entry and not again, I thought, again problem with her mike sound...flurry on sets...much discussion.... and I scream out to the production person "it's the lapel mike sound against the huge gold chocker around her neck"...back again fanfare and this time Rekha enters with a hand mike and the episode gets on way...but damn it took twelve hours to shoot as they recorded two back to back episodes with her....  Farah Khan episode was where I got to ask a question but it was edited out.....but I managed that in the Sonakshi Sinha episode where I got to debate with Kapil on the benefits of marriage....interesting and funny ....  and then how can I forget standing bang next to Ranbir Kapoor in the opening sequence of his episode where I dropped a coin in his hand...(want a grab of that but can't find the episode on youtube ...anyone???)....of course nothing can compare to a dream come true that remains with you for a lifetime....so what if I have seen Mr. Bachchan up front at my bank, shooting for the commercial as brand ambassador or getting a personalised autograph in his autobiographical  book  on my 50th birthday (thanks to my sister who designed his book "To be or Not to Be") .....though nothing can compare to grabbing the opportunity to be on stage to dance with the God himself.. and I did.. and that warm hug after the sequence ....just an icing on the cake ....

So what if it took hours before the actual shoot started hours later.....For me long hours on the set was not just pure fun observation time but most importantly when you are sitting there you realise and appreciate the amount of  hard work that goes behind each episode of just 50 minutes to reach our TV screens....... that itself was a big learning for a filmy keeda like me. 

And now team Kapil embarks on a new journey with The Kapil Sharma Show as I wait with bated breath to find a way to get there on the sets again to watch them perform .....waiting for them to give us the audience doses of laughter...Hats off Kapil Sharma for you are indeed my weekend dose of happiness ....

A bit of Crazy!

When I posted " To all those who encourage me and applaud my madness.. a BIG Thank You..hoping to shock (hee Hee hee) and surprise (ho ho ho) with more as I continue to find ways to enjoy life king size...meet and make more friends...... after all I am retired only from a job after all !!"........... it got me thinking. Madness or being just plain crazy is definitely not a mental disorder....and if it is then disorder of what I wonder?  Can it be for loving and living out one's own beliefs or just madness for say name, place, animal or thing. 

When life gets crazy and out of control, films provide a great escape from it.  Everything is perfect as the celluloid lights up and the credit rolls. Everything is escapism till the lights go off and you realise that the fantasy has ended. Some of us manage to get back to the normal humdrum of life, while some choose to live on the fantasy to crazy proportions. "All that matters is that both sides remain loyal, which they will assuming you continue to be who you are and do your thing.” ~ Ashly Lorenzana....It does not end there as when the craze for an actor takes over, people try to emulate the style, mouth dialogues, copy dancing moves & clothes and sometimes even behave like the actors themselves. People begin to  idolise and want to be like their idols. Even the wrong doings of their favourites in the real world gets brushed under the carpet because they can do no wrong and deserve no punishment according to their fans. That indeed is one kind of "crazy

Then there are some who are so crazy about animals that they will not allow a small act against any animal go unnoticed. Nearly everyone love animals, baring a few like me, who prefer to admire them from a distance. My sister has dogs and they are a part of her family. She finds it very difficult to understand why I and my younger sister cower in a corner of her house, waiting for her dogs to settle down. I am totally mortified by a dog licking me or a cat sitting on my lap, but then that's just me. Of course, I love animals and love watching God's beautiful creatures in the wild and I am in complete awe... just so long as they are not up close. I have a whole lot of friends who take love of animals to a whole new level of professing their love or disdain for violence against animals via social media, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Their social media pages will be full of images of their pets or favourite animal or raising arms against barbaric acts against animals and of course, I will support  them. James Cromwell says "Pets are humanizing. They remind us we have an obligation and responsibility to preserve and nurture and care for all life" while George Eliot adds "Animals are such agreeable friends -- they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms"....

What can I say to someone who is mad about eating..... and then the next best thing to eating food, is talking about it. Good food on the table, eating with loved ones, cooking or just being around food... that's all that matters to them. They shop for food, they even take pictures of food. They are the best people to call on, especially when one wants to know where to eat out or even better still going out to eat with them. No worries about what to choose from the menu if they are with you. Believe me when I say that I have many a times chosen a wrong dish to experiment with.  “There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” says George Bernard Shaw ........but a crazy foodie will only proclaim “I won't be impressed with technology until I can download food.”.

The one kind of madness and crazy that we really need to be careful of is - smothering love and forced competition!! I am talking about the pressures that parents are putting on children today. Competition and aiming for ranks is not what worries the children, it is the crazy pressure that is thrust upon them by the parents that makes them falter. There is a big world out there that they have to battle and bad grades makes mothers more mad. Crazy control over the child's time to study and pressure of not allowing him/her to free time is leading to social, emotional and physical stress for both the mothers and children. No matter how lofty are the goals you set for your children, end of the day it is going to depend on how your child is managing to achieve them.  "All five fingers are not the same" is a saying we've heard often enough..... but we have become blind sighted and put all energies into ensuring the child stays ahead.  Worth thinking about is this quote from Bruce Lee, “I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” ..... because, " At the end of the day, just know that God made you, so you can be your own individual" says Wyclef Jean.

Everyone needs a bit of madness, besides there is always a reason behind the madness. It requires loads of passion and determination beyond reasoning with a bit of restraint thrown in.  I have  loads of it in me and that keeps me optimistic that there is something more, something new out there to experience..... to live out and dream for.  I will just have to trust in my madness, whatever it may be....... because sometimes a bit of crazy is the only way to stay sane in this mad mad world.

Lit-O-fest, writing and me!!!

It all began with some out of the blue some random thoughts that began to flow in the middle of the night and from that day onwards a pen and pad always lay open on my bedside. The "filmy keeda" in me seemed to be wriggling its way onto paper and I began writing stories that had a touch of life and things that I had seen around me and on celluloid. I remember how it all started. I used to handle annual reports at the bank where I was working, collating data, coordinating shoots and actually proof reading the data for my colleagues something I did not need to but began to enjoy and love ensuring standardization in the data. This was probably the best time in my career. Those random thoughts seemed to be calling out to me and often during the lunch time I began to put down thoughts and mailed them off to myself and began fleshing them out at night...Writing has always been something I loved and even more surprising was the love for proof reading which somehow I became totally fascinated with ....  it was just something that I continue to do unconsciously for everything I read, sometimes to the dismay of my friends whose stuff I begin to correct.

Almost all my efforts  pointed me towards self publishing with exorbitant costs  to print, market and promote leaving me wondering what would I get out of the whole deal. Time flew as wrote and ran through a million options to get my stories out there.  No one seemed to want to publish short stories anymore and besides novels were being published dime a dozen.  I began to wonder how and what would make me so different from others.  Writing a novel was not for me definitely, as I cannot put it down until I know how it ends. It has to be short and sweet for me with a closure at the earliest. So that's why perhaps even a Saas-bahu serial on TV does not hold my attention sadly!  That did not stop me from writing as I shared my stories with friends, In fact to put it plainly forced them to read!!!...... and then Lit-O-Fest just happened to me like a rainbow on a rainy day.

My long journey of four years just melted into nothingness reading a mail acknowledging my manuscript submission to the festival that said " "Congratulations!  We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been finalized for the LIT-O-FEST 2016 Awards. Please do come on the 20th Feb to be a part of the LIT-O-FEST event and the award ceremony."   That was IT for me. Someone out there had thought my words were worthy to be read. That in itself was an achievement and to get to this day when I can a big thank you to Smita Parekh, Festival Director and her team at Lit-O-Fest for appreciating the writer in me. Yes, I won, I won in the "get published" section.  Whatever this holds for me in the future is just a big big dollop of icing and a culmination of a dream come true.

So let me share what Lit-O-Fest is.......Lit-O-Fest is a festival with a difference and a one of its kind initiative where publishing contracts are signed with deserving authors and what's more for free. It's a festival with a philanthropic perspective as this is an only platform where one-the-spot publishing contracts are signed with deserving authors. A friend Hariharan Iyer introduced me to this festival and  I submitted my manuscript in the short stories section a few months ago. 

The festival was held at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, on February 20- 21, 2016 and when I walked into the college premises on Day 1,  it was so heart-warming to be received by the students who escorted me to the multimedia room where an talk was already in session. As I sat there listening, I felt an immense sense of peace and happiness that comes with just being a part of something so laudable. Sailesh Lodha of Tarak Mehta fame brought a smile on our faces as he spoke on how we have lost our ability to laugh and finding laughter and humor in everything.  A session with Ram Jethmalaniji on money laundering in our country and its repercussions that followed was so eloquently put that I could not but marvel at this 93 year grand old gentleman. He actually refused to sit down but chose to stand and talk at the dais for over thirty minutes with such truth and passion. If this is not inspiring then for me nothing ever will.

The awards ceremony began with the Lit-O-Fest giving away the 'Living Legend’ award to legends Narendra Kohli, Kiran Nagarkar, Pankaj Dubey for Creative Leadership and Radhakrishnan Pillai in the education field. I had the privilege of being there to listen to them share their thoughts. Thereafter, I was called on stage to receive my award at the hands of Ram Jethmalani ji and what an euphoric feeling and honour indeed. Though knowing me, I did not let Shatrughan Sinha leave before expressing my disappointment to him. He was to give the awards away but was getting late and he very sweetly acknowledged me by saying he could not wait as he had another appointment. My bad luck.

I wish that I could have gone again on Day 2, but for another commitment.  It was not surprising to read that Day 2 saw sessions with Manoj Bajpayee and Shilpa Shukla, child abuse and  teenage tantrums with Kiran Manral, Harish Iyer and Sonali Shroff with the  event ith concluding with live band by Leslie Lewis.

We all live in a world of stress and competition and everyone is definitely impatient for sure and wanting things to happen overnight, including me,  but as the saying goes "there is a time and place for everything" .....and the time and place for me is definitely now....

Yes, I am a change agent

Everyone knows that I am a big entertainment buff, be it commercial cinema, theater or even a film festival showcasing short films. Hence it was not surprising that I once again this year requested my friend, Prerana, at the YES FOUNDATION to allow me to be there at their award ceremony celebrations.

Before I begin to share the heart warming experience I had, let me tell you what it is all about. YES, I am the Change is a social program of YES FOUNDATION which was launched in 2013. The initiative, which I must applaud, brings together the youth of our country to share social change that they have witnessed through the medium of short films. Everyone dreams of making films and it is this platform that spring boards the dreams of many. The initiative invites people from all walks of life to a challenge where the subject is shared 6 am in the morning and a deadline of 101-Hour begins to make your film and submit it.  Amateurs and film makers participate by making social cause films of up to 3 minutes duration and the wait for the winners begins. This year over 5 lakh entries were received by the YES FOUNDATION making it the largest movement of showcasing social causes indirectly leading to an unexplainable change in the film makers themselves turning them into change agents for society. There were multiple categories in the challenge such as the Corporate challenge, the Not-for-Profit, Student and the Open Categories making it the world’s largest social cause movement.  What further fascinated me was that all the films submitted are available for use of Not-for-Profit NGOs and associations who are unable to make films themselves to use free of cost.

The contest had ended and then came the day of the awards ceremony that bustled with life at the Nehru Centre on January 29^th where I sat looking at the smiling youth all around me. Chatting with them I realised that it had not just been about making a film and submitting it to the jury. It was now about the journey that they traversed to another world and emerging a better human being that had made them happier. The evening mood was set by an interesting panel discussion titled “Role of mindset transformation in nation building” with Meghana Gulzaar, Vikas Bahl, Jacco Cillers, Radha Kapoor and moderated by Namita Vikas. Interesting inputs from the panellists on how important it is for the media and film makers to be involved and even more on being responsible in using their power medium was an interesting take. Chief Guest Vidya Balan enthralled the audience with her thoughts on the event and referring to her experience as brand ambassador for the sanitation campaign. Director Umesh Shukla and other dignatories added charm by gracing the event.  For me a personal moment of pride was listening to my friend Prerana Langa, CEO of YES FOUNDATION taking on stage and leading her team to a beautiful culmination of a social change film making contest so lovely and well organized. 

However, that was just the end only of Day 1 as it was followed by the film festival over the next two days at the Indian School of Design and Innovation conference hall that showcased the best films of the contest.  Sadly I missed the first day due to prior commitments but  Sunday  was one of learning with interactive discussions.  Shalabh Sahai, Co-Founder and Director of iVolunteer and Tom Alter, Actor shared their thoughts and experiences in the volunteering and cinema space. It was an interesting debate with Cyrus Dastur, the founder of Shamiana Arts with Tom Alter, who suggested using real people for social awareness and documentary films; as he explained how the stance and the acting poweress stands true when you bring true to life heroes on screen to perform instead of actors.  It was indeed interesting, and a big thanks to the foundation for giving an opportunity to me and the young film makers to get up close, as it is not often one gets opportunities to interact closely with people of such caliber.

The same day, we were introduced to two film makers, Kuljeet Chaudhary and Leena Kejriwal, who last year had participated in the film challenge, which had changed their lives making them true agents of change.  Kuljeet Chaudhary, who won the last year’s Popular Choice Award for his film “Probably Paradise”, spoke about his amazing story from a night in Diwali when he and his friends decided to save animals from abuse starting with a cow whose tail was tied to fire crackers leading onto him creating a help forum on face book for animal abuse. When he was asked, what is the one thing an individual can do to help, he put it so simply and humbly “feed glucose biscuits to stray dogs”. On the other hand, here was Leena Kejriwal, an avid photographer and artist whose film became a thought process that has today started a movement she calls “MISSING”.  MISSING is an art project that brings issues of female trafficking onto our walls of public spaces with a black stencil of a girl made from iron sheets, forged and painted pitch black. The stark black stencil is hopeful of creating awareness about the millions of young girls and women who disappear from their homes and are pushed into the flesh trade in India. Both these amazing human beings are on face book.  I certainly made it a point to connect with them and am seriously contemplating how to get that stencil on a wall soon, after all I am a woman myself.

The entire day I spent there, I must have seen over twenty or more awesome films such as ‘The Stand-up Comedian’ on parent care, ‘Dua’ about elderly care, ‘Ehsaas’ about a rickshawalla who teaches act of kindness, ‘Muted’ about beggars stuck in silence forever, ‘Boxes’ about learning beyond education and many more.  It was indeed a Sunday well spent. Me, not a film maker and just an ordinary person never felt more involved and touched by the films that showcased so many causes that we never can even imagine.  It got me thinking as to how much do I contribute to society. Well, yes I do in my own small little way by volunteering with friends doing social work, but this movement got me thinking.  Films are such a powerful medium to spread the magic word and so I decided that I am going to be a change maker of sorts myself. I have started doing my bit by sharing one film every two or three days on my face book page and if I touch even ten friends a day, I think I have succeeded in creating a small little twinge in a heart somewhere…. And I am sure that somewhere, sometime, someplace that heart I touched will reach out to another and thereon another and we will be on our way to a better happier place.

Outstanding Theater festival KHIDKIYAAN.COM

A twitter post from Mukesh Chabbra, the casting director who gave us the cute Harshali of Bajrangi Bhaijaan,  made me curious and I logged on to the Khidkiyaan Theater Festival site and booked myself and my friend, Shaila Shah for a theater experience over five days starting January 13th. We were soon joined by our friends M J Kaur and Dipna Patel (heroine of the Gujjubhai, The Great" fame) and Shariq Ahmed.

“Khidkiyaan” such a beautiful name that immediately brought to my mind a picture of myself standing at an open window looking into the horizon, this time it being the world of theater. Yes, and there was a beautiful Khidki made for visitors to pose and click photos.Presented by Mukesh Chhabra Casting Co. as its first ever stint in theater, the festival was worth every moment and definitely worth a visit for sure. Open Mic and sessions on a stage outside revolving around literature and theater before the plays were performed in the auditorium added to the fun not to mention the young budding actors and actresses adding to the magic.

Day one, we landed up much earlier than the show timing and I was pleasantly surprised to see a warm and comfortable environment with the bustle of young and bubbly people hanging around interacting. The air was filled with celebrations as it was Makar Sakrant festival that day. A bonfire and songs were sung while we all stood around it filled the air with festivity. Amongst that crowd stood two outstanding directors Imtiaz Ali and Vikas Bahl who had inaugurated the festival and it did not take me long to approach them for a click. I have to say that they were so down to earth men that both of them actually offered to click each other's photos with me turn by turn. Ha ha ha ha ha.. Lucky me!

GUNNO BAI, play of day one with its outstanding performance and singing by Chittranjan Tripathy, the director and actor was one of a kind experience.  Gunno Bai told the story of a high profile eunuch in Delhi known for her singing.  Her life story is revealed through flash backs of theatrical events, monologues and songs beautifully sung by the lead actor himself. As it unfurls Gunno Bai turns out to be a young man who had come to Delhi to become an IAS officer but fails at this dream. The audience is transported back and forth into a flash back of his life as he tells us that money was not easy to earn and one evening sees a man dressed as a woman singing on the roads. He decides to use the same ruse to earn and no one ever realises that he is actually a man disguised as an eunuch until the day he gets a telegram that his father is visiting him. Gunno Bai is in a dilemma and because he reveres his father, he decides to kill himself before his arrival, but he also has a huge score to settle with someone. Does he kill himself and what was the score he needed to settle is what keeps you completely engrossed and gripped. Beautifully penned songs to one poem, where Gunno bai speaks to death completely stole my heart.

Day 2, it was SHADOW OF OTHELLO about a small group of men enamored totally by the film Omkara to such an extent that they decide to perform it and ask a theater director to direct them.  What starts off as a gang of enthused actors turns into a conflict when one of them is not chosen to play the part that he wanted to, leading to jealousy and intrigue. Othello / Omkara becomes a part of their lives and thereon how the shadow of Othello consumes them all forms the crux of the story. A talented cast and a hilarious representation helped. Guest of the day were Piyush Sharma, Richa Sharma, Sushant Rajput Singh and Makrand Deshpande.

Day 3 - A band "TROUBADOURS" belted out fantastic and outstanding numbers followed by a performance by Khushaal Pawaar (of Bajrangi Bhaijaan fame). Sunil Shetty, Manoj Bajpai and others graced the occasion that day. This was followed by the play OLD MUNK which I found a bit confusing and inaudible as the actors did not really throw their voices . I did mention this to the lead actor the next day though. Old Munk is the story of three characters - DK, his wife and his wife’s friend Anjana who visits the couple after a long time. As the evening progresses, untold stories and actual truth behind their relationships and lies come to light as the skeletons fall out bringing unimaginable revelations.

Day 4 - BLACKBIRD is the love story of two characters. Uma, a 12 year old girl who mature beyond her years, falls for an elderly man Rajesh. Rajesh who also is attracted to her decides to runs away with her, but confused and out of fear abandons her for some time at a hotel when all hell breaks loose as he is convicted of raping a minor. Uma lives through the years being talked about while Rajesh does his time and rebuilds his life.  Uma searches him out and the confrontation goes back and forth between anger and the search for truth and unresolved issues. Swanand Kirkire, as the elderly man proves his mettle with a power packed performance that holds the play together ably supported by Mabel Vyas. Guests of the day were Manav Kaul, Kabir Khan, Nawazuddin Siddique and Radhika Apte..

Day 5 - KOI BAAT CHALE a romantic comedy revolving around a 35 year old unmarried drama teacher who loves Supriya but is unable to profess his love for her. He resorts to the services of a marriage bureau to help him find her mentioning especially of the black mole on the left cheek right below the ear  which leadis to him meeting many girls that fill the bill, but not the girl he wants. Ultimately he takes the bull by the horns and gets the girl. This play marked the finale of KHIDKIYAAN theatre festival with the most out of the world acting by Yashpal Sharma and Ritu Sharma in the play and ending with Ayushmaan Khurrana's performance.

It was not just the guests that I mentioned that came to wish the festival well. There were so many actors, actresses and theatre personalities all around interacting and very happily agreeing to clicking selfies and believe me I did get them all. Bumped into so many of my young actor friends and made so many new friends that believe me, I had withdrawal symptoms for days thereafter missing the wonderful theatre world that I enjoyed for five full days without a break. A big "lets do it again next year" to my friends Jeet (MJ Kaur), Shaila Shah, Dipna Patel and Shariq Ahmed.... All I can say is a well organised, commendable feat and a big thumb up to Mukesh Chabbra and KHIDKIYAAN theatre festival and as Sunil Shetty said it should be taken to every city in India.

 

Mr. Bachchan and Me !!!

The name is enough to make anyone crazy. Mr. Amitabh Bachchan.  The one actor and the wonderful human being that everyone dreams of meeting once in their lifetime. Not many are as unlucky and as lucky as me.  Let me tell you my story that reads like an old English proverb “There's many a slip between the cup and the lip.. “

It is 1972 and its Raj Kamal Studios where Jaya Bachchan is shooting for Piya Ka Ghar and we school girls are there to watch the shooting.  Standing in a line to get an autograph…which by the way is not for me? So while the girls put down their autograph books and she signs away talking to someone about Mr. Bachchan having fever, I thrust my autograph book under her nose. She smiles, signs it and tells us all to go and harass the hero Anil Dhawan, which we do.  Come 1974, the film Majboor releases and a friend and me find ourselves in the audience at the premier. I still remember that day as I dressed up in my pink and purple floral sari all excited and wondering where Mr. Bachchan was seated…and then the film ends and lo behold walking down the aisle is the man himself and I scamper after him as he begins to walk out of the door  and as I close an inevitable blooper happens…the pleats of my sari come unfold and I drop to the ground….nahin..nahiiiiiiiiiiiiin.... it is too late. Mr. Bachchan has gone out of the door and I shed silent tears. Of course, the outcome of this horrifying moment is simple. I never wore a sari thereafter without pinning the pleats, ha ha ha! 

Many years later and I mean many many years later in 2000, sitting at my desk at my bank I realise suddenly that colleagues are running to the foyer and it turns out that Mr. Bachchan is in the building.  Everyone is down in the foyer gathered to have a dekho.  The security control room has sprung into action and I being a volunteer as always find myself lining up the employees who for once had forgotten the time and the regular locals that they took home.  Every time the executive lift came down there would be a loud roar to a disappointment and then it happened.  There was Mr. Bachchan with my Deputy Managing Director stepping out of the lift.  I remember till date the look on Mr. Bachchan’s face of pure shock when he saw before him a serpentine pathway of screaming employees. He drops his head down into his chin and as I walk along side, I muster courage and say “Mr. Bachchan, please look up, They’ve been waiting for hours to see you”. A slight look at me and he walks ahead to the loudest noise I have ever heard a crowd make.  Holding hands with the security staff we walk behind Mr. Bachchan protecting him from the surging crowd of employees and as he reaches the main door, my Deputy Managing Director turns to me as the chain we have formed is being pushed against. “Hira, what is this, what is happening?” she asks while I tell her “M’am, Mr. Bachchan is saying something to you”…but she is so aghast that she keeps chiding me to control the employees... “M’am, it is Mr. Bachchan, what did you expect?’ I say as she waves him goodbye and employees disperses.

Surprisingly when the advertisement for the bank is shot in the foyer, the employees (not me) seem to have had their full of him.  Of course I watched him shoot and enjoyed every moment of that day.  During those days, I took a promise from my superiors for a photograph for my Saturday Kids Club children and yes that did happen too. Thereafter many and events and many an opportunity to see Mr. Bachchan up close on stage but none close enough for a photograph with him. Then I go on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati thanks to my bank and once again it is so near and yet so far… again!!!

One fine day my sister informs me that she is designing the coffee table book of Mr, Bachchan ”To be or not to Be” but I’ll be damned if she is ever going to get me to meet him. Yes, that’s my over the top professional sister for you, who would rather be damned than letting this filmy crazy keeda anywhere close to Mr. Bachchan.  No amount of pleading, threatening to disown her or begging worked and soon I gave up but then a surprise was waiting for me.  On my next birthday one of the gifts that tumbled out was the paperback with an autographed page by Mr. Bachchan ….scream… aaaaaaaa.. scream… aaaaaaa…scream….a handwritten note in the inside cover of the book wishing ME happy birthday…..again there is Mr. Bachchan but not there at all…..

 As I mentioned before volunteering for events at the bank was a done thing for me and I was known for being there at every opportunity so it was not surprising that a colleague asked me to be present to assist his team for a high profile event at the bank.  Yes, there I was being asked to escort Mrs. Jaya Bachchan to the event area. Oh, I forgot to mention here that a week before this event Abhishek Bachchan was shooting for Dhoom outside our bank walls. Of course I had to meet him and did get to him and mention that I was the other sister.  So here I am waiting and I decide to take a trip of my uptight sister and I call her and say I am going to tell Mrs. Bachchan that I am your sister to her banshee screaming and threats to disown me for a change. As I walk with Mrs. Bachchan, she very sweetly asks my name and yes I said it …I told her..... Later at dinner, my colleague shovea me in front of Mr. Bachchan to say “Mr. Bachchan I must introduce you to this very hardworking colleague ..blah blah…..” and we see Mrs. Bachchan nudging her husband to say “that’s D……’s sister” .  I can never forget those mesmerising eyes looking at me…. So there it was again, so near and yet so far….

It is 2012 and  Amitabh Bachchan is guest of honour at the 12th edition of River to River Florence Indian Film Festival in Italy and I am there screaming my heart out once again rushing to him and shoving a diary under his nose for an autograph (naughty me had pasted the birthday note on the page too) .....…Got it ….at last a photo in the same frame with him…. I have done it Mr. Bachchan….I have done it…..It took me so many years to get that one photo even though it is not the best one......but wait there is more……am I blessed or what?

February 2015, on the sets of Comedy Nights with Kapil Sharma deciding to behave like a good little girl for once, I am quietly watching the shoot of the Shamitabh film promotion episode unfold before me, until one girl gets up asking to dance with Mr. Bachchan. Somewhere another girl jumps and runs up ….and then another…. and another and yes, yes, I am also jumping onto that stage too…Mr. Bachchan sings to mere angaane mein  and when the song ends hugs each one of us one by one....…oh my, oh my!!! I almost fainted with joy…..I got a hug from Mr. Bachchan…....Mr. Bachchan hugged meeeeeeeeee….. yeah I did it…it happened......Janam safal hogaya ….at last …..at last….