It’s hard to ignore him for he’s Bollywood’s mainstream, big-budget film-maker who’s movies (mostly with favorites like SRK), glitzy, emotional, with larger than life ‘shaadi’ sequences and a quintessentially Punjabi flavor, that are super hits & misses (like KKKG or ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’), he’s one who plays Santa to wannabe star-kids giving them breaks & hosts a famous Chat-Show called ‘Koffee with Karan’ !
His latest guests on K-w-K were a departure from the usual twosomes (star couples, hit screen pairs, siblings etc) and featured the charming Sharmila-ji and her star son, Saif Ali Khan and turned out to be delightful replete with spilling out of childhood pranks and mother-son banter ! Without becoming a spoiler for those who may see the episode I begin to wonder what’d happen if Karan invited my late Mom and me for a Tete-a-Tete over Chai (since we’re ordinary folks) !
It was commonly known that having been a teacher for many years, Mom was a keen talker. But with her hearing impaired, her listening skills took a back-seat as my late Dad would heartily agree. I’m sure that Mom would dominate the show and answer all the questions, including the rapid fire rounds. It’s not that she felt I couldn’t talk but had so many stories to tell that even K Jo would’ve run out of time and handed her the prize hamper !
My favourite one is from the time I was too small to argue my case and Mom extolled my virtues to the Principal who had refused to admit me to his College. She told the shocked Principal that he had to recognize talent from an very early age and her son would soon top the class ! Truth emerged triumphant, I got admitted and came first in class but to me Mom was the clear winner.
The second one was her favourite though I doubt it’s true. We were five siblings (four sisters and ekla bhai) and during the Durga Pujas, a local ‘Darji’ would be asked to come home and lots of clothes would be stitched for my sisters, considering there were four. Once I’d asked Mom ‘why nothing much was happening for me’ and she said ‘After they get married, everything is for you’ to which I had retorted ‘The way things look, I don’t think anything will be left for me’ !!
The third story (again embarrassing me), was when I was grown up and had two sons, who were very attached to their Grandpa specially. In 1998, when we celebrated our parents 50th Wedding Anniversary on our terrace in our Lucknow home, both the sons sang Dadu’s favourite ‘Saigal’ songs, and on demand I sang also. One friend came up to Mom and said brightly ‘Aunty, your grandsons sing so well’ ! Mom haughtily said ‘Yes, but they don’t sing as well as my Son does’ ! As the old saying goes ‘Mother Knows Best’ and we may add to that ‘She Says it the Best’ !
Working on Living 