“Juice, please!” he hollered to Manu Kaka, his old faithful who went scurrying to do the needful. One of the perks of being an actor, a superstar actually, was that things were always getting done for you. You didn’t have to lift a finger. Not unless the director was shouting action! When Manu Kaka returned with his glass of fresh kale juice, he mentioned that Naresh, Arjun’s ex-security manager, had called. He was in the neighbourhood and wanted to introduce a friend to Arjun.
Arjun was immediately wary. Naresh had served Arjun well, but a kidney problem had forced him to retire. He had an annoying habit of boasting about his starry connection and would bring all sorts of oddballs to meet Arjun. Arjun knew that Naresh was probably extracting favours or even money from the “friends” he brought along to meet Arjun. He had not been in touch with Arjun for over a year. And Arjun was in no mood for a meeting with Naresh. He had too much going on to waste time on Naresh and his friend.
“Tell him, I am not at home,” Arjun shot back at Manu Kaka.
Manu Kaka stopped dead in his tracks and shot Arjun a reproachful look. Manu had been with him for the longest and he derived some strange pleasure when he saw “Saab” meeting regular people of his rank. It probably gave him a sense of dignity about his station in life. Manu Kaka’s look had the desired effect. Arjun was suitably guilt-tripped. Arjun shrugged. “Oh...all right. Tell him I will be on my way to the gym in 15 minutes. If he can make it by then...”
Arjun’s big problem at this time was that his wife Ragini and he were in the middle of another spat.
She’d found out about his silly little fling with a pretty young dance choreographer. Arjun had cast himself in the old mould, where keeping up appearances was important. To the general public he was a happily married superstar, loyal, loving and so on. He was not half of it. But he firmly believed in the mantra that there’s no harm pretending if it made you popular.
He needed to sort things out with Ragini before things got out of hand. He didn’t want any bad PR about his personal life taking away the focus from his new film. Or his countless brand endorsements slipping away with bad publicity. He had tried all the usual methods of appeasement. He had got her a beautiful Van Cleef & Arpels set. But, Ragini knew him only too well and had seen through his guilt-edged gifts. “I can’t be happy with fancy cars or an expensive jewellery set...I need respect and honesty,” she’d said as she left to spend a few days at the Juhu apartment they maintained as a private guesthouse.
Women! Here I am spending precious time trying to mend matters with my wife while I should be focusing on promoting my film, he thought to himself as he went about changing his T-shirt to get ready for the gym. This waste of mind-space is certainly not going to help my cause.
“I am going to the gym, Manu Kaka. I will meet Naresh some other time,” he called out. But, as he walked into his living room he saw that Naresh was seated there with a beefy-looking, balding, middle aged man who was reeking of cheap perfume.
“Arrey, Naresh, kaisa hai tu? Kabhi aaya?” Arjun asked, surprised at the promptness with which Naresh had landed up. “I was down at the gates...Manu said you are on your way to the gym. Why don’t we come along. That way we won’t hold you up.”
Reluctant at first, Arjun paused and considered the idea for a second. It sounded far better than having some random guy hanging around in his home. Within minutes they were in the car. Naresh sat with Arjun in the back seat of the spacious gleaming Bentley while the beefy stranger who had been waiting patiently without a word sat in the front. A quick introduction later, the stranger, whose name was Hamid, spoke up. His soft voice belied his build. “We are all huge fans of yours, Arjun-ji,” he said.
Arjun beamed with folded hands and mouthed his standard line, “It’s all His grace and the love of people like you.” This he said while rolling down the windows to blow away the smell of Hamid’s perfume which was getting on his nerves. He knew that the man wanted something. Arjun thought it best to get down to it right away. “Tell me, what can I do for you?”
“Arjun-ji, woh aisa hai ki main Bhai ke taraf se aaya hoon. He wants to meet you.” Arjun nodded distractedly. There was no doubt that Naresh was getting some money from Hamid for this. He turned to Naresh. “Why not! Please call Hamid and his brother to our next premiere.” Naresh nodded but his face was expressionless. Hamid spoke again, “Actually, Arjun-ji, Bhai ki beti aapki bahut badi fan hai. She is getting married next week and...She loves that song of yours...you know...“O meri soulmate, kar le mujhe date”...”
Arjun was a little annoyed. Hamid was turning out to be a real pest. But, Arjun maintained an even tone and did not let his irritation show. “I am a little busy with the promotions of my new film. I won’t have the time to attend the wedding. But do bring her to the premiere and I will meet her there,” Arjun replied. Hamid didn’t react to what Arjun had just said. Instead, he said, “She wants to dance with you at her wedding.”
Excerpted with permission from Folktales from Bollywood: Adventures in Tinseltown, Priyanka Sinha Jha, Om Books.
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