We all dream. Dreams have hope. You dream when you sleep, and you wake up hoping. Ever so slowly, they become a part of your existence.
May 30, 2016. It was late in the evening, and I had just reached home. As I settled with a glass of mango juice, my phone rang. A lady on the other side announced that there was an event happening the next day, which I should attend. As a journalist, such calls are routine, so I did not react. “Sir, Shah Rukh Khan will be there”. I was convinced.
May 31, 2016. Shah Rukh Khan was supposed to come at 3 pm. He walked in around 5.30 pm. My wide eyes locked on him, and in solidarity, my heart skipped a beat or two.
| FLASHBACK |
April 2016: Shah Rukh Khan’s FAN, was going to release. One of the promotional interviews for the movie was scheduled with my office colleague, Rohit Khilnani.
Before the interview, my co-SRKFan in office, Urmi and I decided to make a quick video of us dancing on ‘Jabra Fan’ from the movie, and send it to Rohit. We kept our fingers crossed, hoping SRK would see the video. He did. And he thanked us, and used our names! SRK noticing me, and appreciating his fandom was a big boost. Achievement unlocked.
In 1992, SRK made his Bollywood debut with Deewana. I was born that year. In a way, SRK found his feet in the industry around the same time I learned to walk. Connection? Possible. Exaggeration? Tu Nahin Samjhega.
| FLASHBACK |
It was 2012. Chennai Express was nearing its release date. And I was closer to a long-cherished dream. A friend was interning with a news channel in which a special show was planned. My friend called me, to sit in the audience. The camera went on stand-by. Prannoy Roy walked in.
Roy delivered his monologue. Right on cue, a door opened behind the stage. Just in my line of sight, there was a mirror partially hidden behind the shoulder of a man in a black blazer and black trousers. Reflecting in the mirror was a part of SRK’s face. My eyes welled up. Unknowingly. Uncontrollably.
He walked in grandly. 15 minutes into the chat, Prannoy Roy opened the discussion to audience and asked, “Anyone from SRK’s alma mater?” I raised my hand. A boy from Hansraj asked his question. And then somebody else followed. And then “And yes, you now.”
Mr Roy was looking at me. As was Shah Rukh Khan. It all froze for a moment. I couldn’t figure out what to say. All my practiced lines’ were forgotten. SRK smiled. I put a random question to him, already asked by someone. SRK answered that, all the while looking straight into my eyes. And I was nodding, a smile bursting at the corners of my mouth, my heart doing a mad-jig.
At the end of the show, SRK called everyone for a hug. We looked at the bouncers. I was sitting closest. I jumped and went forward to receive my hug. I wanted to run and fetch the camera, but then everyone was on stage, shaking hands, hugging, and I remembered I was holding SRK’s wrist. Would I ever get another opportunity to be this close? Does a photograph matter at this stage? I held on to his hand.
‘What’s wrong in living it all over again?,’ I wondered.
As soon as the main event wrapped up, I rang up the PR person and asked her to arrange an interview with SRK. It was a complicated juggle between the personal and the professional.
“You go next”, the PR said.
Selfie stick, DSLR, mic, headphones, smartphones. This has to be it.
Sadly, it couldn’t be ‘it’. And it was a failed interview, which was messy because the questions had to be ‘strictly about the event’. Dejection. And then the staff requested us to vacate as soon as the last question was asked.
I wasn’t about to give up. I pulled out my phone, readied the camera, and pushed through the throng. I was stopped by SRK’s personal staff and the event managers.
I looked them in their eyes and blurted my well practiced line. “I have waited 20 years of my life for this moment. You cannot ruin this for me.” They backed off, and even suggested that I handover my phone so they could take the photo. “We’ll take a selfie,” I smiled.
I went and stood next to Shah Rukh Khan. The man smiled. SRK was taking a selfie with me. My phone’s camera confused him a little.
“Ye kya ho raha hai?,” SRK quipped.
“Arey, ek minute…” I told him, stretching my hand to guide him.
“No wait, I figured. Smile,” SRK, the photographer was ready. I wasn’t.
This is the stuff dreams are made of. And I was living it.
Why this fascination? I don’t have a very clear answer. I was dancing to his songs, even before I knew what movies were, and before I understood the whole star-fan relationship. It went beyond the charm of his movies.
It has never been because of his movies, but the person he is outside of them. I genuinely feel he’s the wisest mind in the industry right now.
His choice of films, notwithstanding, of course.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)