Posted:
Jab we met
27 Jun 2008, 0000 hrs IST, SUBHASH K JHA ,TNN
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Urmila Matondkar (TOI Photo)
Meeting stars for the first time is always a pleasure to treasure especially for an out of towner like me. I've often established a wonderful long-distance rapport on the phone with the stars before actually meeting them in person.
First encounters are like first love. The first real star I met as a journalist was Shabana Azmi. Long before meeting her I idolised her. As a rookie I still remember how fast my heart pounded as I sat wide-eyed in the portico of her beautiful house in Janki Kutir, waiting for her to emerge from inside. When she eventually did in a chic salwar-kameez, her hair falling to her shoulder and her eyes penetrating into a horizon far beyond human vision, time just froze.
For a long time, I was wary of meeting the Big B. What if he turned out to be everything that I didn't think he would be? My first inter-face with Mr Bachchan was near-catastrophic. Though he warmly invited me to his home he just wouldn't speak! After a while I got very nervous of talking to myself. Later, he confessed he was on heavy medication, hence the reticence. Phew! Thank God, no damage was done.
Urmila Matondkar and Raveena Tandon were a delight to meet. When after years of telephonic proximity I finally went to Raveena's home and she had her face turned away doing makeup for a full 45 minutes after I arrived. It was like talking on the phone without the phone. And Urmila, her infectious laughter greeted me at the door. She's a livewire and one of the most gracious hosts I've in Mumbai.
Saif was funny. Though not at the time we met. He invited me home, sent a message saying he'll be with me in a while, showed up an hour later and mistook me for the man who was supposed to sell him reading lamps. By then all my bulbs had fused. However, Saif more than made up for his initial tardiness by being the perfect host by showing me his entire house, including the massive bedroom.
There have been other first-time encounters with dear friends in Bollywood which have been too normal to make a song and dance about. What do I say about my first meeting with Preity Zinta, Karan Johar, Priyanka Chopra and Rani Mukherjee or Hema Malini except that they turned out to be so down to earth and normal we hit it off instantaneously and for keeps.
My two most memorable first-meetings were with Kareena Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan. After warming up to one another over countless conversations I finally flew down specially for Kareena. That's what she insisted I do. She came to fetch me at the airport with the most awesome bunch of yellow roses and the warmest hug I've received in Mumbai.
I'll always remember that look of envy I invited at the airport. Shah Rukh met me at Mehboob studios, took a break from the shooting hopped into car to take me home to meet his wife and son since his home was nextdoor. I'll never forget his genuine warmth. It was just the opposite of the bizarre experience I had when I met Salman Khan. But that, I'd like to keep for my Bollywood memoirs.
27 Jun 2008, 0000 hrs IST, SUBHASH K JHA ,TNN
Print EMail
Discuss New
Bookmark/Share
Save Write to Editor
Urmila Matondkar (TOI Photo)
Meeting stars for the first time is always a pleasure to treasure especially for an out of towner like me. I've often established a wonderful long-distance rapport on the phone with the stars before actually meeting them in person.
First encounters are like first love. The first real star I met as a journalist was Shabana Azmi. Long before meeting her I idolised her. As a rookie I still remember how fast my heart pounded as I sat wide-eyed in the portico of her beautiful house in Janki Kutir, waiting for her to emerge from inside. When she eventually did in a chic salwar-kameez, her hair falling to her shoulder and her eyes penetrating into a horizon far beyond human vision, time just froze.
For a long time, I was wary of meeting the Big B. What if he turned out to be everything that I didn't think he would be? My first inter-face with Mr Bachchan was near-catastrophic. Though he warmly invited me to his home he just wouldn't speak! After a while I got very nervous of talking to myself. Later, he confessed he was on heavy medication, hence the reticence. Phew! Thank God, no damage was done.
Urmila Matondkar and Raveena Tandon were a delight to meet. When after years of telephonic proximity I finally went to Raveena's home and she had her face turned away doing makeup for a full 45 minutes after I arrived. It was like talking on the phone without the phone. And Urmila, her infectious laughter greeted me at the door. She's a livewire and one of the most gracious hosts I've in Mumbai.
Saif was funny. Though not at the time we met. He invited me home, sent a message saying he'll be with me in a while, showed up an hour later and mistook me for the man who was supposed to sell him reading lamps. By then all my bulbs had fused. However, Saif more than made up for his initial tardiness by being the perfect host by showing me his entire house, including the massive bedroom.
There have been other first-time encounters with dear friends in Bollywood which have been too normal to make a song and dance about. What do I say about my first meeting with Preity Zinta, Karan Johar, Priyanka Chopra and Rani Mukherjee or Hema Malini except that they turned out to be so down to earth and normal we hit it off instantaneously and for keeps.
My two most memorable first-meetings were with Kareena Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan. After warming up to one another over countless conversations I finally flew down specially for Kareena. That's what she insisted I do. She came to fetch me at the airport with the most awesome bunch of yellow roses and the warmest hug I've received in Mumbai.
I'll always remember that look of envy I invited at the airport. Shah Rukh met me at Mehboob studios, took a break from the shooting hopped into car to take me home to meet his wife and son since his home was nextdoor. I'll never forget his genuine warmth. It was just the opposite of the bizarre experience I had when I met Salman Khan. But that, I'd like to keep for my Bollywood memoirs.
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