Reaching out to the stars

The first word Alexander Graham Bell spoke with his world-famous instrument was Hello. Ever since, this word has become perhaps the most-spoken one in the world. And telephones have also become the most omnipresent gadget leading to creation of separate courses on telephone manners!

Tellychakkar conducted a random study, with our tongue firmly in cheek, on the telephone etiquettes of various 'not so approachable' tele-stars and how they react to a phone call from a journalist.

Smriti Irani:

If the call is from a number that does not exist in her phone book, the nation's Tulsi Virani will never take the call. But she will not ignore the caller also. She will send an SMS enquiring about the reason for the call. If you respond requesting for an interview, Smriti will write back asking for the questions. If your questions satisfy her, then she will ask for the focus of the interview and details of the publication. Only if answers to all these questions are up to her satisfaction levels will she take your call. (It is a different story altogether that the time she spends in sending these SMS would have been enough for the interview!)

Cezanne Khan:

There are two numbers of the handsome actor, which are in circulation amongst the journalists. If you dial the first one, Cezanne's mother will answer the call, while the second one will be answered by his brother. Both of them will take your call and speak to you very politely. "Since Cezanne is busy, he cannot take your call, but I will definitely pass on the message," is what they will tell you. Not just this, they will even give you a date and time for calling Cezanne. In a 'strange' coincidence, Cezanne will be busy even on that day! Grapevine has it that the second number, which is answered by his brother, is actually his number. Cezanne takes the call only if it is a known number.

Saakshi Tanwar:

You could consider yourself very lucky and buy a lottery ticket, if Sakshi answered your call or responded to your messages. Besides the time when she was starting Kahani Hamarey Mahabharat Ki and also doing Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, Sakshi never takes calls from unknown numbers. It was only during those few days that she was taking calls from numbers not listed in her address book. However, when you meet her in person it is a different story completely. She will respond to all your queries and speak at length.

Gauri Pradhan:

Before Gauri joined Kyun Ki…and just after the success of Kutumb, she would easily qualify as one of the most approachable tele-stars. She would take calls, and even call you back if she missed your call. And it had nothing to do with your number being there or not on her phonebook. However, over the last few years she has become one of the, if not the most unapproachable tele-star. She will never take calls or respond to SMSs. Quite a contrast from her husband, who takes calls even after attaining stardom. However, Hiten has also changed in the way he speaks to you. Gone are the days when he used to be in freewheeling conversations. Nowadays he will always be very diplomatic and also give reasons for Gauri's unavailability.

Surveen Chawla:

Here is someone who does not repeat mistakes (if taking a call from a journalist is one). Surveen is busy throughout the day and will never answer calls from unknown numbers. If by mistake she takes your call (perhaps the Caller ID was not working!), she will be very polite and tell you that she is very busy and will ask you to call her after a couple of hours. But be rest assured, the couple of hours will never end! Aren't journalists supposed to be the bridge between celebrities and fans?

Apoorva Agnihotri:

Consistency has been his hallmark right from Jassi to Radha Ki Betiyaan. He has never taken calls from unknown numbers and has no qualms in admitting so. Whenever you meet him and complain about his unavailability on the phone, he will justify it with the number of crank calls he gets.

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