EK DARD BHARA SAFAR EK M.....LAYAK... BY ALI PETER JOHN

I knew him ever since he was trying for a role in my guru's film. It was a very tough struggle for him to get into the good books of my guru, but his father's surname got him back into the good books of my guru and he finally got one of the roles my guru had written for his film - Ali Peter John

My guru's film got him recognition, but he couldn't get any results like the industry waits for, but he had his father's sense of determination in him and he kept trying even when a row of his films fell flat on their faces and the impatient industry was almost going to wipe him out when destiny linked him with a golden chain and that chain opened up a new world for him, we had taken over from a star, who was a superstar and he was the new superstar.

No doubt, he was one of the best actors to come to the Indian screen, but as he grew in success, he kept changing and falling as a human being who was slowly being disliked by the very people who once were willing to give a place to sit on their heads.

This trend continued and he kept growing richer, he had four bungalows within a distance of a few kilometers and what was more scary was that he had an army of black cats and other cats all around his bungalows who would not even let anyone touch a dried blade of grass around any of his bungalows and standing near one of his huge and tall gate was considered a major crime and his crazy fans could stand outside his main bungalow and behave well if they had to even have one glimpse of his precious wig for his staunch white pajamas, he sometimes gave them a glimpse of his good self and then vanish into his magnificent villa, pictures of which have made his poor fans an idea which doesn't sound very pleasant, how could the man who they, the aam aadmi made rich and famous flaunt his money, his cars, the interiors of his bungalows, his gardens and the 31 men and women who work in his mahal, they ask angrily and wait for answers impatiently.

And off late, he seems to be on a drive to collect more of ill-wishers than well-wishers.

His political ideology depends on whether it can do good for him or not, the man who was once known for his powerful voice, is now more known for his stony silence he maintains on every serious issues facing the country and its people who depended on his voice so much once upon a time.

And what shocks me is how he has forgotten old friends and those who helped him in taking his first few steps. It is painful to know how he has outright rejected the scripts of filmmakers whose films groomed him and the scripts of friends on whose shoulders he leaned on when he was slipping, tripping or falling.

I've been deeply hurt listening to such stories about the man who people worshipped once, but I now know that these stories could be true because of my own personal experiences. My friend who took pity on me because he had not wished me on my last birthday, mailed him, requesting him to wish me, but there was stone-deaf silence from the other side which gave me the hint that something had seriously gone wrong with him.

I made a round of ‘Prateeksha' during the peak of covid-19 and hardly had I stood at the gate for a minute when 3 security men stopped my camera from taking pictures of ‘Prateeksha' and one of them kept telling me,“chale jaao chale jaao, yahaan sahab nahi rehte hai, humaari naukari ka toh kuch khayal karo, aate hai kahaan kahaan se".

And when the prime minister of India mananiye Modiji was to come to Mumbai to receive the first Lata Deenanath Mangeskar Award, the Mangeskars family had organized a grand musical event at which mananiye Modiji himself was to be present.

The Mangeskars still believed that I had very close contacts with the big man from Juhu, asked me to hand over a personal invitation to the big man.

Fortunately I knew my friend, Aadesh who has been working with the big man and I just requested him to see that the invitation I signed handed over and Aadesh was kind enough to say that the invitation would reach his sahab.

I fixed up the time with Aadesh to hand over the invitation and he said that everyone at the gate was informed about my coming with the invitation. I reached the gate at the appointed time and there was a crowd outside, but I somehow made my way to the security office.

And a group of black and other cats surrounded me and just didn't allow me even to leave the card. But Aadesh sent his instructions to the security gate and the card went to where it was supposed to go and I was relieved and even had the strength to resolve not to return to this famous gate again.

The most hardened of the cats, a tough man in his fifties and called Gaikwad had a parting advice for me when he said,“ aap logo ke paas koi kaam nahi hai kya? Yeh bangla aap ko koi mandir ya dargah lagta hai kya? Agar aap sochte hai ki woh jo andar baihtha hai woh bhagwan hai toh yeh baat aapke dimaag se nikaal do. Woh kya bhagwan hoga jisne humaara pagaar ka bhi intezaam nahi kiya hai 3 mahino se".

MY AUTO DRIVER WHO WAS A MIGHTY FAN OF THE STAR SAW HOW I WAS BEING TREATED BY THE CATS STARTED HIS AUTO BEFORE I COULD EVEN GET IN AND FOR THE NEXT 30 MINUTES, THE AUTO WAALA WHO WAS FROM BANARAS KEPT SAYING ALL THE ‘NICE' THINGS ABOUT THE NAYAK WHO HAD NOW BECOME A M.....LAYAK.