Sleep deprived at 6 am in the morning, trudging off to the airport at that hour, heavy on head, light on the traffic and muggy in the terminal, there is but just one occupation after the seat belt sign is turned on, the safety instructions played and the taxi off begins - Slumberrrr  !!! The weather is rain cloud ridden, grey and turbulent, the captain of the flight sends in a note graciously through the air hostess welcoming me on board and wishing me luck for #BHTBaap ! That does not happen too often ! Half read news papers, spectacles mid way between the hands and legs, neck cricked in an uncomfortable position, one does not allow the distractions to overcome you … you sleep  …

Until you hit some heavy rain clouds again and watch the window gaining stripes of water from the outside, as we descend down on a cool somewhat wet Delhi airport. And on landing its straight onto the media at the Hilton Hoptel in west Delhi. Delhi of my College and School days has gone through a metamorphosis - wide lane roads, miles of fly overs, and not a inkling of where it is I travel. And this from one that lived and spent almost 15 years of my life in this great city.

The media jamboree is relentless. One after the other in different rooms, on different floors, in restaurants, in side alleys … in short everywhere. But the press is kind and generous. After a huge volley of questions ranging from .. well … all walks of the industry to the film and my personal take on it, I find myself on the highways again, riding for miles with not an inkling of where we are. This city has become another city. I cannot relate to it, cannot recognize it, or worse, cannot understand its renewed dimensions ..

Its time to catch up on friends from the time we were in University together. Dear friends who were more than just that. They became family. Felt as family reacted as family and gave affection as family. We may not have had the frequency of contact, but the frequency of our wave lengths remained unchanged. Those carefree days of University, when attending classes was an event - we were never in them ! Out on the streets of the busy commercial locations in coffee shops, on discreet drives in borrowed cars and Lambrettas, at locations wild and hidden, on picnics and music … those were the days, and those were the days spent with friends who I meet tonight for dinner. Nostalgia abounds - old stories, fun, naughty, emotional … they are never ending those moments and reliving them can never tire one … each and every incident so vivid in our memory, like it had happened only just yesterday ..

How we long for those days to return … but return they never shall … !!

The buzz on the film now reaches pinacle strength and it would be impossible to fathom the level of expectation on the film per se. One can merely wait, as my friend described it, for the ‘dabba’ to open. The ‘dabba’ … box … box office !!! The final test which takes care of all tests and trials, which gives verdict, appreciation, rejection all at once …

And we learn that this is the test that we shall have to respect. Here endeth the lesson ! The finale !

I love to express my feelings … and they remain as ever … warm affectionate and filled with love … only love ….

And now to lean across and put off the lights … i am already in bed !!!

Amitabh Bachchan