LIFE OF A MAGAZINE EDITOR

BY SANGEETA WADDHWANI

A NOSTALGIC LOOK AT AN INTERVIEW I DID WITH THE ACTOR FOR HELLO! SOME TWO YEARS AGO, WHEN HE FLIRTED AROUND WITH ALL THE GORGEOUS GIRLS ON THE ENTIRE TEAM! FEW KNOW THE FIRST-HAND IMPACT A RANVEER SINGH HAS ON YOU… IN GRIM TIMES LIKE THESE, JUST REVISITING PAST EXCHANGES ENERGISES ONE’S SPIRIT!

With Ranveer, we don’t want things to be normal. We want him to leap onto our shoot location through the roof, ninja style and announce that his Nouveau Royal Highness is here. Something exactly like that, does happen. The HELLO! team felt a sense of butterflies as he wafted in, like a technicoloured wave of Nordic light moving to his own inner music, at the otherwise sombre premises of the Charcoal Project store in suburban Mumbai.

Open to a fault, (he even roamed around in his underwear between shots), making bawdy jokes and flirting with all and sundry, he had the girls getting a full on dose of taporagiri, Ranveer style. A tug at our stylists’ t-shirt (when she tried to arrange his clothes), a legs akimbo for the camera, he proceeded to fill the space up with humour and plenty of shock value.

In many ways, the 1983 born actor is more like a rebellious 80s British pop star than the prim and propah retro hero which we have seen in at least three ambitious period films – Lootera, Bhajirao Mastani, and Goliyon Ka Raam Leela.  His mom’s friends smile at Ranveer’s outré sense of dress, till very recently. “I think it’s part of his energy, his wardrobe, his constant experimenting with himself,” says an elegant lady from the Indus Group, who has known both his mom Mira Singh and his mausi, Kavita Singh. “Yes he’s my cousin’s son, my maama’s daughter’s son,” shared Kavita many moons ago. “He’s a very sweet, well-behaved boy,” she had rounded off. Well our team has certainly seen a more recent version of Ranveer… Version 2.0!

RANVEER UNPLUGGED

“Hmmmmm…. You’re a towneeeee!” mumbles Ranveer as we start chatting on the phone; he immediately senses a non-star struck writer who didn’t park herself at Film City or hang around for six hours at a photoshoot. “Where are you now?” he asks. I tell him. “Well I am not far… am on the Sea Link.”  This is how earthy the man is. So wonderfully unaffected by the 3.5 billion strong audience he has, the boy wonder who had Mr Bachchan’s unequivocal admiration at the HELLO! HALL OF FAME awards this past year, when the senior actor said, “Not a breath was taken out of turn in your role as Peshwa Bhajirao.”  What an actor, just six years old in the business, must feel at a tribute from a maestro like that, can only be imagined. But Ranveer, ever on the move and ever on the make, has not stopped reaching for higher stars. So we begin by talking about this epic performance.

“I think why Mr Bhansali and I work well together is we both play very high risk games. He makes high risk choices, and so do I, as an actor. He enjoys somebody on his wavelength who doesn’t enjoy playing safe at all. The reason I drive him crazy and he drives me crazy, is that we try and achieve some kind of movie magic on the set everyday. So I will have my mood swings, he will have his, and all at the same time we are trying to achieve a shot. I am trying to generate an emotion, he’s trying to get a brilliant shot, and it’s a film set where time is money, it’s a very high cost, high pressure situation. It’s like trying to perform a surgery in the midst of a riot. So it’s a difficult process. Daily, he sets up a challenge; ‘I am throwing you the gauntlet, let’s see if you can live up to it. Here’s your talent for the day.’ I have to kind of crack it somehow. So in that process we do drive each other pretty crazy. But by far it has been the most creatively fulfilling experience doing these two films. A large part of my growth has been these two films, simply put. He has brought a landmark shift in my creative choices and abilities, he has been my most significant creative collaborator.”

SCREEN SOULMATE DEEPIKA PADUKONE

Reams may have been written about how during the 200 days of shooting for Bajirao Mastani, Ranveer fell off a horse and broke one shoulder. Not only did he have to continue playing a warrior with conviction, he had to “find ways to make it work for me, for the pain to be a catharsis.” Feeding him along was of course, his screen soulmate, Deepika Padukone. Their chemistry is already the stuff of celluloidal immortality: “Having had a sports background, she’s someone you love having on your team as she’s thoroughly professional; she’s clinical in her execution, you will never find a unit burderned by any issues from her end,” he says. “She’s an ace actor in terms of functionality. And in terms of the creative aspect, I create tremendously acting opposite her. I found in our first movie, Raam Leela, that she is a totally honest actor. And so generous and open hearted. I have worked with two distinct types of actors. In one scenario, you could be a log of wood and it won’t matter to the opposite actor because they are acting within themselves. It seems as if they are talking to you but what they are really doing is talking AT you. Now in a two dimensional medium, you won’t be able to catch that because as an audience you are only seeing 2D.  But if you are live on the set, especially if you have a background in theatre, you will be extra sensitive to these sorts of things. You know whan an actor is connected to you, and when she is not connected to you. Deepika, Anushka, Anil Kapoor, these are some of the actors I have worked with, and they have a level of submission I would say. When you look into their eyes, you say something, you know they are in touch with you, in that moment. They are all present. They will feed on it and you will feed off them.  There will be a genuine give and take and it won’t be smoke in the mirror. It is real.”

TO BE (AN ACTOR) OR NOT TO BE?

Scrape the dramatic surface, and Ranveer is a proper upper middle class boy, son of a glam Sindhi mom and a very pragmatic businessman dad. He may have “spent my childhood watching VHS after VHS of Hindi films, always wanting to grow up into a mainstream ‘hero’” but the culture that surrounded him at home was pro-education, pro-practicality. “I was never allowed to forget that I was a complete outsider, wanting to make it in an industry which is still very nepotistic. Yet, I was confused as till the age of 15, all directions were pointing towards me being a performing artiste. I would excel in dance, drama, debate, elocution. I was good. I wasn’t outstanding in academics or sports, but I was outstanding in these areas, always getting leading roles, top prizes in competitions related to elocutions and Best Actor prizes. So I knew that was my forte.”

KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE

Still, reality kept biting. “In the year 2000, when I was 17, I saw only star sons getting the big breaks – be it an Abhishek Bachchan, a Tushar Kapoor, or a Hrithik. Stars like Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan were exceptions who had come in a while ago. So I chose to be practical, and aim at a degree in Media Studies in the US.  I was a good writer and felt okay, maybe I can grow up to be the Creative Director in an ad agency someday. I thought I’d graduate from University, and get a job in Chicago or NYC. That was really my plan.”

However he had an epiphany even in the US, as a student. “At 19, I took an acting course, by chance there was only one seat left and I had to earn my credit so I took it. On the first day itself I was performing in front of a group of people after a really long time and I felt that rush of performance; I was like man this is it, this is what I have to do for the rest of my life, why am I compromising on my one big dream. Ok, I might fail but I can accept that failure but I can’t accept not ever trying! So I called my dad and said ‘I know you have invested everything into this American degree of mine but what I would really like to do is to return to India and try and become a Hindi film hero!’”

THE GREAT CAREER GAMBLE

Fortunately his dad was extremely supportive, and said “Just finish your education and then you’re free to do what you want… as long as you are pursuing what you are truly passionate about, if you have identified that, I have no doubt that you will do your best at it.”

When Ranveer speaks about the true secret of his success, it’s clear this critical support – fiscal, physical and psychological – was a major step on his climb to where he is. “My parents were supportive even when quite frankly the chips were down for them as well. You know when you’re struggling you have to put time and money into the way you look, your physique, your portfolio; they stood by me and never let me feel the pinch… even if they were feeling it. A lot of young actors ask me how did you do it? This was it.  I always had a square meal and a roof over my head. I was able to spend spend three-and-a-half years of my life basically hustling, going from acting classes to doing theatre to being an assist director, getting my portfolio done, going from office to office, meeting everyone remotely connected to the entertainment business. Finally I got a call for an audition for a movie that Yash Raj was doing, looking for a new face. That was that, I went in and I did well and the rest is history!”

THE MONSTER OF FAME

Though he may seem a natural when it comes to entertaining live audiences and dishing out soundbytes, Ranveer is candid that fame is not always the best thing to happen to sensitive artistes. “I was pretty sad in Ladies Vs Ricky Behl because it was a difficult period for me; I had suddenly been hit by this truck called Overnight Celebrity after Band, Baaja Baarat; suddenly you don’t know who to be, what to say, what to wear and how to interact with people. It’s all too new, it’s all too overwhelming. And it started affecting my entire being, and consequently my performance on screen. I came through that film unscathed, it did average business and was not looked upon as a disaster, I sailed through by good fortune.” He is also convinced that he was very raw in the challenging role he played in the brooding period love story Lootera opposite Sonakshi Sinha. “It was a very brave choice at the time I chose to do this film, a part that was maybe beyond my years. I was too much of a novice. If at all I managed to do anything with that part it was out of the sheer grit of a newcomer, and nothing more. In fact, Naseeruddin Shah shared these exact same observations over the phone yesterday, giving me very strong pointers on where I could have done much better. I feel it took me at least four films to get comfortable in front of the camera,” he shares in all modesty. “Even now when I go to a film set and the first shot of the day starts to roll, I feel that little bit of a jitter, which is a good thing, you know, you use it to your advantage and channel it.”

BLOSSOMING IN BHANSALI’S CAMP

So what is that great alchemy that made a gawky, weakly projected hero of Lootera morph into the confident, or as they say in Hindi ‘bhulandh’ Maratha Peshwa Bajirao? The secret was Bhansali’s method. Leaving a character’s interpretation to an actor. Earlier, I had a completely different perspective and understanding of what this acting thing was all about. Slowly, slowly, that fixed idea of mine starting withering away and now I am a completely different actor.”

It must have felt so empowering for a relatively young-in-the-business Ranveer to go find the ‘voice’ for his own character Ram in Goliyon Ka Raam Leela. “I wanted to do something with the language. While the dialogues were fantastic, I wanted to play a little with dialect. Mr Bhansali was not sure, but he did send me to Gujarat for a week, and he said you pick up the dialect, come back and read your lines to me and I will see how you sound. And I did; I read maybe four sentences and he said ‘This is it! You got to read your lines this way for the whole film!’ In fact, it isn’t only actors who are accorded this creative license, it’s technicians too. “This is a conversation I often have with our multiple national award winning cinematographer Mr Sudeep Chatterjee, we keep discussing why it’s such a pleasure to work with him. Sudeep-da is a technical story teller and an artist himself; I am a performing artist myself. So it gives us true fulfilliment when a director allows us that freedom, he ties Sudeep’s vision and my vision with his own, and something special comes from that.” It won’t be surprising if the triumvirate – Ranveer, Deepika and Mr Bhansali, work together again for his next period film, Padmavati. In fact, at the IFFA Awards press conference this year, Deepika Padukone gamely shared, “I think in some way, we are all on the same page. We are all together in it for the right reasons… we are in it because we want to tell stories in the most magnificent way possible. I have to say that we feel really fortunate that everytime he (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) thinks of movies, he thinks of us.”

‘BEFIKRE’ IN A YASH RAJ FILM

The actor has now traversed from Yash Raj Films to other far more intense acting adventures and is now back with Yash Raj Films, with Befikre. But Ranveer doesn’t like to see it as coming full circle. “I feel it’s a huge opportunity to learn again. Adi sir and I have really have bonded this past year. The genre of the film sets the metre for the performance; if you are doing an action film it will be physically draining, if you are doing an emotional film it will be an emotional roller coaster. If you are doing a light, breezy kind of romedy, almost, you are bound to have a light experience. So to me it was like a picnic in Paris. The script was light, the lines were light, the romance was light.  We had a lot of fun making it. Like Adi sir would ask me ‘show me how you are going to say that.’ I would say, ‘Adi, I really haven’t given it any thought, I think we should just let the camera roll and see what happens.’ And that’s pretty much how we made most of the movie! We took a lot of single shots.  The scene starts and we are just walking and talking and having a conversation for three to four minutes and yeah, we would be done for the day. And staying in Paris, you know it’s a beautiful city, the production team would pull out all stops, we really a five star experience. Adi once told me before we started shooting the film, ‘Man I am just really happy right now, and I want that happiness to manifest into a film.’ He has produced and breathed films ever since he was a kid and it’s what he truly, truly loves.” As for his screen chemistry with his co-star Vaani, he says, “She is very new to the craft, she did Shudh Desi but that was two years ago. I see a lot of myself in her, the way I used to be at the start of my career. Very, very nervous. I saw her grow from day one to day 40, undergoing a huge learning curve. It’s very endearing to see a new actor find her way around the craft; I did whatever I can to support her. There is a thin line, between imposing your ideas, and letting your co-star have her own experience and her own growth.”

ARE YOU AN OLD WORLD ROMANTIC HERO INSIDE?

Given the highly resonant dialogue he spoke in Bajirao Mastani – ‘Maine ishq kiya hai, ayashi nahin’ – and the fact that Ranveer genuinely seems to be a one-woman man, one can’t help but ask him this question. “I do find the current scenario kind of strange. I was born in 1985 so I have kind of seen a miniature revolution in how interpersonal relationships are. There was a time when there was none of this technology, and relationship dynamics were different. That being my foundation, yes, I am very traditional when it comes to romance. And the idea of romance. Maybe perhaps if I was born more recently and Facebook and Snapchat were more prevalent, I would have a different idea. But having been born in an era where there weren’t even mobile phones, that makes my idea of romance very, very traditional.”

LION HEART, A SCOUNDREL, A FASHION ENFANT TERRIBLE…?

“I am as curious as the next person, even I don’t know who I am. I am always finding who I really am, and have not managed to make much headway either. All I know is I am an actor, always a work in progress!”

THAT SPECIAL RANVEER ENERGY

“I perhaps have a little more energy than most people. My reading of it, is that I have a great zeal for what I am doing; a lust for life. I like to live each day as if it’s my last, give my all to everything I am doing. I am where I have always wanted to be. I came back from the US at 21, got my break at 24, and I am 31 now, so it’s been about six years. Most times I can’t believe what is happening to me…!

THE SOCIAL MEDIA STAGE: THE PARIS THEATRE EXPERIENCE

“How does one cope with the 200 cameras popping out of people’s pockets, everywhere one goes? I think one just has to be oneself, unabashedly. Of course everyone has a different idea and a different take on this idea. I think if you are yourself, then it’s just a question of how much into your personal life you would let people in. So yes, I do believe it has become a bit much. Coming back to that incident, dancing to Baby ko Bass Pasand Hai in a Paris theatre – for me, I just did something spontaneous. And what I couldn’t get over was that nobody was enjoying the moment with me! Really, you know. I was up there, doing what we do in Gaiety Galaxy and in Chandan cinema, it’s what I have always been doing ever since I was a kid, and nobody was in the moment, they just wanted to capture the moment. Nobody danced with me, I just saw 15 to 20 hands up in the air with smartphones, trying to capture the moment. Everywhere all the time, nobody wants an autograph anymore, it’s all about the selfie. All this does become very taxing after a point. It’s a very abnormal life, wherever I am, somebody could have a video documentation of whatever I am doing, in high definition, that could be uploaded for the entire world to see in a matter of seconds. It’s an abnormal existence, everyone is still coming to terms with it.  Like I am sitting in the front seat of my car right now, and there are bikers on my left, filming me having a phone conversation. This too, could go viral. It has definitely had a huge impact on the meaning of celebrity life. And we are all finding our way around this parallel stage!” 

Shakespeare had issued a statuary warning, when he stated that “all the world’s a stage.” This generation of actors will have to romance, fret, freak out in extreme privacy. They live under the summons of camera and action, long after the last light on the set has been unplugged. They may search for an innocent interaction with the moment, only to find they are mere fodder for spectators, no matter what their intent. Good luck with playing Ranveer Singh, Mr Singh. You have a fond audience, and this time, it’s spread all over the world…!

“Most of the people who’ve moved to Goa are passionate about life and what they do with life…”

– LYNDON ALVES, tourism expert, Goa

SANGEETA WADDHWANI EXPLORES WHY GOA HAS BECOME THE NEW PARADISE FOR AMBITION TO MEET SUSEGAD!

Freedom.

Two syllables.

But in a post-Pandemic world, it’s a palliative.

The new addiction. Freedom suggests that what can be imagined, can be real. It explains why we see such a mass exodus from Mumbai and Delhi to this spectacularly blessed, unambitious state. Because that’s what Goa is – a ‘state’ of mind.

When cities are on pause mode, Goa beautifies that ‘pause.’ Sans apology.

I put GOA to the test. While soul-shattering fear blanketed my beloved city, and yet another emergency lockdown was declared – which I like to define as ‘an urban ecosystem in rigor mortis’ – I grew metallic wings. 

Tickets to hippie heaven were going for pocket change, as this was a wickedly hot season, and I found a pristine gated apartment complex in which to rent my own 1BHK space. I was going to explore my Pandemic-escape zone on the fly. No real plan.  Sure I had friends around – a good number of Mumbaikars are now in Goa with semi-permanent agendas. But I wasn’t relying on them to be around. I was sure that Assagao – my posh neighbourhood recommended by a multiple award winning film-maker buddy who has moved to Goa from Mumbai – would offer me plenty to do, and I wasn’t disappointed. He tempted me by saying, “I tried being creative in Mumbai… but somehow I was constantly feeling a sort of angst there. In Goa, you are guilt free at all times – even when lotus eating or just staring at the sunrise. You just feel so much at peace… and being idle is a virtue!”

ASSAGAO: A ‘FASHIONABLE’ ADDRESS

Entering Assagao, my chosen residential area,  I saw Gulabo, the pretwear label boutique by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, a lovely ceramic studio, the Mustard Café, Gunpowder restaurant flanking a super-eclectic The Peepul Tree boutique. So much to see when temperatures cooled down, post 4.30pm.  To the right of my ‘home’ was Rangeela The Concept Store which again, had international ‘settlers’ creating prêtwear that swore its allegiance to Mother Earth. In fact, all the produce in The Peepul Tree also said the same – the buzzwords were ‘100 percent sustainable’, ‘organic’, ‘natural fibres’, and so on. I happily endorsed a fusion look in this genre of sustainable chic, and eventually bought the look by Gado Gado (a Dutch-designer’s turquoise peasant top) and Tia (a British designer’s crushed cotton tube skirt).  

These designers were hopefully practicing the ‘fair trade’ that their labels talked of, and like me, wanted the earth to live, breathe, thrive side-by-side with bespoke fashion. EVERY posh boutique was about being sustainable. In fact, the flotsam international visitors were so partial to anything eco-conscious, I even discovered a rustic café at Mojigao Eco Village, set on top of a hill… and the side of the hill had straw roofed villas for rent. I read on the table menu that this space has six luxury cottages and is the ideal place to connect with local artists, natural therapists and well being instructors.

While the heat and humidity made lunching out a slightly daunting idea, (for some reason, no bar or restaurant in Goa believes in air-conditioning!) But the ambience in these open air dining spaces and the low density of people, made it Covid-19 safe.  

Even the loos had eco-conscious reminders – one poster said, ‘Save Assagaon, from a village of flowers to a concrete jungle, medicinal springs to chlorinated pools, bird calls to traffic sounds, heritage village homes to unsustainable cement villas….” The poem ended with a plea: Do not support builders who add to the desecration of Assagao’s natural beauty.”

It’s tragic but on Carmichael Road in Mumbai, the same battle has been going on to hold on to a wild forest plot reserved for a public park, which the BMC has not cultivated for two decades and may in fact sell to a builder.

As the evening set in, I stepped out to take a walk. Right next to my gated residence was No Nasties – as the name suggests, another boutique claiming to be 100 percent sustainable – upcycled and recycled fabrics, natural dyes. After trying on a good number of smart casual tops, tube skirts, tunics, jumpsuits,  I headed for Gunpowder, where I ordered a Kingfisher curry and rice. Since the restaurant is nestled on a hillock covered by trees, the staff lit up a 100 percent non-chemical mosquito repellent, burning coconut mixed with mir. It felt so much more bearable even though it smoked up the spaces, when compared to the harsh chemicals we spray in Mumbai’s residential areas, floor by floor, poisoning our bodies while we attack nature’s little vampires.  

GOA IN THE ‘NEW NORMAL’

As mentioned, what fascinated me about Goa this time, is how it has become a beacon of hope for locked down ‘humanoids’ – definition: men-women merged with their work and android phones!

And I don’t just mean Pandemic lockdown. Our old normal was not much better. Remember how locked in traffic we would be?  How we wouldn’t dream of experiencing any highs, breathing city ‘traffucked’ air if we dared roll down the windows?

While it took me a while to appreciate the experience of riding pillion with a biker to access the more remote, less crowded beaches, I realised I was better off laughing at the slapping wind as we conquered time and space on that humble tech horse! Because it was air minus carbon monoxide. I was soaring under the open skies; thrilled right down to my cellular consciousness. It was like having a secret love affair with the way the world was meant to be… miles and miles of tree-scapes, earthy fragrances, not a concrete structure in sight.  I reveled in a sense of light flight as we moved at a speed that seemed slow for open roads, but fast for me; a girl who has hardly ever moved without the metallic body of a temperature controlled car around her.

This is not the typical ‘holiday’ high I came looking for. I thought I would be mobile in air conditioned Goa Miles cabs, meant to operate like our Olas and Ubers. But on landing the Goa Miles cabbie made it abundantly clear that his was a heroic job, because the Goan taxi mafia bashed up their cars and drivers, with unfailing regularity.  These taxi mafias wanted to monopolize tourist mobility at prices that suited them. A taxi strike soon followed, making it actually dangerous to be in a hired taxi. Hence my trusted Raju and his motorbike – a machine that had the legendary Rana Pratap’s warrior horse Chetak’s spirit, taking on as it did steep hills and swerving curbs without a gasp!

DOWNTOWN GOA: CASINOS, CAFES AND COLOUR

I did finally set out to meet my dear friend, the singer-yoga exponent Shweta Shetty, downtown in Panjim, along with her friend Lyndon Alves. The private taxi almost cost me the same as a one-way flight ticket… but it was a delight to see the flurry of neon lights emanating from downtown Casinos, evocative of Macao and Vegas, with mobile digital art screens flashing sexy table hostesses in plunging necklines and manicured tips… so ‘Mona Darling!:)

Panjim also surprised me with its ‘glam-urban’ vibe, and a flyover that looked much like Mumbai’s Sea Link, only floodlit with rich, shifting colours. Downtown Goa really felt like a celebration, a younger and happier version of Maximum City.

A little away from the waterfront, Panjim was a history book waiting to be read. My friends mentioned that entire lanes here had old Portuguese villas and quaint little chapels – unlike our fading Kala Ghoda, this heritage district is painted in high-pitched kitschy pinks, oranges, whites, lime greens – well maintained, vivacious, life-affirming hues.

So Lyndon, Shweta and I met at Antonios, a cosy tapas bar, with no air-conditioning of course! But it was a cheery space, and one met quite a few Mumbai advertising honchos and film-makers floating about here, happily inebriated and expatriated!

“In the new world order, everyone who has a choice is looking for less crowded, nature-based, easy living destinations. Fortunately most of the people who’ve moved to Goa are ones passionate about life and what they do in and with their life, [the earlier settlers] having started with the hippie culture. This has left Goa with some amazing artists, artisans, food connoisseurs from around the country and the globe, giving Goa outstanding lifestyle options,” he shared. Goa veteran Lyndon Alves, is a stalwart from the tourism industry who moved here from Bombay in 1992.  When we chatted about the urban Indian Pandemic ‘hippie’, he laughed and conceded,  “Yes, the Pandemic has brought in a new trend of domestic travellers, who’ve discovered a charm we’ve dreamt of all our lives. Working from anywhere, with today’s tech, you are at liberty to chill, to mix business and pleasure!”

Lyndon often invites his friends to view Goa from his unique lens, as he has witnessed the many new facets to life here since the 90s, a time when Goa was an international magnet, and enjoyed bulk tourism from Scandinavia.  I was told Lyndon was recently coordinating hundreds of dancers for a feature film shoot, and quizzed him about this: “So yes, since we do event and festival support, we also provide the same for movie films, an area where Goa seems to have become a huge destination of late!”

The social chronicler in me perked up hearing this. So is Goa, under its sylvan beaches, swaying palms and intoxicating sunsets, soon going to be the Neo-Bandra? Slowly, a new picture unraveled itself… almost every major designer, creative entrepreneur and even movie star was ‘self-exiled’ in this deceptive paradise.  Pooja Bedi has bought a house here, and has become a serial wellness entrepreneur, with her Happy Soul boutique at Anjuna.  The Khan family of Mumbai have a home here. Educationist Karan Gupta has practically moved here. Award-winning film-maker Veneet Raj Bagga of Onions, a creative content boutique, has moved here from Mumbai.  In fact I was told by Ms Bedi, that there is a WhatsApp chat group called Goa Stories, where this tribe of ‘neo-urban hippies’ “keep exchanging notes on a host of things like how to find plumbers, carpenters… to…where to hang out in the evening!” Pooja stuns me with her entrepreneurial streak – she seems busier than ever!

BIG CITY DREAMS IN THE NEW GOA?

Sure there is still the physicality and freshness of a resort state here, but Goa is fast-adapting to where the bucks are coming from. “There are shacks filled with people from Punjab demanding Bollywood music and chicken tikkas!” laughed my friend Shweta, last December, just after she had returned to Mumbai from Goa. This was a cultural travesty for the proud people of paradise, but somehow, they were coping.

I touch upon the eco-consciousness that is stamped onto most forms of consumerism seen here… and Lyndon shares, “Goa hasn’t lost its original free-spirited and alternative lifestyle options, it’s just the topography that has changed. One still has the discerning long stay traveller, who is here for everything from sun tanning to learning art and dance forms to dedicated yoga and wellness experiences. Goa does have the distinction in the country, of having the most experiences to offer, from the biggest music parties to the offbeat organic wellness holiday, a lot has to do with the passion and following of the people who run and offer these experiences.”

GOA AS PARTY CAPITAL OF INDIA

And of course, Covid-19 notwithstanding, Goa is still where you will find some degree of partying. When Lyndon says there are such ‘scenes’ at Anjuna, it becomes clear that Goans are not so ‘infected’ with paranoia. “Partying, socialising, or whatever one calls it, has been in the veins of the state since the Portuguese ruled. The arrival of the hippies put an international stamp on Goa as a fun/leisure destination and today, Goa stands out as the party capital of the country. One can’t go wrong when you bask in the best commercial and street talent from around the globe showcased on beachfront fresh air venues! There are little gatherings that happen throughout the year, even in the monsoons; not all are big huge events but all have a charm of their own in little known venues or even houses tucked away on a hilltop or in a mini forest.”

If you ever read Lisa Ray’s book Close to the Bone, you can vicariously experience the pool party at the late designer Wendell Rodrick’s home where skinny dipping became de rigueur! His illustrious guests all floated in the body nature gave them, perhaps a bit smoked up, delighting in the surreal intimacy.

IF LOCALS WERE TO GET VOCAL…

I asked Lyndon why I saw a little sadness and sometimes even resentment in the eyes of waiters, shopkeepers, even staff at the airport. He felt it was perhaps because they were unhappy with the sense of entitlement that rich North Indians conducted themselves with.  “Goan’s are discontented with the influx of traffic and sadly said but true, it’s the attitude of the north Indian that has brought in some discontent in areas that have been over-built and over populated by people who showcase a ‘I don’t care’ attitude. This ‘you know who I am’ attitude that’s so predominant in north India, doesn’t work here; everyone knows the authorities right up to the local minister and we don’t misuse that, for sure people from other parts of India displaying this attitude won’t go down well, either.”

When I leave Goa, I leave with enduring images of young Pandemic escapees sitting with their laptops at the Dunes shack, at the gorgeous Mondrem beach, maskless, at liberty to look up and savour the most arresting sunsets. Semi-naked bodies waft in and out of these shacks, and nobody bothers to stare. Susegad, live and let live – Goa’s still got it, even if a beer costs nearly 300 rupees, a meal on average Rs 1000, and a cab ride to the airport can set you back by Rs 4000 if there is a cab strike! When in Goa, come with a prosperous mindset, and then get into your happy hippie vibe. Goa was my psychological vaccine against Mumbai’s tragedies and lockdown blues. Perhaps if we had a better tree-to-human ratio, this virus would not be so powerful in our midst. We have so much to learn from Goa that way… but it seems too late to welcome nature back here… Alibag is the closest we will ever get to an islet of tranquility and beauty. 

They say God smiles in Green, laughs in Blue, sleeps in White.  God smiles in Goa.

#goa #assagao #lockdown #escape #sangeetawadhwani

P.S: Goa is presently locked down, but as my resident buddy says, “you can’t lock down nature, so life is still beautiful ❤”

WHEN LOCKDOWN KEPT THE LADIES WHO LUNCH BUSY PREPARING THEIR OWN LUNCHES (AND LUNCHES FOR ALL ELSE IN THE FAMILY), A NEW REALITY DAWNED ON THEM ALL. LETS CALL IT RECLAIMING DOMESTIC MICROMANAGEMENT! SANGEETA WADDHWANI OFFERS A SIDE GLANCE

Welcome to the world of desi memsahibs who were accustomed to EVERYTHING ..from their diet eccentricities to their children’s socks and shoe wearing rituals…being taken care of by a full Armageddon of hired help. Suddenly when this support system evaporated due to C19 regulations…how did the poor ladies survive? What earth-shattering discoveries lay ahead? Let’s become the fly on the wall…with no Shantabai to swat it..we will have a lovely candid peep.

It was intense. Discovering the lint on the toaster, which part time help never bothered to clean out. Then, the curious, Sisyphysian journey of eliminating dust on surfaces, because dust in Mumbai seems to return on the hour (wish it was inflation-proof gold dust! Suited to our Diwali mahoul).

The revered ladies had to put away their solitaires and take charge. Suddenly they got to see their children’s OTHER side. Not the bratty “mamma buy me this” but the side that sits in class…struggling to stay on course in front of a screen. Suddenly the posh lady of the manor was in her apron, then sitting with her young ones co-attending school to make sure her children wouldn’t goof off… a double shift for sure.

Women of means were suddenly domesticated goddesses with a gigantic epiphany…perhaps leaving their maids in charge of EVERYTHING in the domestic space, was not the best way to operate.

Dyson vacuum cleaners became the new Shantabai. It was so empowering, not to have to wait till noon for the chuta kaamwaali to show up, and get the house gleaming and free of even dust mites before 11.00am Then, Mrs Y discovered that her detergent box was lasting a good six months, which was not the case when the ‘Shantabais” ruled the supply chain. She remembered being asked to get cooking oil and detergent virtually every month!

Forgotten recipes known to family elders were rediscovered. Healthier than the standard fare churned out by her part time cook. And the ladies who would otherwise pay through their noses to get health advice from celebrity nutritionists started to ‘rediscover’ the pharmacy hidden in their supermarkets…buying seasonal fruit and vegetables, buying new blenders to experiment with new healthy protein shakes and green smoothies (the maid never mentioned that the old blender was falling apart!)

Grocery shopping was the new holy grail …a divine responsibility when no vendors could bring everything to one’s doorstep. It was exciting too, to see the wave of new healthy options for EVERYTHING..from nachini crackers to oatmeal cookies to vegan ice cream. This neo-discovery replaced the mad ‘buy or die’ rush to the Michael Kors or Jimmy Choo sales. “I havent touched my four wardrobes of designerwear since March 17!” rued my neighbour. I sympathized deeply but told her she was glowing and looked so much more engaged with her kids and her home. She agreed.

Yes, moments of insanity did overtake the lovely ladies from time to time. Tweaking one’s own eyebrows was too painful. And how did one wash the toilet bowl? One lady noticed that there were baby chipkalis (lizards) flourishing in her kitchen which her bai considered a de facto part of life and possibly lucky too! Mrs D quickly took to keeping sticky pads (on the advice of her grocery guy) to trap them. And then she would shudder when picking up those traps and putting them into her bin, seeing the tiny lizards dead and half eaten by invisible roaches who ate their meat exposing their skeletons in some places!

Imagine..so much ecological drama in the domestic space! Roaches, ants, lizards, the occassions bat paying a visit to grab a banana..and an ancestral crow also paying morning visits to perhaps gloat on Mrs D’s hapless, maid-less Universe!

But now since the building is allowing part timers to return..

Some of the ladies want them to realise they are not so indispensable. “My maid would talk like a saasu ma,” says a single friend. “She would sometimes be cocky and rude, filling my mornings with negativity, not letting me focus on my work chats etc. She felt I would hang on to her for dear life. I have told her not to come back as am now pretty used to a DIY lifestyle…she can return if she zips it up..her big mouth!”

I myself had a part time maid come to talk about a possible position in my house, and she was shocked to hear that I could pretty much take care of my naashta if she didn’t come on time! I can’t get over her expression!

Maids are not always stalwarts who truly care about their boss Madame. That time seems well gone. One of my other neighbors, a single woman, staying with an aged father, was constantly at the mercy of her father’s Maharastrian bais…they tried to convince him that she was “dangerous” and after his life! The poor old man was fully convinced by their nonsensical ‘framing’ ..they actually made the floors slippery and accused her of doing so.

So as our beloved bais take centre stage in our kitchens, let’s beware…ensure your spaces are hygienic, your ingredients are seasonal, your fridge is being cleaned, your resources are being optimized.

It’s finally true…we all are far more connected to our hearths than they will ever be… I am still asking myself, to bai or not to bai?

SANGEETA WADDHWANI ASKS THE ‘UNASKABLE’ QUESTION…GIVEN OUR LORD SHIVA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS..IS NARCOTIC CONSUMPTION MEANT TO BE A PART OF OUR COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE? IS BOLLYWOOD’S AFFINITY WITH THE NARCOTICS TRADE INEVITABLE…?

Ladies and Gentlemen…

It’s finally out there..over 150 big ticket Bolly names are embroiled in the drug ‘racket’ which Arnab Goswami tells us is not just illegal but is funding a business originating in Pakistan. Or China.

Years ago I was at an Inner Engineering programme conducted by Sadhguru. The two day programme ended in a question and answer session and I was fortunate to get a microphone in hand (in an audience of thousands it is a privilege!)

I asked Sadhguru, “Ours is perhaps the only faith and mythicscape which has a deity like Lord Shiva, who is associated with narcotics and states of intoxication. How do we explain this? And being a writer who has frequented the private worlds and parties of the hyper elite, I have seen the same affection for chasing chemical highs… So what really makes this drug taking habit so endemic to human existence?”

Sadhguru seemed to have ‘got’ my personality and exposure down pat. His voice took on a worldly, cosmopolitan feel, his accent took on a global nuance, as he said, “Lord Shiva was a Maha Yogi, an alchemist, he did not need narcotics to arrive at an altered state of consciousness. His meditation gave him the mastery to visit other states. But, his followers, the gunas, were not as evolved, and they needed drugs to induce those states.”

Much to my fascination, Sadhguru took on the next part of my question in earnest as well. He revealed, “You know the connect between marijuana and the human brain goes back thousands of years, research has proved this. A scientist took millions of dollars from the US government after the Vietnam War (when soldiers used cannabis to ease the psychological pain of warfare), to study the history of humanity and our connection to hallucinogens. He was astounded to find that the human brain has a specific receptor for marijuana. Do you know we even store some of the chemicals from marijuana in our fat cells?”

While Republic TV has gone on a moral rampage about our drug-taking stars, it may make sense to step back a bit and look at the blatant references to drug laced living that exists from ancient archetypes to contemporary gods and goddesses. Read:Stars.

Many tycoons and fashion designers , wolves on Wall Street and of course film personalities are sniffing coke on the fleek. To them it’s a privilege that comes with status. Why single out female actresses when this illegal habit is prevalent in so many industries? Yes the channel insists that the racket helps fund attacks against our own army…believing the source to be from across our borders. That is a theory that needs to be proved.

I dont think the film industry has really shied away from its shady and murky ties with any phenomena..it had underworld funding before banks stepped in to fund films legally. It had been widely frowned upon by ‘good families’ as a hotbed of casting couches and lust-filled casting coups…so much so Karishma Kapoor fought against the Kapoor rule that their daughters and wives would NEVER act…a rule formulated to ‘protect’ the family’s women and their reputation. As for drugs! Jai Jai Shiva Shankar was a massive and unapologetic projection of a ‘bhanged’ out hero and heroine, as was Zeenat Aman’s psychedelic styling as she smoked hashish, and trilled a sexy Dum Maro Dum…

And who can forget Lisa Haydon…swaying somnabulistic ishstyle to Manali Trance? So if a video went viral showing a party at Karan Johar’s house, showing every other famous face glassy eyed and lost to the real world…why are we so surprised if the stars WhatsApp chats have them asking, “Maal He Kya?”

Maal se taal mila…get up to step yaar…Bollywood had trips sure… but we are forcing them to have guilt trips now. Lo Karlo Baat!

They never claimed to be clean, they even laid bare Sanjay Dutt’s drug-interfaced life for all to experience in 75mm…and they feel as children of a creative god, they have earned their other-worldly fixes. They are mediums of escapism…often looking to escape the vistas of their own hyper- realities.

Do we have it in us to see that it’s TV that is suddenly spinning the tale into desperate new TRP grabbing twists? Certainly the stars are not role models. They don’t want to be either. Years ago I had Shah Rukh Khan telling me, “I smoke, I drink, I hardly sleep, am hooked on black coffee….am hardly a role model.” (They actually called him Charlie in one movie…go figure that nonmenclature out!)

If we want to bust the drug cartel, let’s bust it across the rarefied echelons of society as well – not just accost one industry that anyways gets more than its share of hype and hyperbole. Bole toh?

WITH THE PANDEMIC KEEPING CASUAL DATIERS MILES APART..AND TOGETHER ONLY IN SPIRIT, DO WE SEE A SHIFT IN FOCUS? SANGEETA WADDHWANI PRESENTS AN OVERVIEW

Remember pop singer Britney Spear’s statement circa 2002, that she would save her virginity till she married? It was a counter-intuitive move, one that opposed the culture spawned by the sexualisation of everything in American advertising since the 60s, (remember that epic marketing term, the Sexual Sell?). Sex and sexiness sold products, movies, pop corn, soap, shampoo… and by default, sex became paramount in everything to do with the two genders. Britney in her tender teens was trying to reverse that tide, urging young women not to sleep with men casually, suggesting instead, that their boyfriends invest in the relationship, even commit, to earn that privilege. Well a poem from 1681, by poet Andrew Marvell, does reflect a world where all parties waited for the Big Bang, and this is a world we certainly don’t see anywhere now. We are truly one with the animal kingdom, free falling, wild and free. Or are we? Let’s visit Marvell’s epic poem,

To My Coy Mistress.

Had we but world enough and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love’s day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the flood,
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires and more slow;
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.But at my back I always hear
Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found;
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song; then worms shall try
That long-preserved virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust;
The grave’s a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.

Yeah, we got the point. But let’s face it, romance died when casual sex entered the picture. Everything for a man became about getting laid, and while some women could handle the ‘casualness’ of this, many felt nostalgic for a time when love and romance had an existence outside the frameworks of physicality. When glances were shyly exchanged across a ballroom, time together felt so precious, when lovers enjoyed just being in each other’s presence, going for long walks or long drives, sharing experiences, basking in each other’s voices, feelings, thoughts.
With the global #lockdown keeping lovers at more than a healthy distance, the nuances of connecting through the higher chakras have seen a resurrection. Relationship coach Matthew Hussey has shared many a view on this, stating some relationships contained within a home are falling apart faster than you can say divorce, and it’s not a bad thing. It means perhaps you were really not meant to be together long term! As for those living away from a loved one, he actually feels the connection has the best opportunity to evolve – in an online avataar, through Skype, or Facetime, or other video chat platforms. The lockdown has created mental space where there would be daily distractions – work appointments, unending emails, traffic jams. Now that there suddenly seems to be so much time on hand, I recall Matthew saying something like, “This is the best time for your long-distance bond to develop, to grow and take a richer form.” He has a point. He is talking of a more sacred emotional bond, the kind that nurtures the soul, the kind that usually has no worldly strings attached.

While in cities around India, the novelty of casual sex is still spurring Indian mankind (do read Ira Trivedi’s book on the subject, India In Love: Sex, Marriage and Intimacy in Our Cities) I have encountered plenty of self-respecting career girls who look down on the Tinder style of finding their Mr Rights, where three dates without action, and forget love – your lust story also won’t stand a chance! Frankly, my male friends outside of Mumbai say that they don’t operate by such rules – if things happens organically, that’s ok… but they certainly won’t evaporate on a woman they care about or have gotten to like, just because she won’t ‘put out’ on a third date timetable.

Now if you visit the Netflix universe, the latest reality TV shows prove that there is some introspection going on about modern ‘love’. Yes I am talking about webseries like Too Hot to Handle, and Love is Blind. In the first, a merry ensemble of horny and physically attractive singles are thrown together in a retreat, where they stand to earn a total prize of U$100,000 if they abstain from physical contact. The rules do shift as they go along, and everytime any two people get physical – prize money gets deducted. Thrown into this great experimental mix, are masterclasses with coaches that make men and women in the group pair up and stare into each other’s eyes, wordlessly, to tune into the other’s energies. When I saw this as an exercise, I was reminded of that old Hindi film song, ‘Aakhon hi aakhon mein, bitayi saari raat!” See, this happened already in India! What this show was trying to do, was turn the clock back to a more prudent, more Victorian ethos, while its participants were hanging out in g-strings and tankinis and threadbare shorts for the gentlemen… hilarious.

The other show waxing of Andrew Marvellian values – Love Is Blind. The deal here is for men and women to enter closed pods and talk to potential soulmates, without seeing them. They talk till they are convinced they are made for each other, and then, MEET! But by then, the man has already proposed to the woman. Now THAT, is brave! All physicality enters the picture once they are engaged. Interestingly from the episodes I have seen, some couples sail through their bed-test, but other couples come unravelled. My honest view – the format is a bit extreme. Physical attraction has always been considered a key marker for interpersonal connection. And what feels extreme is that they are thrown into deep intimacy post this blind engagement….of course, each individual plays by his or her rules. It was interesting to see that one lady was hesitant to get into the ‘act’ as her fiance was a decade younger. He looked hurt and felt rejected. She had concerns about how his mom would react to her! And in another case, a gentleman has trouble getting into this zone, because he is bisexual… well a bit unfair not to tell the lady you proposed to ‘blind’!

But the trend is interesting. Where psuedo-Westernised India is on fire thinking every woman is a piece of meat – and a meal out should take every lady to the bedroom for dessert, Netflix content from the West is saying, ‘have we shortchanged our relationships? Reduced each other to commodities?’

A very adventurous Punjabi male friend of mine once bought into a Tantra weekend experience on an exotic island in Asia. And while they did beautiful things with beautiful men and beautiful women, it was far more in the realm of the sensual than he had expected. No bang bang… it was deep gazing, chakra based touching, even third eye stroking… Smell the matcha dudes. Even the Kamasutra advocates three days of talking between a couple before they even share a bed. Remember they were perfect strangers when they married back in the day, unless they were lucky to have a Gandharva Vivah (love marriage, or a marriage where a Kshatriya kidnaps a beautiful princess and forcibly marries her).

Plenty of love, and lust stories abound in our rich past… my journey thinking about what we have gained, what we have lost in our frenzied times, has just begun… But let’s see how our love stories evolve, in the Time of Covid.

#covid-19 #lovestories #luststories #andrewmarvell #kamasutra #loveisblind #toohottohandle #netlfix

SANGEETA WADDHWANI ON WHY HER BOOK, MIND THE GAP, SHOULD BE MANDATORY READING FOR ELIGIBLE INDIAN BACHELLORS

‘MAN’ DATORY READING

There was a time when it was ok to be your mamma’s boy. To grow up being the epicenter of your family and be treated like a little prince – just for having a penis. You were a naturally entitled creature, because society had assigned the role of a bread winner to you. You fed people. You were a born leader. It was a simple, unquestioned equation you had with your world.

Then something changed. Your little sister went to college, and somehow, proved that she had it in her to be a leader too. Although your parents wondered why in hell she would waste her precious maidenhood cramming scientific knowledge and economics statistics into her pretty little bride-to-be head, she persisted. And lo… did even better than you by winning an Honours certificate along with her graduation degree! (Not to mention she was no burden to anyone, having got into her international University through a scholarship, unlike you, who cost your parents a pretty fortune – a debt they will be paying off through most of your adult years).

Still, your mother brushed it all under the carpet when she met prospects for your sister – Asha. “Yes, yes, she is very good at cooking, and very fond of children, and takes such good care of us all!”  But then Asha ruined that game when she asked the prospective groom, “Isn’t your greeting card business going to be threatened by the internet, and e-cards?” The prospective groom didn’t like his future wife to be in any ways more-than-less-than equal. The extended family had designated an insignificant seat for her in front of the television, a good space where she would be seen and heard little, when not in the kitchen or sorting out the little domestic details of the household.

Pradeep as your name goes, remember how surprised you were when your sister Asha stood up, and called the driver and brisk walked to the driveway, abandoning her shocked (and rejected) suitor? Then it was your turn.

Girls were introduced to you, many looking rehearsed bringing that fabled cup of tea to you and your parents. But did it not surprise you when she had as many questions about your credentials as a prospective partner? She wanted to know,

Where did you study? How popular were you in school and college? What exactly was your vision for running daddy’s business? Why did she want to know all this? Because she had an excellent track record in the media industry, was a recognized name in her own right and didn’t fancy being with a guy doing little more than waving his father’s old money at the world, with inherited club memberships and little capacity to create his own way. In fact, she was highly amused when you didn’t have the courage to sit next to her, were hiding behind your father, who in turn suggested you sit and talk directly with your prospective ‘match.’

That was the 90s. Look at you now. Still on your own, thinking you can tempt women into your bedroom by taking them out to dinner – once.  But the girls around you can take you out to better dinners, FOC. They are not expecting such returns either. They just like how amusing you are to talk to. The whole anachronistic air around you. The words you use to describe successful women – “oh, she is a go-getter!”

From Pradeep, they laugh behind your back and call you Undeep. Because that is what your unique type of specimen has become. Redundant, since you fail to be your own person beyond the entitlements an earlier society bestowed on you. It may be too late for you to smell the coffee, (as none of those chai-bringing prospective brides ever became your soulmates), it’s best you read this book, and try and understand what disruptions and new dynamics the modern relating game – forget marital game – just relating game, are about!  

SANGEETA WADDHWANI SEES THE END OF AN ERA OF SUBTLE AND PROFOUND WORDSCAPES GIVING WAY TO THE DOPAMINE HITS OF IMAGERY…

As we see another year winding up, I ask myself to reflect on the discoveries I have made this year. I found that the art of writing is fast being replaced by a monstrous Armageddon of imagery. ‘Influencers’ were laughed at by seasoned print journalists from Australia, Panama, Japan and India, who I met on the #NorwegianEncore cruise ship inaugural sail I was a part of this past Fall. It’s like none of their visual storytelling had the quality and depth of what we were used to writing, observing, digesting.. Yet, it was these same influencers sharing front rows with seasoned magazine editors. More interesting, these bootylicious babes were wearing threads by the very same designer whose show they were covering. The line between coverage and promotion is non existent in their pixel paradises. Most get paid to ‘cover’ shows. Not only was print media looking old school with its demand for in depth reportage, filtered by qualified opinion and thoroughly fact checked content, it was losing out on the currency that hot babes sitting in the middle of the action had, with phones switched on record mode. (Let’s not forget the new visual vocabulary of boomerangs, visual effects from SloMo to glitter showers falling down the screen).

In a funny way, we are going full circle. My years attending the #jaipurliteraturefestival in Rajasthan, showed me that India’s ancient storytelling culture was hinged on images painted on cloth or sometimes on temple and cave walls. Kathakas or storytellers would narrate their epics while standing in front of elaborate scrolls which illustrated the characters and moments from these stories. They travelled with these scrolls, which overtime became infused with the Spirit of the divine story, protecting and providing for the wandering narrators.

This was our precursor to cinema. The stories were sometimes filled with song, with narrators expressing the joys or pathos that their characters underwent. There was a great tradition of passing both stories and superstitions, dance drama poetry and even dance forms through oral instruction. It was as if at our core, we believed so deeply in the power of oral transmission, that it’s the reason we have the largest film industry in the world! All our great epics and musical arts have passed down throughout time, from guru to shishya.

From the Age of Truth (Satya Yuga) to the Age of Kaliyuga)… where is the fine art of writing going,? It’s struggling to survive…in our Insta captions…in those micro tales we share on FB. Like the digital revolution has summarized so many feelings in emojis, the email revolution was the first to wipe out the three dimensional character of handwriting, instead offering typed out pixelated alphabets which flattened feelings of hope, joy, into bytes of data that were tossed out to travel far, wide and indiscriminately.

A golden age of print journalism may rise again when humanity seeks her own soul. When the quest for truth becomes a new thirst. When quality narratives are yearned for over the thrill of immediacy and sensation.

Bye bye 2019…..we put our year’s last issue of HELLO! to bed feeling a sense of relief – we lived another episode of hard working, curated and brand worthy content.

SRIDEVI LIVES ON THROUGH HER GEN Y PROGENY…OR DOES SHE? SANGEETA WADHWANI REVISIRS HER ENCOUNTER WITH THE SENSUAL DANSEUSE AND ACTRESS JAHNVI KAPOOR

“Whatever you do, you must give it your 100 per cent,” were the words of wisdom that Sridevi offered to her little brood of two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi.

My recent encounter with Janhvi Kapoor for the HELLO! cover story was such a fascinating showcase of a new generational dynamic in showbiz.

While in their mother’s day a young lady was discreet in love, attired with subtle sensuality (of course Sri’s almond-shaped eyes and blazing contours in her iconic blue saree rendition of ‘Kaati Nahi Kat Thi Ye Din Ye Raat’ performance in Mr India was sensuality amplified by Sri’s Southern oomph)…in Janhvi’s time your Kate Moss-inspired body speaks louder than your words and your Insta presence insists on a wardrobe that even royals of yore would blush before flaunting!

Today’s celeb-bachchas can figure out their facial angles, diets, endorsements, and possibly even how many more ‘takes’ they feel they need for a shot to click in their heart of hearts!

However, chatting with a fully scrubbed down and deglamourized Janhvi (minus the make-up arsenal with which she posed for our first cover shoot), in the comfort of her vanity van, one saw a little girl again, who had a sweetness and a sense of humility very reminiscent of her mom.

On set, Janhvi, while shooting Dhadak, admitted that she was not allowed to review her takes. Not all her reservations about how well she had put herself into the scene, were listened to. She had learned to trust in a director, Shashank Ghosh. Today, she counts him as one of her closest friends, along with co-star Ishaan and Karan Johar.

Is Janhvi as nuanced an actress as her mother, who embraced her character in Sadma right up to the housewife in English Vinglish with such fidelity, that somehow she melted right into them…and into her audience’s hearts. Is she? The question hangs over Janhvi’s head like the Domoclese sword… every time she dares to give a shot. Acting exposes her to a live assembly of technicians, professionals who have a history watching the long haul athletes of the craft.

But Janhvi is advantaged that way. She got golden insights into what makes a role, a film, outlive its time.

Janhvi admitted that Sridevi was a goddess in this art of total immersion into the life and world of another individual….and it had a spiritual dimension. “My mom had shared that to empathise with a character, you had to be open, be humble, be pure of heart. You can’t be carrying bitterness or frustration around. Acting to mom, was like breathing. I don’t think there was any method to it for her, it was instinctive. You know how are bodies know how to breathe… her body knew how to act. She would watch something or read a script, and just break it down in her head.”

The family had seen it’s share of ups and downs financially, and this too, has clearly shaped the young actress. She will never take a producer’s money for granted and move around with an expensive entourage of personal spot boys, make up and hair people, secretaries…and what have you. At least that is the way it looks now, with Janhvi having witnessed the kind of time-finance vampires stars in Bollywood easily become.

An actress’s networth is so tied up with screen presence, (And Sri had once shared in a candid moment, ‘ I am toh ready to be size zero!:’))…that I was highly amused when Janhvi shared that she was struggling to PUT ON WEIGHT!

“I am supposed to have two spoons of ghee every morning…That’s my problem..putting on weight. I am supposed to gain five kilos for my next role…and have to eat SEVERAL times a day. Earlier, weight training helped me gain weight. But after a back injury, every exercise form was making me loose weight!”

Therein lies a struggle…

I left Janhvi feeling I have just met a little girl who misses her mom dearly, a little girl who may seem to have the world potentially at her feet, but who will still be looking up to the statuesque legacy of her immortal ma Sri, goddess of the hearth and the hearts of millions.

It may be a year since Sridevi mysteriously drowned in a bath tub…a year already….but she lives on also in the temple she had set up in the Kapoor home, the same temple that Janhvi’s father went to offer a prayer of thanks after seeing Dhadak, with tears in his eyes.

For a little girl who has grown up around the movies, this was the ultimate affirmation that her performance had touched her daddy dearest. Janhvi the actress, had arrived….in her very own home.