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So a post on my long awaited dream of meeting Sanaya and Mohit... how do I go about it ? All these years I have been on the other side reading fan experiences of lucky fans who have met them and my day had finally come! A dream come true.. I simply cannot express how utterly wonderful it was but I'll try making some sense of it, please excuse any incoherency..
So, getting this opportunity was mainly thanks to my friends here. IF can be many things but this is the one platform that has given me such amazing friends for which I would always be indebted <3 So I went to the sets, they made us wait for almost 2 hours before they finally let us in. The crew were quite rude but I was just excited, waiting for that moment to arrive. We went to the sets finally, sat in. The set looked beautiful, exactly how we see on TV but seeing it like that right in front of you was surreal. Again, they made us sit for an hour or two and we could see what was going on. Finally the judges came, the contestants started trickling in. And then that moment arrived! I could hardly breathe thanks to my excitement :P I saw Sanaya first.. She bounded and came with a happy gait and sat on the contestant sofa.
So a background for those who don't know me. I have been a Sanaya fan since MJHT times because of 'Gunjan'. But more than that, what I started loving about her was her optimism, fun loving nature, her adorable antics and basically just her being her natural self all the time... be it in any interview, offscreen segments, with fans, she was unapologetically herself ❤️ Mohit again I've loved since MJHT times for his humility, his kind heart, for his love for San and vice versa... and mainly for being such a wonderful person and husband <3.. but San is one person who has actually inspired me and motivated me in times when I was down so I'm a little more partial towards her. This was mainly during my engineering times when academically life was a little tough on me but watching her interviews, her offscreen segments, I could somehow relate to her and used to get so motivated that I felt like 'okay, even I can do this!'... that I could face all hurdles head on.. which I did. Role models come in various modes of your life. She came in when I needed someone like that most. After my parents, she takes that place in my life.
So yeah readers, you can see why this moment was so special to me. This was not only an actress who I had liked and admired but the person beneath all the glitz and glamour that I adored and always will.. I have been sending her birthday gifts for the past 4 years and many a times I have told her and thanked her for inspiring me. And that day had finally come when I would be meeting them in person! My happiness knew no bounds. So I saw her sitting on the sofa, a vision in orange and I was so overwhelmed. Then Mohit came, clad in green and sat beside her. They were seated in such a way that they were sitting right in front of us. She was happily chatting with her fellow contestants be it Abigail, Dipika, then to Shoaib, the crew members came and greeted her and Mohit and then she bounded to and fro mingling with everyone. Mohit, being the quieter of the two sat beside her, immersed in his thoughts.. about the act I felt.
And I just sat and looked at them to my heart's content. The performances finally started. First one of them performed. Then it was Monaya's turn. They came on stage and gave the performance of their life. I cannot express in words how blessed I felt just watching them dance and the die hard fan in me couldn't have been any happier. This was the best Paso Doble act I had seen (according to me). Stunning choreography and brilliant execution. Mohit Sehgal the non dancer, the one who was called a 'terrible dancer' had given his heart and soul for this act and had killed it. and was acknowledged for the same. Sanaya as usual was fabulous. They got a wonderful response from the judges and audience alike even the non fans (some of them who had come for other contestants) and I was thrilled. She spoke her heart out in response to the praises (which hopefully doesn't get edited) and it was such an emotional moment as I saw them basking in all the admiration.. and my heart swelled with joy, as tears rolled down my face. To the neutral readers, I understand you may not get why I reacted the way I did, why show so much emotion for a celebrity, why travel all the way from Pune just for this but this is something which I will always be unable to explain.
Carrying on, they finished their act to a tumultuous applause from crowd and judges alike. Mohit was praised to the hilt and Sanaya stood there, proudly as she basked in the happiness of appreciation for her beloved husband. They were ❤️. The act finished and it was lunch break. I was so restless, time was flying.. I had to return back to college for an evaluation the next day and I was getting so impatient and a little worried to return back without even getting to meet them. This is where I feel that God's grace is so important. On normal days there is abundant security everywhere, in the form of crew members but just yesterday, there wasn't... at the time we went. So we went up to their makeup room and things worked like clockwork. We were asked to wait for them to finish their lunch. We waited patiently for 1 and a half hours for them to finish lunch, getting ready etc.. I had bought a shawl (since I had seen that she feels feel cold on sets as we always see her with her pink dupatta wrapped around her), a coffee mug, greeting cards with personal wishes, chocolates and the likes.
We waited.. Seconds turning to minutes.. minutes turning to hours and then finally there she was. Clad in a simple green salwar kameez, she came downstairs. I was just too overwhelmed so it took me a couple of seconds to actually register that she was right in front of me! And my first words out to her was 'OMG Sanaya!' and she laughed 😆 She apologized to us, sweetly as ever for making us wait and then I told her 'I don't know if you remember me but I am actually Abhinaya Balan from Chennai'! And she replies 'Oh yeah! The name I had mispronounced no' And I was stunned! She actually remembered me from a gift segment two years ago. I cannot express how I felt then, it is just indescribable! Then I told her what a huge fan I was of both of them since Miley times and how my long awaited dream of meeting them come true! They graciously acknowledged and Sanaya grinned :') Mohit was right behind her and I got so excited and I exclaimed 'Hey Mohit OMG!' and congratulated him on such a wonderful performance and told them how we were supporting them full on! Then we came outside their rooms, and pictures were taken! Sanaya hugged me in her ever gracious way and told me 'Send my love to Aunty!' when I told her how much mom loves her too. She was kind, gracious, warm and was everything I had always imagined her to be. Mohit was also so warm and friendly. Pictures were taken with her hugging me, then with Mohit and San together and a group picture. I was beyond delighted and still so overwhelmed.
As I took my leave, I gave them all the gifts I had,including the shawl to Sanaya which she loved and upon receiving exclaimed that 'You should have met me 10 weeks earlier' 😆 I was so touched. Meeting someone who has been your role model almost half your life and then that person living up to the image you had created of them in your head sometimes never coincides, leaving us disappointed. But for me, with Sanaya it was just everything I had imagined it to be and so much more <3 So yes, I had to take my leave since I had to travel back to Pune and reach at a respectable time.. but before I did, I expressed to them hoping that I would get a chance to meet them again and Mohit invited us on sets once more *such a sweetheart*
So that was my day with Monaya, my moments spent with them and a dream that had finally become reality. As I gazed at the pictures, I couldn't help but marvel as to how the universe really conspires to make your dream come true if you want it from your heart. And this applies to anything you dream of achieving. Your dream is yours and no one can take it away from you is what I always believe. All my love and prayers for this lovely couple and may they take challenges in stride and emerge out shining like they always do. Below I'm attaching two pictures I took with them, though I'm cropping my sweaty face out LOL (thank you Sunara). Hope you all enjoyed reading 😊 Love-Abhi
She hugged me in this picture and you can see the shawl I gave her, which she's holding.
Here I was standing between Mohit and San as they graciously stood with me <3
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