To the moon Page 26

  Soon after there was this awesome guy Mr P who just randomly offered to help me manage my blog and make small tweaks and add widgets when I needed. He did it for free! Later, I commissioned the first iteration of my anime for Rs 8,000 and it was off to the races…

  Once things started blowing up, Nowshad jumped into the mix and took over the technical aspects of the blog and I deep dove into social media. The secret to digital life is treating it like real life. Be present. Be there. (Or Be Square!)

  PS. Thank you for always being such a lovely supporter, your comments on Instagram have always meant the world to me.

  15. @ikomalmistry: Was there any point in your career or personal life where you felt just alone, really alone? How did you deal with it?

  Oh, so many times! Everyone has those heart-wrenching breakups where you think your heart will implode. I remember sitting at the radio station crying my eyes out between links for hours and hours and hoping my listeners couldn’t hear it in my voice. But then something incredible happened. Someone sent me a message saying, ‘Are you okay?’ And I decided I’d tell everyone I had just had a terrible breakup and my heart was broken, and I was going to play sad love songs for an hour to torture myself till midnight. It turned out to be cathartic and everyone shared their breakup stories and how they dealt with the pain. It felt very healing in the end. Lesson learnt: You’re never really alone unless you want to be.

  16. @miss_catttitude Getting into the industry is difficult, and making it big there is like a knock on the door of impossible. In the process, you must have met men and women from different walks of life, some nice, some others rude, how did you deal with them?

  Over the years, I have noticed a change in the way people talk to me and at first it used to make me mad that they didn’t before. But then I thought about it and realized that it’s all a matter of perception. When I meet celebrities, I have so many things to ask them and when I meet a follower or a fan do I take the time to ask them as many questions? Now I do. At least I try, but I don’t always know enough to ask about. And I guess that was the same case for me.

  I find that the best judge of character however is to watch how people speak to the people they don’t think matter, when they think nobody is looking. It never killed anyone to say thank you, so remember the nice guys (and girls) are the ones who do.

  Bonus question!

  17. @Tina Bedi: If you could come away at this point in your life, and say I have learnt 3 good lessons, what would they be and why?

  The only way to live is to have a dream and the passion to pursue it.

  There are signs everywhere. Learn to follow yours.

  In the end all that will matter is how you loved and who loved you, for you.

  I guess that about wraps it up. Dare I say this is only the beginning? Aage aage dekho, hota hai kya! #Jalwa

  I will always remember this moment when I wrote the last few lines of my first book. (Nowshad has promised me that we’re getting a brand-new bookshelf just to have somewhere to put it.) I am so very grateful for this extraordinary life and for you, my dear reader, who cared enough to deep dive into it. I hope you found a little piece of you, in the many pieces of me.

  ‘May the odds be ever in your favour.’ – The Hunger Games

  MissMalini’s Bollywood Bucket List

  Look wistfully out of the window of a car with a heart-wrenching song playing in the background. Tears and rain optional. (Too many options, but I’m thinking a Priyanka Chopra-style and ‘Tujhe Bhula Diya’ in the background on my Saavn app)

  Run down an icy slope into the arms of my lover in a red chiffon sari. (Sridevi, any movie. Preferably Switzerland)

  Stand at the bow of a cruise liner and scream, ‘I’m the Queen of the world!’ with my hands up in the air just like Leonardo in Titanic.

  (I know it’s not Bollywood but it’s close enough! Hopefully completed on my fortieth birthday on The Voyager of the Seas. #MMBirthdayCruisers)

  Dance in the rain. (Kajol in DDLJ)

  Ride around lying down in the sun, on the back of a tempo on a huge pile of hay in the sunshine (Madhuri Dixit in Dil).

  Dance to a choreographed sequence in a nightclub with at least two Bollywood stars (Alia Bhatt in Student of the Year).

  Do the ‘kabhi disco main jaaye’ dance with Govinda (DONE THAT, B*ITCHES!) Thank you, DJ Aqeel and Sirkus (Raveena Tandon in Bade Miya, Chote Miya).

  Ride a horse cart with Aamir Khan – okay, I’m pushing it – maybe just ride a horse cart around rural India singing ‘Elo Ji Sanam Hum Aa Gaye’. (Raveena Tandon in Andaaz Apna Apna)

  Take a road trip to Goa with my besties. (Dil Chahta Hai) I’ve done train and bus, road trip pending!

  Dance the flamenco somewhere in Spain (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara).

  Try the Tomato Festival (Le Tomatina) in Valencia with my BFFs. It sounds just like Holi (Katrina Kaif in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara).

  Speaking of Holi – enact out the entire ‘Rang Barse’ sequence (Rekha and Amitabh in Silsila).

  Do an item song – does me being Kareena Kapoor in Don for a BBlunt commercial count? I think it does Adhuna, Tom and Shaun, I think it does!

  Have someone say, ‘Jaa Simran jaa, jee le apni zindagi’ and run along a train while someone pulls me on board. (Kajol in DDLJ) – kinda did this one in Gstaad…just that it was the wrong station and nobody pulled me on board.

  Go on a cruise! (Priyanka Chopra in Dil Dhadakne Do) #BirthdayGoals #MMBirthdayCruisers woohoo!

  Live in a house on the beach (Deepika Padukone in Break Ke Baad).

  Road trip through Europe (Kajol in DDLJ).

  Dance on a table to ‘Desi Girl’ (Priyanka Chopra in Dostana).

  Play badminton in 1970s gear to the tune of ‘Dhal Gaya Din’ *tak* (Leena Chandavarkar in Humjoli).

  Drink tea from the same cup with my bestie (Aamir Khan and Salman Khan in Andaz Apna Apna).

  Have a big fat Bollywood wedding sangeet. Check! Done that. Way too many movies to name but there’s a video of mine on YouTube titled ‘Malini & Nowshad’s Wedding Trailer’. Go see!

  Dance on broken glass to ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ in a villain’s lair (Hema Malini in Sholay).

  Do the ‘best friend’ hand shake and say ‘You’re my best friend, yaaaar!’ (Kajol & SRK in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai).

  Be rescued by the hero. Although I honestly believe what Tom Robbins has to say on the matter, ‘We are our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.’ – Still Life with Woodpecker.

  Team MissMalini’s Bollywood Encounters

  I thought it might be fun to get a window into my Bollywood world through my team’s eyes too. Here are the stars of Team MM and their favourite celebrity encounters while working at MissMalini Entertainment!

  Alisha Fernandes – Lifestyle Editor

  It was just another day at Lakmé Fashion Week and I was with Hrishitaa and Natasha Kishore. We were waiting impatiently at the St Regis coffee shop to get our interview with Tarun Tahiliani or as he’s better known, Gru from Despicable Me. Now, because the interview was for Saavn, we knew audio quality would be even more of a priority and weren’t at all pleased to hear the din of clattering crockery and cutlery. But in addition, just as our luck would have it, the pianist started to play as soon as we hit record.

  In a generous move, TT (Gru) ferried us up to his suite so that we could get a better interview. This was all great of course, because he’s quite the story-teller but the most memorable part happened when he asked one of his team to take a picture with all of us MM girls, for posterity you know? He put his arms around us, asked if we were ready with our picture-perfect smiles, counted us down and on three, and just swung sideways so that all of us collapsed in a heap on the bed behind us, in SPLITS.

  Divya Rao – Bollywood Blogger

  I had never been on a train before and the first time I took one in India was with Shah Rukh Khan. We were in the same compartment for 18 hours – going from Mumb
ai to Delhi for a film’s promotion, and it was surreal! Every time the train stopped, his fans would throng the station and scream out his name, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Firstly, I never thought I’d find myself on a train ever, and secondly, I didn’t ever expect to find myself on a train with Shah Rukh Khan.

  Eshwar Log – Makeup Artist

  I’d always prepare myself to avoid getting star struck, but alas, no matter how hard I tried, I always would. Amitabh ji, Sri Devi, Maduri Dixit, Prabhu Deva, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and the list of celebrities whose personalities and charm blew me away goes on.

  Hrishitaa Sharma – Fashion Blogger

  I tell this story with absolutely zero exaggeration. It was a Lakmé Fashion Week day when Ranbir Kapoor walked the ramp for Kunal Rawal and I went to interview them post the show. Ranbir looked very pumped about the show and Kunal’s collection, and as I began the interview and introduced myself and them, Ranbir hugged Kunal. Seeing my short window of opportunity, I did chance pe dance and told Ranbir that I felt left out since he only hugged Kunal. Little did I know at that point, that I dreamt every girl’s dream and made it come true in that very second. Ranbir quickly held me and snuggled into a nice hug which lasted the entire 10 minutes of the interview!

  Mallika Kulkarni – Key Account Manager Sales & Marketing

  Shaggy’s songs were a key feature on my teenage playlist, I’ve even taken a BuzzFeed quiz on decoding the lyrics to ‘It Wasn’t Me’. I got to interview him before his India tour last year where he performed in Mumbai after 20 years! Although it was a phone interview, and I never got to meet him, it was honestly SURREAL just to be able to speak to him. We chatted at length about competing with Justin Bieber, getting Priyanka Chopra to star in his videos and his undying love for butter chicken and garlic naan. All I can say is, somewhere my thirteen-year-old self had died and gone to heaven.

  Meriam Ahari – Director of Fashion & BeautY

  My most memorable experience is not with a Bollywood starlet per se, but isthe social media mogul Malini Agarwal.

  So, what is Malini really like when all eyes aren’t on her? Selfless. On our first night out together, I decided to carry a clutch. Like any good drunk on the dance floor, I flail my arms around a lot. I inadvertently called out the poor choice of accessory sandwiched underneath my armpit, clearly hindering my moves. Without hesitating, Malini grabbed my clutch and held onto it for the rest of the night. Even when I insisted on taking it back – horrified at the thought of my new boss carrying around my purse all night – she wouldn’t budge. It was clear that Malini wanted me to let loose and enjoy myself.

  Kind-hearted. You never know what you’ll find at one of Malini’s epic house parties, but one thing you can be sure not to, is a wallflower. Even at the stuffiest events, this social butterfly is the queen of bringing people together.

  Thoughtful. One evening I told Malini I was bummed that my boyfriend had to spend his birthday in London for work and that I wished I could surprise him. By next morning, my WhatsApp was filled with contacts for balloon and edible arrangement delivery services that Malini had asked her sister Shalini (who’s based in London) to recommend.

  These random acts may seem trivial, but most can attest that the foundation of any relationship worth its salt, are ‘the little things.’

  Mike Melli – CRO

  Malini and I were in her green room during a shoot and she got two surprising phone calls back-to-back. One from Kangana and the other from Hrithik. Rumours were flying between these two at the time, and both wanted their stories to be heard, but not in a public forum. They spoke separately with Malini, revealing private details and emotions. This was not stuff that they wanted to get out in the press, and yet here they were telling a celebrity blogger EVERYTHING. But they knew they had nothing to fear. Anything they told Malini in confidence would never find its way into our publication; she wouldn’t even tell me, her most trusted adviser, who was sitting right next to her. I knew then that our effort to build trust among the celebrity class had paid off. In conversations with investors and business magnates, we always said that Malini was a ‘friend to the stars’, but that day it became clear that she’s not just a ‘friend’, she’s a peer.

  Natasha Patel – Senior Beauty Blogger

  Shraddha Kapoor randomly DM’d me and told me how she watches my tutorial.

  That time celebrity skin expert from LA, Nurse Jamie READ MY BLOG and loved it.

  When makeup gods like Mickey Contractor and Sonic Sarwate not only recognize me, but come up and say hey to me. I love everything about those two!

  When Mira Rajput came to our office for an interview and asked where ‘the girl who does makeup videos’ was. Small moment but very happy she knows me as the girl in makeup videos.

  Neha Jambotkar – Director of Client Servicing

  While working on my first client campaign, Ola, Malini asked me who I would want to meet. I said Kareena! She looked at me and said, ‘I promise I will make you meet her by the end of this year.’

  Two months later, we were at Taj Lands End in a room where Kareena was sitting across from me being interviewed. I was ecstatic JUST to see her. She looked bored with all the journos and I kid you not, when she saw Malini, she lit up. The interview got over and I thought we would leave immediately. It didn’t even strike me to check if I should like say hi to Kareena. But Malini called out to me and introduced me to her. The rest is a blur! I just remember mumbling some pathetic stuff to as Kareena smiled politely and took pictures.

  Nelly Wadia – Personal Stylist

  I thought I’d be most star struck by Shah Rukh Khan, when we saw him at 5 a.m., also because I absolutely love the star he is, but turns out I was gob-smacked when I saw Priyanka. It’s like I was in this daze of purple allure (because purple is my favourite colour I tend to associate it to my other favourite things) in this case a person. She was polite, funny and beautiful AF, I’m still really taken by the workaholic she is.

  Nowshad Rizwanullah – CEO

  I was excited. It was our biggest interview till date, and it would be airing on our first-ever TV show. Little did I know our 7 p.m. slot with Shah Rukh Khan would be delayed by 9 hours. I was ready to call it quits at 10 p.m. By midnight, I was seething. When our turn finally came at 4 a.m., I was ready to set fire to the building. That is, until we shook hands – and in an instant, all was forgiven. There are certain people blessed with almost supernatural charisma that is hard to explain, and impossible to escape. SRK is one such person. Before long, we were standing side-by-side, legs planted, arms spread wide, while he taught me the signature move that has made entire generations swoon. As we left, he kissed my hand and wished Malini and I a happy married life. I still don’t know what Jedi mind tricks he pulled on us that night, but from that moment on, one thing was abundantly clear: Shah Rukh is, without question, King Khan.

  Priyam Shah – Bollywood Blogger

  One day, while I was on leave from work and in Delhi for my friend’s wedding, I got a call from Rashmi asking me if I’d be able to take time out and interview Shah Rukh Khan for Dear Zindagi because he was in Delhi and they wanted to know if anyone from MissMalini was available. Mind you, SRK is the only man I have ever truly loved. When I met him, it was everything I ever imagined it to be but better. I told him about how much I loved him and how he is absolute magic. It easily was the best interview of my life and I still get comments and messages about it.

  Cut to a few months later, at Karan Johar’s launch of his book, SRK recognized me from a distance and gave me hug. Life made!

  Rishab Maliwar – Head DOP

  My best fan moment was when I met the most beautiful actress Deepika Padukone during her movie promotions for Finding Fanny. And after we got done with the shoot, our lovely boss Malini said, ‘Deepika our favourite boy Rishabh is a huge fan of yours.’ Deepika then came towards me and gave me a really tight hug. I could not b
elieve my luck.

  Samira Major – Creative Video Head

  The day Kalki Koechlin and Rajat Kapoor came to office and kept asking for MissMalini. I’m head over heels smitten by both by the way. I was blushing and giggling like a teenager and told them I was MissMalini. That lasted for like less than 5 minutes but it was GREAT.

  Shreemi Verma – Bollywood & Lifestyle Blogger

  We were shooting for the Dilwale promotional video. It was one of the first ‘concept videos’ we had created and it was scripted within half an hour. The idea was simple: Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol would bicker like best friends, while Malini has kept them on a conference call (without their knowledge).

  We reached Mehboob studios at around 4 p.m. The team consisted of Nowshad, Rashmi, Aayushi, Rishabh and me and we were all really, really nervous. It was the first time I was seeing the love of my life Shah Rukh Khan in person, enacting a scene which I helped in scripting. It was insane!

  We had to wait for hours (that’s how Bollywood works), but the moment he started reading our lines, he had this bright smile on his face. (Those dimples deserve another chapter of their own to be honest.) He was ready to shoot within minutes, he improvised, added his own lines, laughed a lot and the entire sketch took 10 minutes to shoot. I have always been a fan of SRK, but meeting him and working with him in a certain capacity made me realize what ‘charm’ means.

  Swagata Dam – Bollywood Blogger

  Having spent more than 6 years in the field of film journalism, I have met almost every superstar including Amitabh Bachchan and the Khans. And being a Bollywood lover, I have enjoyed all these rendezvous. But the day I met Rajinikanth is something that’s going to be etched in my memories forever. I had gone to Chennai for the grand music launch of his film with Deepika Padukone, Kochadaaiyan. A few sturdy bouncers had to escorts us to the venue as there was madness out there. People were chanting ‘Thalaiva Thalaiva’ and that was the first time I witnessed Rajini sir’s fandom in Chennai. We had been promised interviews with Deepika, A.R. Rahman and Shah Rukh Khan, who was a special guest at the event. But unfortunately, due to Juhi Chawla’s brother Bobby Chawla’s sudden demise, SRK and DP had to rush to Mumbai. Meanwhile, a media shy Rahman also left the venue. And that’s when Rajini sir and his wife came up to us, apologized for the turn of events and invited us to their home. YES! THE Rajinikanth invited me to HIS HOUSE. He had a long conversation with us and offered us food and buttermilk and posed for pictures with each of us. We had requested him for a group photo but he insisted that we take individual photos. I can never forget the smiling face with which he hosted us that afternoon.