I am too old for cover photographs of elegant fashion magazines. I think GQ shall regret their decision of featuring me and for sending out an entire team to Singapore to execute this rather hasty and ill conceived shoot. The clothes do not fall as well as they should and neither does the face. The desired spark in the eyes and in the expression are labored without intensity. Deepak my trusted make up artist, struggles bravely every day and experiments with different labels of make up, but I feel he is too sincere to tell me facts. That excitement from the camera department on reproducing something fresh unusual and novel, does not materialize. Earlier there would be whoops and yelps, now there are quiet whispers and consultations between camera and producer. They probably discuss now the flaws and how to ‘cover’ and ‘clean’ them. There is more excitement among the passerby who wants a keep sake photograph or the odd autograph on a visiting card, nothing from the crew. Farouk, an old friend of Aishwarya and who has had a great standing as a still cameraman within the professional Industry, is doing the pictures. He is pleasant and quick and polite and very good. But I must surely be a great challenge for him. Ha ! Ha !!

The questionaire that followed the picture shoot for the written interview had one that said -

‘How does one handle old age ?… or something like it. I replied, “Accept it .. !!’. In a months time I shall be entering into my 68th. Long enough, old enough !!

Sujoy Ghosh of directorial ‘Aladin’ fame sends me the promos of the film and I watch myself running and jumping and kicking and dancing and singing and punching and I say, hey, I’ m not supposed to be doing that. The young skin next to me is better equipped for this. Let him do all that stuff. Why cannot I just sit on a bench and watch. But no. This energetic ball of Bengali wisdom, keeps leaping from every corner of the set, determined that this is the way he wants his actors to perform. So Sujoy and Ghosh rule and depleted of all energy Amitabho, follows wet cat like in obedience.

Ok … before Daisy M suddenly wakes up from her reverie at the mention of ‘cat’ and before the rest of the Bengal Brigade sides up with the Ghosh against the ‘jamai babu’, let me humbly prostrate myself before all and submit that I shall do what is called of me to do, without a whimper. In fact I have already done it and as soon as they decide the release date, Amitabho shall be the first to put up the promo on zee bllloooggg !! Happy ???

Alright…. enough self deprecation ! The world swings, Singapore delights and much as I would like to send you the tracks for ‘Aladin’ I cannot possibly do that before the release of the music, officially.

What I am trying to do is to send you on the blog the first promo for BIGBOSS, that has been hopefully launched today on COLORS at around 9pm IST. Working on it with BigAdda, lets see if I can pull it off for tonight.

Who invented and first thought of boutique Hotels ?!?!! They are all over the universe and so exquisitely constructed operated and managed. They all have very similar traits - small, cozy and uniquely decorated, most unlike regular 5-7 star colossus. I was in one today, The Scarlet. Beautiful and exclusive. Warm shades, pastel colors and large doses of black and red. The Scarlet, in an old world alley of the city. Wonderful atmosphere. Almost felt I would turn a corner and bump into legendary Scarlet O’Hara !! Ahh..

What a lady and what a character and what a book and what a film - my all time great - Gone with the Wind !!! It shall always remain with me. Remain with me because it came upon me at a time when I was struggling with myself and my mind on where and what my next step in life would be.

Resigned from my job in Calcutta and landing home in Delhi during the cold and refreshing winter of December, unsure of what I was going to do, I was given the book to read by my Mother. It has been the first and only book that I have read from the first page to the last in one go. There have been other books that I have read, but its never been a continuous effort. There have been breaks and gaps, but not on this one. It wraps one up in an almost unremovable warm blanket or a soft duvet, comforting you with the magnitude of its spread and canvas. It is perhaps the only book that has been given its due justice in film. And it is perhaps the only film where the choice of its actors could never have been perfected.

I never saw the film in a theatre. But when I could afford my very first video player this was among the first that I saw. Later when technology improved the 33 and one third sized disc was bought and then again in the present DVD format. The behind the scenes and the making of GWTW are as fascinating as the film itself. The auditions for casting, the rehearsals, the production and sets and sequences and finally the premiere and the amazing turn out - Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Lawrence Olivier - cinema royalty, if ever there was one !!

Never before never after !!

‘Ah.. well tomorrow is another day’

Amitabh Bachchan