MUMBAI MIRROR (June 15, 2012)

 

I remember meeting Farah Khan in Satyam Hall, Juhu. She told me that she was writing a film titled Happy New Year and if I were good, she would cast me opposite Shah Rukh Khan or Zayed Khan in the venture.

We kept in touch ever since. She kept telling me that she was still on the project though nothing had really moved ahead. Then one fine day, she called up to say that she was not making Happy New Year but another film titled Om Shanti Om. And this one would only be with SRK.

I still remember the day we drove down to Mannat to meet Shah Rukh. I couldn’t believe that I was actually entering the very place where people crowd outside to catch a glimpse of their favourite star. When Shah Rukh saw me, he simply said, “Darling, just sit back and relax.” Then everything started sinking in.

November 9, 2007 was a big day for me. A day before Om Shanti Om released in India, we were in London for the premiere. Farah, who was pregnant at the time, couldn’t accompany the rest of us. It was Shah Rukh who organised everything. Before leaving the hotel for the premiere at Empire Leicester Square, we had a group call with Farah.

It was the longest red carpet ever. Two years before the release of Om Shanti Om, I was in London for a holiday with friends. I had looked at the same venue and hoped that some day, I too get a chance to walk down the steps there. It was wish fulfillment.

The next day, Friday, we came back to Mumbai. I will never forget that day. More >