Aug. 4: Across the Netherlands, using stealth photography, GPS mapping, social media and research on the Internet, he tracked and chased Harry, a.k.a. Shah Rukh Khan, with more ardour than Anushka Sharma searching for her lost engagement ring in the big Friday release Jab Harry Met Sejal.
And all this with little assurance of a happy ending - a meeting with his idol, whose poses he mimics in his profile pictures on social media.
This is the story of Shirshendu Sengupta, a 34-year-old business consultant based in Amstelveen, near The Hague, and it begins with a clue in the form of an Instagram post by Shah Rukh last September.
"He was in front of the signage 'I amsterdam', which we recognised as the one at Schiphol airport. The crew had reached Holland!" the Baguiati boy recounted to Metro over phone about the start of his quest for a meeting with King Khan.
Shirshendu's wife Joyeeta was his willing ally, scouring the Internet for more information and looking up places director Imtiaz Ali had visited when he did a recce of the Netherlands.
Local Shah Rukh fans set up a closed Facebook group where information was exchanged every day. "Wherever he was spotted, we would post whatever details that were available. The crew was tight-lipped about the schedule; so we started photographing the identity passes on the sly. These usually had a pointer to the next day's location. The film was then called The Ring," Shirshendu recalled.
The first such clue on a pass read "3 windmills in the north". Cue for a windmill hunt in a country full of them!
"Kinderdijk is a Unesco World Heritage site because of its windmills. Then there is Zaanse Schans, near Amsterdam. But both had more than three windmills. Finally, that morning on Google Maps, we spotted a farmhouse with three windmills in Schermerhorn. I shot off a mail to office saying that I was ill, packed lunch and rushed for the rail station with Joyeeta and our four-year-old son Ricky - all in 15 minutes flat. A missed bus after the train ride meant taking an expensive taxi. The Afghan cabbie got so excited at the news that he picked up two relatives on the way," Shirshendu said of his first SRK adventure.
A service road had been blocked at both ends for the shoot and the guards shooed the Senguptas about 2km away. Despite waiting in the wilderness in 36 degrees Celsius for six-and-a-half hours, there was little to take back from the day other than some shots with a telephoto lens, two sightings of SRK's white BMW and a photo with director Imtiaz.
"We were interviewed on-site by a Dutch TV channel that had been denied access. The local media reported on SRK being in Holland, describing him as 'the biggest star in Bollywood who earns more than Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt put together'!" Shirshendu said.
The day after, someone sighted SRK nears the canals in Grachtengordel, Amsterdam. "When I reached, there were 2,000 Indians there, but no SRK. The guards kept misleading us, saying the shoot was over. Around 6pm, he zoomed in and jumped off a bridge onto a boat and sailed away."
The next day's tip was an unnamed museum. Anushka had posted a photo in the morning of Amsterdam's museum district.
Shirshendu was taking a tram ride to a museum that he thought might be the one when he received a call. The crew was near the more famous Rijksmuseum, he was told. "This is where you see Anushka looking for the ring with Rembrandt paintings in the backdrop."
The whole museum had been booked, and through the glass windows the 500-strong crowd could spot shooting underway in the basement. "The security guards threatened us but we stood our ground. Groups kept vigil at all seven exits. Whenever SRK was spotted downstairs, the women screamed. People played pranks by shouting false alerts. When he sat down to eat, the guards blocked our view," Shirshendu said.
At 11pm, the museum closed and Anushka and Imtiaz left through the main gate. Shah Rukh, it transpired, had escaped through a secret passage. Shirshendu again returned home heartbroken.
The next destination in the Harry chase was Hoorn, a churchtown known for its cheese market and just 90 minutes away from where the Senguptas live. "We started late this time, having realised that SRK never allows pictures till he is out of his costume for a shoot. We aimed to meet him afterwards," Shirshendu said.
As luck would have it, all train services on that route were suspended that day for maintenance. The Senguptas were forced to travel to Rotterdam - in the opposite direction - and change transport thrice to reach Hoorn. By then, most of the shooting was over. SRK, some bystanders told Shirshendu, was inside a big church. Anushka walked out towards the artificial cheese market that had been created in the square outside, fending off photo requests. She gave her shot and walked back.
Finally, SRK emerged in a white Merc that drove him to the cheese market a shout away, where Dutch extras dressed as cheese porters pulled carts next to horse-drawn carriages. On his way back, he waved to the crowd and all hell broke loose. Women barged through the barricade, some leaving babies behind in their prams. "Shah Rukh almost lost his balance and escaped with a few scratches! He still came forward to touch some hands in the crowd and click a crowdfie," Shirshendusaid.
Joyeeta and Ricky were among the lucky ones to get a touch of stardust, but not Shirshendu. The family waited as thcde stars entered a restaurant for dinner. The authorities promptly barricaded the eatery, much to the surprise of the customers at the other tables. Shirshendu's four-hour wait was again wasted.
After five days of SRK spotting, the Senguptas woke up on a Sunday tired from the effort. Shirshendu still logged into the Facebook group, aware that this would be the last daytime shoot and, therefore, the last chance to get a picture with Shah Rukh.
There were conflicting reports about his whereabouts. Some said he was shooting on a boat in Alkmaar. Others said he was in Giethoorn, a village without roads called the Venice of Holland.
"By then, I had made some friends in the unit. One sent a message that the place had a green and red windmill. We decided to reach the station and wait for confirmation. All trains to Amsterdam were still off and we had to again change thrice to reach the central city area," Shirshendu said of his continuing tryst with transport hurdles.
The Facebook brigade was focused on Zaanse Schans, a museum town where everything is preserved as it was in the 18th century. They rushed to take a train to Zaandam, the nearest town. But the bus from the station stopped midway as all roads were closed for a marathon. Even the taxi they took had to take a 5km detour. After four-and-a-half hours and a stop at an ATM to pay the hefty taxi bill, they reached to find the day's shoot on its last leg. But a few in the crowd allegedly misbehaved and word from the unit was that SRK would not meet fans.
"This was my last chance. As his white Merc rolled out, I cried out: 'Sir, paanch din se chaar saal ke bachchey ko leke har location pe aath aath ghanta dhoop mein khada raha. Bachche ke saath ek photo toh lijiye!' As if on cue, Ricky too shouted: 'Yeaay, Shah Rukh Khan!' SRK gestured at me to stop and left," Shirshendu said.
A less determined fan would have quit. But not Shirshendu, even though he had by then reconciled himself to the high possibility of his wish remaining unfulfilled.
"We spotted some crew members moving towards the windmills and decided to follow them. But the area was cordoned off. Ricky wanted to pee and I took him behind a bush, which was when a crew member pointed us out to the security head and called us. Ricky was so excited that he started running towards them, wetting himself. Thank God, Joyeeta carries extra clothes for him everywhere!"
As the Senguptas walked in, the unit hands, for whom they had become familiar faces, clapped. They learnt that Shah Rukh was going out to buy cigarettes when he heard Shirshendu and saw Ricky. On his return, he apparently told the unit to "send the child in".
Shah Rukh was smoking and chatting with Anushka and director Imtiaz inside the windmill when the Senguptas first saw him without anyone trying to block them out.
"Approach him once he finishes his cigarette," a unit hand advised Shirshendu.
A little later, Shah Rukh stepped out and asked: "Where's the child?"
Spotting Ricky with Joyeeta, he said: " Mujhe do (Give him to me)."
Awestruck as she was, Joyeeta failed to react. So SRK turned to Shirshendu and asked for his phone. One of the unit hands offered to click. Shirshendu requested a handshake too. And little Ricky started to tell Shah Rukh the story of his favourite Disney film, Cars.
SRK, father to four-year-old AbRam, would have understood. He smiled and posed for pictures before getting into his car.
Shirshendu had finally met his Harry.
Who is the one star you would chase across continents? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com
