SELFIE ABHI BAAKI HAI

Hi, I am Gibran Noorani and I am a writer.

In 2017, I was working with a digital company. I used to make promotional videos for them and do collaborations of their company with films and corporates.

Jab Harry Met Sejal was about to release and we were promoting it. We had a deal with Red Chillies that we would make a 4 minute video and I was supposed to direct it. I was very excited on the thought of getting to direct one of the biggest stars ever! I had seen Mr Shahrukh from a distance many times and once from outside Mannat too, but this was the first time I was supposed to meet him !

Anushka Sharma was also a part of this video.

2 of my colleagues were great fans of King Khan. They were in Hyderabad when this shoot was planned and as soon as they got to know that I was going to do a video with Mr Shahrukh and they would get a chance to meet him, they rushed back to Mumbai!

The shooting was supposed to happen at Yashraj Studio and you know what? As soon as we got there, we got to know that only 2 people were allowed inside!

As a company Red Chillies has very strict policies. I literally had an argument with them to make them understand that my friends had come all the way from Hyderabad to meet Mr Shahrukh! All they were asking for was, just 1 photograph! How difficult could that be?

For that 1 photograph, we had a huge argument, to the extent of telling the Red Chillies team that we will not promote Jab Harry Met Sejal!  Finally the Red Chillies team gave in and asked us to get ready for the shoot.

So I went in, and I must have been there for 4 hours before our shoot started. For these 4 hours, I was closely watching Mr Shahrukh do promotional videos for everyone, NON-STOP! At the age of 52 then, he was so energetic!

There were so many videos he had to shoot and he completed all of them in not beyond 5 minutes each, whether it was giving a byte, playing with kids, having fun with Motu and Patlu or dancing. There was one person to fan his face and another one to give him water. Some people around also asked him to rest, but he was Shahrukh Khan, he refused!

I was so inspired to see him! It was unbelievable to see a superstar work so hard! No wonder he is so successful!

Time passed by and after 4 hours I got the chance to direct him. I gave him the script.

 “So you are directing this.”

“Yes sir.”

For the unversed, let me mention that Mr Shahrukh is a very busy man. In a scenario like this, you can’t spend too much time explaining each minute detail. So I gave him a gist of what needed to be done, and we started.

I had given him a very long monologue. He took the monologue, learnt it and completed it in 3 takes!

Anushka also had a few portions in the shoot.

The shoot was done quickly and can you guess what happened next?

The argument over the photograph started again! Mr Shahrukh was supposed to go elsewhere to shoot the next promotional video.

I stepped in and reminded his team that my friends had come all the way from Hyderabad to get a photograph with him, but his team was not ready to budge and neither was I. I told them to let Mr Shahrukh decide if he was comfortable getting photos clicked with my friends.  

Mr Shahrukh who wasn’t far from this entire ruckus, stepped in.

 

“What’s the problem?”

I explained to him the entire scenario.He asked his team to let all 3 of us in.

My friends were thrilled and so was I! I clicked a picture of my friends with Mr Shahrukh.

 “Thank you sir, it was ”really nice of you to get these photographs clicked with my friends”

I was stepping out.

“Listen"

I turned back

“Don’t you want a picture with me?”

 I was stunned! Mr Shahrukh Khan, the KING was asking me if I wanted a picture with HIM!!!!!!

Actually I did and why would I not, but I wasn’t very comfortable asking for it. I had argued with his team twice over the photograph, and now that my friends had already hugged him and gotten pictures with him, me asking for a picture would have been a bit too much!

But when the MAN asked me, I would have been a fool to say no!

I quickly took my phone out with trembling hands! While directing him, I was confident, because I knew what had to be done, but here, I was so clueless!

I put the phone on selfie mode with trembling hands.

 “Arey baba aaraam se, relax!”

 Mr Shahrukh being the gentleman he is, tried to calm me down. I put my hand on his shoulder, took 3 or 4 selfies and said,

“Sir you have been an inspiration today and just to see you was an honour! This gesture that you have done for us, even for a picture, means a lot!”

That photograph is one of my most prized possessions!

So I got the photograph, but the story of this photo doesn’t end here!

Soon after this incident, I got married and went for my honeymoon to Paris. I took my wife to a Pakistani restaurant over there. The restaurant owner asked me if I was an Indian and if I had ever seen Mr Shahrukh Khan.

I pulled out my phone and showed him this photograph!

That restaurant owner didn’t charge me a penny for my food that day!

 

Gibran Noorani is a Screen writer popularly known for his work in many web series and movies like 11^th hour, 7^th sense, Bichoo ka Khel, Code Red, Halahal, Meeruthiya Gangsters and many more.

 

This article has been written by Pooja Gupta. Currently a freelance writer, she is also a former Radio Jockey. She is into all sorts of writing like ads, articles, promos, short films, screenplays, dialogues, feature films and even web series. For work, she can be contacted on pooja.gupta2178@yahoo.com.