It’s the personal touch that makes all the difference. Last week, Rakesh Roshan picked up the phone and invited me to celebrate the success of their documentary on Netflix. Hrithik has staff who make it personal by requesting you to please call them when you reach, to receive you at the entrance and take you straight to Hrithik. The ability to personally stay connected with people is a little-told part of the success story of the Roshans.
Earlier, there would be reams written on Raj Kapoor’s or BR Chopra’s hospitality, noting how an RK guest would be served his drink all evening without having to repeat his order. There’d be a mention of the “paratha lady” who made a variety of rotis on a sigri in BR Chopra’s iconic bungalow (now demolished) or how Rajesh Khanna would personally take away a lingering roti on your plate and replace it with a hot one. Readers would get an inside view of how the famous hosted their parties before media coverage began and ended with red-carpet poses.
Rakesh Roshan is also someone who’ll make you a cup of coffee without summoning his staff. Lesser celebrities won’t perform the simplest of tasks like tying their shoes laces or switching on the TV.
Most people would find this unbelievable but Amitabh Bachchan is also a hands-on celebrity. AB has astonished many a guest like late sports journalist Dwarkanath Sanzgiri. Sanzgiri had noted that when he was organising an event to host cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar and had got AB as chief guest, a meeting had been set up for 4pm at Mehboob Studio. At 3.45, AB drove in. At 4 sharp, Sanz-
giri and co-organisers were ushered into his van which had limited seating. AB himself moved a few things around to make place for everybody and when he offered them tea and coffee, he got up and made it himself. These are rare actions in the celebrity world.
Hrithik’s stardom may draw guests but their recent celebration for The Roshans was not about the red-carpet roll call. It was the sighting of seldom-seen guests who came, stayed and had fun, like they did at Aamir Khan’s party in January 2024 when Ira wed Nupur. Tiger Shroff, who’s more a home bird than a party bird, was unrecognisable. “I’ve cut my hair and grown a beard for Baaghi 4,” he explained. Choreographer and director A. Harsha from Kannada cinema will helm Baaghi 4.
The lively Ayesha Jhulka, who’s currently showing her cooking skills on Celebrity Masterchef, wanted to leave early but with husband Sameer Vashi in full party mood, they stayed on. Padmini Kolhapure who came with husband Tutu Sharma has also been busy. In an unusually presented Hindi-Urdu play titled Ammi…Akhtari, Padmini plays the legendary Begum Akhtar with sister Tejaswini as shagird Sukhi. The two-hour play has Talat Aziz singing all the ghazals mentioned in the narration live on stage.
Rekha discarded her kanjeevaram wardrobe for the evening but had an oops moment when her heels gave way. A close friend of hers quickly gave Rekha her footwear and roamed around barefoot until another pair was fetched for her.
Simi Garewal, from the “ladies in white” trio led by Krishna Kapoor and Lata Mangeshkar, drove down from town to Juhu for the Roshans. She made a wow moment when she revealed a memory that’s still razor sharp by instantly recalling my wedding venue of four decades ago. For an actor whose career never did take off, Simi has the gift of survival skills, much like Shekhar Kapur. After reinventing herself as documentary maker and show host, she’s lately been wanting to make a six-part web show too.
Poonam Sinha is the best guest at any party. With her flair for taking care of the F&B preferences of all the people at her table, she ensures everybody gets what they want. Not many have that gift of remembering and being sensitive to others’ food choices.
