From a 75-plus Gulzar, togged in full white, taking leisurely measured steps with his buddies, to a strapping young Sharman Joshi zipping by as he jogs, the sea-facing Carter Road promenade in Bandra in Mumbai offers you a celebrity every few steps. There are also Hyde Park kind of stops where someone will go up and strum a guitar or break into a song or put up a show espousing a cause. The floating traffic of pedestrians will pause, watch and move on.

Last Sunday, a brightly painted van stopped on Carter Road to enthuse members of the public to do the Jumping Zapak popularised by Farah Khan for the IPL. Her Sirf dekhne ka nahin line urging people to get up and do the Jumping Zapak every time a batsman hits a sixer has caught on like an item song. Judging by the number of unknown watchers who sheepishly joined in and reprised Farah’s steps with a self-conscious grin — on a crowded pavement — proved just how well the whole promotion has caught on.

Farah has found herself catapulted into celebrity league where her name and face, like Karan Johar’s, have become as recognisable as that of a big star. She understood her fame when she recently tweeted about the new BlackBerry Z10, wondering what it was all about, when the BB folks promptly got in touch with her and presented her with a brand new one. The irrepressible Parsi-Muslim mix now wisecracks, “What next? Should I tweet about a Merc or a Rolls Royce?”

Simultaneously, she tries to keep her feet on terra firma and those of her children too. She has dispensed with the starry routine of having maids and drivers escort them in swishy cars to school and back. Instead, she has got them to use the school bus like other normal children do. When the trio returned full of beans but sweating in the afternoon, she remarked, “No ac in the school bus but that’s fine. They’ll learn.” It’s a rare act in the status conscious film industry where maids, drivers and air-conditioned vehicles form pathetically important status symbols.

In such an atmosphere, all tut-tuts are aimed at the beleaguered BR House, a landmark in Juhu, built by the late filmmaker B.R. Chopra. With son Ravi seriously ailing for the last three years and the creditors baying for blood (over Rs 30 crore is owed to them), there are articles every few weeks about the family property being up for sale. Knowing Ravi and wife Renu, they have always wanted to dispose of their many properties to pay off their creditors and have been awaiting only a green signal from the courts to move in that direction. But every once in a while there are reports that the iconic BR property is in the market. There is nothing iconic about all their other properties — few even knew that they owned any of those apartments or bungalows that are being sold today. The only iconic property is the sprawling mansion called BR House in Juhu and that stands untouched.

For every person watching with glee the BR family tumble, there are unexpected hands reaching out to simply help them stand steady. One of them has been Salman Khan who went and sat by Ravi’s bedside and has promised his two sons that whenever they are ready to make their film with him, he will be there for them. Salman has had great respect for this family ever since he did a guest role for them in Baghban.

Over the years, the BR family has seen the benign side of the industry too. Of course, they were not in such dire straits at that time but during Bhootnath, when Shah Rukh Khan agreed to do an important guest role in it, he wouldn’t take a penny from them. “Guests come and eat in your house. They don’t take money from you,” he remarked, turning down all offers of a fee. His presence had helped the film to a large extent.

Farah did more or less the same thing when she choreographed a song for their film Babul. She wouldn’t entertain the thought of taking money for her work. Instead, invite me to your place for your fabulous food, she suggested. So even when Renu visits Farah at her place, she carries Punjabi kadi and a meat dish to this day.

Much like their film scripts, the BR family (soon to start Bhootnath 2) has seen it all in the last three years — petty meanness and moving kindness. They are sure the happy ending will be close at hand.

Bharathi S. Pradhan is editor, The Film Street Journal