Ali Peter John

I have lost count of the number of birthday parties I have attended to celebrate your birthdays. I sometimes feel one January 24 comes and goes and another January 24 gets all dressed up to celebrate one more party of the great showman you have made of yourself as your birthdays keep growing. I sometimes feel you are ageless and will be timeless. I have been an admirer of you as a struggler,a struggling actor, a struggling writer and then rising like a phoenix and reaching new skies of success in whatever you have loved to do.

You have now assured yourself of a place and a pedestal which no power can take away from you. There have been times when you could have given up and gone in some other direction, may be start a new business or a new company dealing with material and mechanical subjects, but somewhere within you was that Subhash Ghai who had decided to follow the philosophy of the greater showman before you, for whom it was,“jeena yahaan marna yahaan”.

I sometimes find it difficult to believe how one man from a small city could achieve so much in the time that has passed, the number of films you have made, the kinds of films you have made, the stars you have made, the technician you have made and the way you have made the industry feel proud to have a man like you for whom the title showman sounds too small, because you are special, or who would have dreamt of building one of the best schools of film in the world and fulfilling that dream and what a way you have fulfilled it!

The Whistling Woods International, your dream come true in the hills near Film City stands like an empire building during a golden era in history. And it is not just the structure, but what has been happening within it that makes it a landmark not only in Mumbai or India, but in the world. You were a showman acknowledged by one and all. You are an educationalist who is respected by the best of educationalists all over. I feel scared sometimes when I see the showman making way for the educationist, but my faith in you assures me that I will not live to see that happen……

What happened on this January 24 was proof of your giving your best to both the worlds which has made you an impressive part of the world.

It was one more birthday for you and you could have celebrated it in any way you wanted, but for the last eleven years January 24 is more of the convocation day of WWI than your birthday for you. The convocation ceremony was better than any of the convocation ceremonies I have been part of and a witness to.

Two hundred young men and women walked out of WWI with their heads held high and a gush of confidence flowing within their young hearts, the confidence they had gained during their stay at WWI. Proud parents from different parts of the country looked up with pride as their sons and daughters walked up to the podium to recieve their certificates, degrees and diplomas. It was the end of one exciting phase of their lives and the next day would be the beginning of a new phase which would beat them to face the grim realities of life…

It was only a man who believed in gratitude and in giving more than taking who could think of having two maestro awards for men and women who had made massive contributions to the industry.

It was a great pleasure to see the son of the soil, Dharmendra recieving his award and making a speech that came straight from his honest and humble heart, a speech no one wanted to end because it is very difficult to find men like him these days. His poetry to which he has dedicated his life now was again feelings that were born out of experiences with life and love.

The other winner of the maestro award, Govind Nihalani was another apt choice for the great work he has been doing as a cinematographer and a out of the ordinary director.

The end of the convocation ceremony was a blend of thousands of emotions, ambitions, dreams, desires, fulfillment and the burning desire to fulfill greater desires…

How things had changed with you, Shrimaan Showman!

You once had parties which were the talk of the industry. But this time, you decided to have a modest party, so what if the venue was the Taj Lands End! You had only your family with you and some friends and colleagues who were a part of your success story. It was a grand feeling for someone like me to see your staff at WWI being a part of the party.

You had beautiful women like Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan whose careers you had shaped during their early days. You had the most popular young actor (so what if he has just crossed fifty?) who came late but stayed on in the hearts of people for a long time to come. You had your favourite singers like Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam. And you had not forgotten men like Tolu Bajaj and Manmohan Shetty who had watched you take every step to reach where you have.

I was given the unique honour by you and your daughter Meghna Ghai Puri by making me the only journalist to your party which was considered to be a very private party.

I missed many of your old friends who added dignity to your parties, but what could I, you or anyone do about the decisions taken by time and God?