I am studying Information Technology and Management in The University of Texas at Dallas since August 2018. After spending 18 months in Dallas, I returned to Mumbai this December for a short winter break. I wanted to do my best to give my parents and my grandmother a glimpse of my life in at the university. This was difficult as I do not click a lot of pictures. I had, however, captured some videos every now and then. So, I put them together in this video just so that I can give my folks a sneak peek into life in and around Richardson.
The Way She Says Hello
It is probably one of the most commonly-used words of the English language. But when this girl at Starbucks @ Custer&Renner says “Hello“, she instantly stands out! What is it that she does differently that makes you feel welcome, safe, at ease right away? It’s not so much her sweet voice as it is the sincerity behind it.
On one hand, her Hello sounds cute, innocent and charming (almost child-like) and on the other, it’s professional and courteous enough to not make you feel patronized. She makes you feel that no matter how bad your day was or how many challenges lie ahead of you, you can forget about it for now and just enjoy your coffee. Her Hello is the sound of reassurance, of kindness, of earnestness.
Yes, it’s part of her job to say Hello to everyone. But the impact she makes on hundreds of strangers with that one, simple word is testimony to the fact that she is doing something special. For me, this is a great lesson in customer service, in brand management and also in just being a positive energy for people around me. Well done hiring this kid, Starbucks!
The Walk to Starbucks
It takes me 45 seconds to walk from my apartment to the nearest Starbucks outlet. This morning during the walk, I noticed –
the clear blue sky
the pleasant weather
green trees flanking the walkway
two butterflies flying right past me
birds chirping in harmony
a beautiful woman walking across the street (she may have even smiled at me)
I realized you don’t really have to make big travel plans for these little things. They are all around you and all you have to do is pay attention 🙂
Happy Sunday!
My First Easter Egg Hunt
The earliest memory (and perception) I have of Easter is the song “My name is Anthony Gonsalves” from the 1975 movie Amar Akbar Anthony. In the song, Amitabh Bachchan emerges out of an Easter Egg to break into a Bollywood number about how he is looking for a suitable woman to marry. So, when Dylan and Alli mentioned to me that Opa will be hosting an Easter Egg hunt, I thought it would be something similar – trying to look for Opa in a huge Easter egg! That was not the case, as I discovered later.
After spending a heartwarming Christmas eve with the Johnsons in December 2018, I had a few opportunities to hang out with the Johnsons in the months that followed. I was really touched when Omi and Opa made it to my play A Mirror through You and told me that they loved it. So, when Alli invited me to spend Easter 2019 with the family, I was obviously quite excited.
The day started with a wonderful service at the Watermark church characterized by mesmerizing lighting, scintillating music, and a gathering of beautiful believers who raised their hands and sang in joy and celebration throughout the morning. This was followed by some hot coffee and breakfast at Starbucks where we bid goodbye to our friend Madison. We made it to Omi and Opa’s place right in time for lunch. As usual, Omi had worked hard to prepare a delicious meal for the whole family. It was soothing to see her calm face and welcoming smile once again as she greeted us when we entered. Opa, as usual, made everyone feel at home from the moment we entered with his sense of humour. For one of the jokes he made later, Omi burst out laughing saying “You don’t come up with many good ones but that one was really good!”. I must say – Opa’s one liners always stay with me long after I leave them 🙂
Soon, we were joined by the rest of the family – DJ, Vicki, Spencer, Heidi, John, Aiden, Liam and their soccer-playing British friends Luke and Matthew. We sat at the dining table – a group of people all very grateful to be there – enjoying Omi’s delicious meal and Opa’s pleasant company with some wine, bread, meat, dessert and anecdotes from around the world. Matthew spoke about traveling across England, Aiden (the valedictorian) spoke about his upcoming Air Force days and Opa narrated the incident when he went train-hopping and met a guy named “Hoppy”. With our bellied full and hearts content, we moved on to the most exciting part of the day – the Easter Egg hunt.
Opa asked 9 of us to wait in his office while the others hid the Easter eggs all around the house and the front yard. He then explained the very interesting set of rules that revolved around each one finding 10 eggs as soon as possible. It was clear that Opa had put a lot of thought and effort in planning this egg hunt. As soon as he said GO, young Liam and soccer-player Matthew just sprinted across the house to be the first ones to find their 10 eggs. As I had expected, I finished last. In fat, I was only able to find 3 eggs by myself. The remaining 7 were found by the whole team working together. This was bound to happen since all the easy ones were already taken and it was only the difficult spots were left to be explored. I will always remember how everyone from Heidi and John to DJ and Brandon and Spencer and Omi and Opa were going all around the house and giving me hints to help me finish the egg hunt. That’s when it really felt like a “HUNT”.
Finally, we found all the eggs and it was time to open them up. We gathered in the living room and sat around in a circle with each one taking turns to open up their 10 Easter eggs. It was exciting to see what each egg held – sometimes it was a few pennies, sometimes it was dollar bills and sometimes it was a special coin that gave you the power to pick one of the bigger eggs near the fireplace which will hold a bigger prize. The most hilarious thing was that by the end of it all – I, the last one to finish the egg hunt, ended up winning with the most amount of money 😀
After that dramatic turn of events, we all had some dessert and coffee and started a game of Blackjack. I was the bank, Opa was the dealer and Matthew, Liam, Brandon were the ones trying their luck. This game had its moments too with everyone losing out a couple of dollars to eventually making it all back by the end of the day.
As the afternoon came to an end, it was time to say goodbye but not before we clicked some happy photos. Everyone gathered in the front yard and posed with their winnings. I clicked some pictures of Alli and Dylan, who looked absolutely adorable and well co-ordinated with the pink dress and pocket square.
And once again, as I left Omi and Opa’s house after hugging everyone, my heart was filled with so much joy, warmth and gratitude for the opportunity to meet these marvelous people in a new, unknown country. I told Dylan that I would never have imagined that I’ll be welcomed into a family like this, that I would be spending Easter or Christmas with them, that I would sit at a table and laugh and dine with them, experience their way of life and hear their stories while I share my own.
I will be forever grateful for these memorable moments spent with the loving Johnson family. I know that they have a special place in my heart now and I will always wish them the best. As Opa says – this is my American family 🙂
A Heartwarming Christmas Eve
Love Actually has always been my favorite movie to watch during Christmas time. Every time I watch that movie, I feel festive and hopeful that love actually is everywhere. But this hope turned into belief this Christmas eve when I was welcomed into a marvelous American family to be part of their festivities.
It all started around 3.30 pm when my friends, Alli and Dylan, took me to my first Christmas service ever. The moment I stepped into Woodcreek Church , I was blown away by the lovely ambiance of the place. The sight of the softly-lit stage, colorful church decor, and a talented dancer performing to the soothing sound of violin music got me engrossed right way. Then, everybody stood up and sang songs of joy and prayer, praising the Lord. I did not know any of the songs but thanks to the words put up on the big screen, I was able to follow. With every passing minute, I could feel the gratitude, joy and faith of people in the room. The energy was unbelievable! The service ended with a majestic scene where everybody lit candles and held them up singing a couple of Christmas songs. When I left the church, I thought my heart couldn’t be any fuller. I was wrong, of course, as a magical evening awaited me at the Johnson’s.
For Christmas Eve dinner, Alli and Dylan invited me to their grandparents’ house. I instantly felt the warmth of Omi and Opa (“Grandmother” and “Grandfather” in German as Omi is from Germany) when I met them briefly at the church. I had already seen the neighborhood where Omi and Opa lived when Dylan drove me there to check out the Christmas lights. That was another great evening as Binny, Alli, Dylan and I witnessed some really cool and creative Christmas lighting and decorations. It gave me a sense of how excited people are for the festival and how they gear up for it.
When I entered Omi and Opa’s place, I was impressed by the elegant and thoughtful Christmas lights and decorations inside. I was inside one of the most beautiful houses I had ever seen. The Christmas tree by the fireplace looked amazing with all the presents and the lights. It was just like I had seen in the movies! I complemented them both but as Opa said, it was all Omi’s efforts that made the house look the way it did.
Then, the other family members started coming in and as the evening progressed, I had the pleasure of indulging into some wonderful conversations with all of them. Our conversations ranged from Mumbai and Texas to raccoons and hamsters, from cricket and football to Bollywood and Hollywood, from wine and spices to call centres and desalination. It was great to hear from Opa about some interesting people and times of his life. I was glad that I could narrate some of my own experiences from back home. It was particularly funny when Opa was trying to figure out which sauce I find the most spicy while we were snacking on the chips. During all this, Omi was busy with the cooking, while still listening to our stories and weighing in every once in a while. Her radiant smile, hearty laughter, gorgeous hair, soothing voice (and may I add – stylish jeans) will always stay with me.
The dinner table was set in no time and we continued our discussions as we treated ourselves to a delicious Christmas meal. As I sat there between these wonderful people, eating my salmon amidst the laughter and engaging discussions, I felt grateful to be part of this family’s Christmas eve celebration. The meal was followed by another lovely tradition of sitting by the Christmas tree and opening all the presents. Young Liam played the elf who dug into the pile of presents and distributed them one by one to everyone.
I was delighted to receive so many presents when I had not expected any. Alli and Dylan really went out of their way to make me feel like one of them. DJ’s humor and Heidi’s warmth too made me feel like I was not an outsider and was truly welcome in their house. But my heart melted down when after clicking some pictures, Omi told me – “Send these to your parents and tell them that this is your American family”. She gifted me The Holy Bible and said that she thought that God sent me there at that point. That was quite a touching moment for me. I felt like it would be nice to start reading the text right there in the presence of the family. Alli pointed me to a section on the birth of Jesus Christ that I read out loud before we moved on to the rest of the presents.
As my heart filled up with all that was happening around me, I had an interesting thought which I shared with the family. I have struggled with my own faith in a creator or God for quite a few years now. But during this remarkable Christmas eve night filled with the warmth, love and affection that everyone showed towards me, I couldn’t help but wonder – if people who have faith are like this, perhaps it is something worth pursuing.
Merry Christmas, y’all!
The One with My F.R.I.E.N.D.S in Texas
The first semester of Graduate school totally lived up to the hype. Fall 2018 at The University of Texas at Dallas brought with it all the excitement, joy, fun and learning that I had hoped for. I am extremely thankful for the amazing, brilliant, friendly, talented, warm, weird, crazy people who became part of my world in Texas. Here’s a little video (well, pictures with background music actually) of the lovely F.R.I.E.N.D.S I have made so far!
I have learnt…
I am beginning to think that what has happened to me in the last few years is what happens to every aspiring actor. He starts on a low note from scratch, then thinks he is at the peak of his struggle, begins to get a few leads.. and then due to some crappy reasons hits a low again!! I have been dealing with this low for quite some time now..and while it had almost put an halt to my struggle, it has taught me a lot about people, about situations, and about myself!!
I have learnt never ever to trust anybody more than myself. I have learnt never to run after things or people who do not value me as much as I value them.. because by doing so I am only creating problems and awkwardness for both them as well as myself. I am just being a prick! I have learnt that no matter what people might say to me on my face, they are going to be truly loyal to ones they have chosen to be close to.. and I am not necessarily going to be one of them!! I have learnt that honesty no longer holds the same value that it used to when we were kids studying in school and were being taught that we should always speak the truth. Even the nicest people I know have lied their asses off without even a hint of shame for having done so!! I have learnt how I’ve become this person who can very easily be taken for granted..not because the world is mean..not because people want to take advantage of me.. but because I am always willing to give people the advantage!! I have learnt that I use too many exclamation marks in my posts!! 😛 But above all – I have learnt never to lose focus from my career due to the so called “personal” problems! It is just an excuse really – an excuse that several aspiring actors claim to have ruined their careers.. The reason many talented actors shy away from a path that would have otherwise led them to great destinations. I do not want to repeat their mistake!
I must learn to let go of things that are not working in my favour because may be that’s how things are destined to be. There is no point cribbing about how the world has become.. or how I have become. People around me are never the problem.. they all do what is important and feels right to them. We all live lives of our choice and there is no point expecting others to behave the way we hope they should. The world will continue to be how it is.. and there is no shock or surprise in that. The question is whether I want to continue to be the way I am.. or am I so fed up of things that I change myself to become like the rest of the world?!?
And the reason I am posting all this here is.. I feel everything that I have learnt in this while has added on to my experiences in life.. experiences that are extremely important for an actor to go through. I used to think that I have done nothing constructive since The Dirty Picture.. but actually.. I realize I have. Because I HAVE LEARNT! 🙂
So I am back now.. again! This time I am not going to give a damn about the world… or expect anything from anybody. Of course, it goes without saying that my family (especially my Dad!!) and my true “friends” will always be around in whatever capacity they can. But what’s going to matter is what I am going to do for myself from here on. I am off once again.. to get out of my shitty low… aiming towards a high… because I have realized that the only thing that is truly mine.. that is with me all the time through all ups and downs, highs and lows.. that loves me as much and as dearly as I love it.. is my dream!!
Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge – A breath of fresh air
I must admit that I watched this film because it starred Saqib and Prabal. I know Saqib through Anuj who is the director of my play Holi. Prabal is someone I have done theatre with and we also happen to have many common friends. I did have quite a few expectations from both of them as in my head, these were two actors with a lot of potential! 😛
When the movie began, my first reaction was that of happiness to watch Saqib on the big screen. It reminded me of the time I had seen Kartik in Pyaar ka Punchnaama and Amol in Rocket Singh. All competition, jealousy, and insecurities aside, there is a great deal of excitement and pleasure in watching a friend of yours in a movie! Saqib looked great and in the first few frames itself, he established that he was very camera friendly and natural. I also noticed Prabal who in my opinion is a very fine actor. The guy has a certain ‘cuteness combined with mischief’ quality about him that made him perfect for the part. The rapport between Mansi, Prabal and Saqib is evident on the big screen and one can make out that they must have had a ball while shooting for MFK!
While I do not find myself worthy of criticizing a film, what I will be expressing here on my blog is my opinion on the film and reasons that led to it. I really liked Mujhse Fraandship Karoge for a few reasons – First, it starred people I knew! 😀 Second, there is a certain freshness and energy to the entire movie be it the cast, the set design, the implementation! Third, I think the actors did a very good job..each one played their respective parts really well and I would say hats off to Shanoo Sharma for the casting. I can imagine how tough it is to get a cast of new actors (who can really perform well) in place for a project as big as this one! I do realize that there is perhaps a very detailed scrutiny required to figure out who plays what! 🙂 And it goes without saying that most of the credit for this project being so cool goes to the captain of the ship – director Nupur Asthana. Well done Nupur! And you deserve every bit of the success this film is enjoying! 🙂
I am not a huge fan of the music of this film though. Films like Band Baaja Baraat have done much better in this department. I was also not very impressed with the scene which should have been the best scene of the film – the one close to the climax where everyone finds out what’s going on and Saqib leaves in angst. It felt a bit rushed for a moment that is so crucial in the lives of these 4 characters. I didn’t quite get what was going on and I thought it could have been cleaner and more polished.
Nevertheless, I liked the film on the whole and also recommended it to my friends. My favourite actor was Saba Azad as Preity. I thought she looked great and performed brilliantly! And of course there was Saqib in the middle of it all, pumping in energy, joy, laughter, dance and a whole lot of fun into the movie. I think you have a great future buddy and I wish you all the very best!! I can’t wait to watch your next! The same goes to Prabal, Mansi and all the other new actors in the cast. You guys have done extremely well and I hope to see you all soon in other projects. I promise to be there in the audience cheering for you guys!! 🙂
Lots of love…
RIP Gautam Rajadhyaksha
Ace photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha passed away this morning. I was deeply saddened by this news as he was the biggest film personality whom I knew or rather who knew me! I had met him 4 times at his place around 3 years ago. I wanted him to shoot my portfolio and he had agreed to do it provided I worked on my physique. For the past 3 years, I had been calling him on his birthday (16th of September) and I was surprised that he could always remember who I was! It is so very sad that he passed away on 3 days before his birthday when I would have given him a call and spoken with him. Gautamji was a great man! I was always told that people in this industry are mean and are never helpful. It was Gautamji who changed this perception for me. In a very strange way, Gautamji is responsible for where I am in my life today! After the completion of my acting course, I had purchased the film directory named Film India to get a list of photographers whom I could contact for my portfolio. That’s where I got Gautamji’s number from. I called him and he told me how much he charges (an amount which was huge and unaffordable for me) and that he first needs to meet me to see if he wants to shoot me. I used to live in Navi Mumbai then and Gautamji lived in Churchgate (not exactly but close to it). I can never forget my first meeting with him! He had given me precise instructions on how to get to his place. His house was in a building which had those spiral stairs that goi round and round and lead you upstairs. His house was where the stairs led to! All along the stairs you could see awesome paintings, artistic posters of films and plays, etc. I was already feeling very nervous. I was also hoping that there was no dog at his place since I am super scared of dogs! (that’s changing slowly though :P). I rang the bell hoping to hear no barking. Thankfully, there was none! Gautamji’s servant let me in and asked me to wait while he went off to call Gautamji. I was waiting in the drawing hall and on the table next to me, I saw Gautamji’s book Faces that I had read about. I wanted to see it but I was really scared to touch anything there without his permission so i didn’t. I waited for about 10 minutes after which the man appeared. 
Dressed in a simple white kurta pyjama, he had a very pleasant smile. I greeted him with a Namaste and shook his hand then. He asked me if I could find his place easily, and then about the trains and how long did it take for me to get there. He found out everything about me – my qualification (B.E.), my future plans, what I intend to do. I had a job offer in hand and I had about a month to join. I told Gautamji about my intentions of becoming an actor and that i was confused whether to join my job or not. He said, “Look, this is field is very unpredictable. A lot of people come to me for portfolios and trust me, most of them are really dumb idiots. You have completed your engineering which is a good thing. You sound like an intelligent boy and I am sure you are a good actor. However, this field is very unpredictable for everyone. You should take up your job, work somewhere close to your house and put in all the rest of your time towards acting. If it works out, great! You can make the switch from your job to being a full-time actor whenever you want. If it does not work out, you will still have your job!”. This is something I already knew. However, when it came from such a prominent personality of the industry, I had to take it seriously. I am following that advice of his till date! The job I have today is the one I took up because Gautamji asked me to! I work for 8-9 hours a day and put the rest of my time in theatre, gym, auditions, etc. After that advice, Gautamji told me that he needs me to build up my physique. I asked him if that was important as i wanted to rely more on my acting. Also, I told him that everybody was into body-building these days and I want to be different and not follow the herd. He explained to me that when he shoots me, he needs to see some kind of appeal. I was too thin then and he feared that people would call me “kaadi pehelwaan” (exactly the words he used!!). He asked me to join the gym and then come back to him after a few months. Then came the important part – money. I asked him how much I would have to pay him for the portfolio. I think he had sensed by then that I am not a rich guy. He said, “I can’t charge you what I charge the others.” He then offered to do the shoot at a price that I thought was too less for a Gautam Rajadhyaksha. I told him I can pay him more as I had saved for it. He said I can use the remaining money for buying clothes for the shoot. Ohh yes – he also said we would need to have one more meeting where I would need to show him my wardrobe. He asked me to put all the clothes I had in a suitcase and get them to him. I did that for our next meeting and he was happy with what I had. He gave me a short list of other clothes to buy. I then met him one more time to give him a status update of my gymming. After that Gautamji got a bit busy. A couple of times when I called, he was out of the country. And then, I got occupied with theatre, office and other activities. It was sad that the photo shoot never happened. I had always hoped that some day the time will come when I will have the perfect physique and will walk up to Gautamji and ask him ,”Can we shoot now?”. Unfortunately, that day is never going to come now. I will miss you Sir. Thank you for everything. I hope I can do something good in this industry and make you proud. Rest in peace…
When a buddy succeeds as you watch…
My flatmate Kartik has made it big! He is one of the lead actors in a movie named Pyaar ka Punchnama which is all ready to hit theatres on May 20, 2011. The guy is good-looking, smart and from the look of the promos, has done pretty well! The movie in itself looks like an excellent youth-oriented fun-filled ride about 3 guys and their struggle with love. I love the caption – Come..Fall out of love!! 😀
Kartik had kept his movie role as a surprise to all of us until very recently when he showed us the promos and broke out the news that he had been shooting for almost a year. He has worked very hard to audition for this role and has gone through almost 3 months of screening to finally get selected for the movie. It is great to see his hard work pay off and the movie shape up so well.
Last night, Kartik invited us to the music launch of his film. I had never been to such a party so I decided to go. It was at a hotel in Juhu, Mumbai – one of the big, unvisited hotels for me. When Tashi (my Tibetan flatmate) and I reached the place, we saw hundreds of people in the dining area. The food looked and smelled great! But we had to look for Kartik first so I decided to put the eating on hold for a while (although I was super hungry after the day’s work). While I looked around, I could make out that a lot of people eating over there had nothing to do with the film. They were gate-crashers. This was understood as all we had to say at the security entrance was “Pyaar ka Punchnama music launch” and they let us in. There was free food and free booze..I would have been surprised had there been no gate-crashers!! 😀 We went a bit further inside into a hall where there were two big screens which displayed Pyaar Ka Punchnama screensavers. There was a stage and at the centre of this stage was our boy! We saw Kartik with the girl who plays his love interest (Nushrat) surrounded by journalists. Their faces were lit as they were being shot so one could spot them easily in a dark room. There were similar interviews going on at different corners of this hall. There were the other guys and girls from the film being interviewed at other areas and the director (Luv Ranjan) being interviewed on stage next to Kartik and Nushrat. However, I thought Kartik stole the show!! He has a certain Star quality, a certain persona, X-factor (whatever you may call it) about him that will make you look at him even when he is in a crowd. May be I feel this way because he is my friend?!? I thought he looked very confident and charismatic as he was answering questions from the Press – chatting, smiling, laughing, joking…I could see the Star in him!!! Nushrat looked very cute next to him. They made a good pair these two!
Tashi and I figured out that it will take a while for Kartik to get free. We made jokes about how he is a big man now and would not notice us! 😛 It was his moment and we could not intrude. So we decided to turn to the food. Actually, Tashi went to the drinks and me to the food. After a delicious dinner, Tashi left for another commitment while I went back to the main hall waiting for Kartik to get free. In the meantime, I saw Madhur Bhandarkar giving interviews. It crossed my mind that I should meet him and tell him about me. However, it would have been wrong as it was Kartik’s night and there was no way I could do anything that would embarrass him! So, I decided that I would not talk to anyone but Kartik and leave. While I was waiting for him, they played the new song of the film that goes “Bandh gaya patta, dekho ban gaya kutta”..It was hilarious. I think this video is going to get the film more audiences than all the other promotions put together. The film’s music is unbelievably awesome! Whether it’s the Ishq na Kariyo track by Mika or the Life sahi hai number, the music has been liked by everyone and is bound to be in favour of the film’s success! 🙂
While I was very happy for Kartik and it felt good that Kartik was enjoying all the limelight, I couldn’t help but wonder whether such a time would come for me too. Would I ever have the charisma that Kartik so effortlessly flaunts? Will I get such an opportunity and when?? I walked to the poolside from where I could see the beach..It was a beautiful atmosphere for one to be with one’s own thoughts. I dreamed for a while and then thought that I should get going. I met Kartik for 2 minutes, congratulated him on his success and wished him all the very best for his film from the bottom of my heart! I then took off on my bike to stop by at Amitji’s bungalow Prateeksha (something I do religiously). I thought of how Amitji had started and all that he would have had to go through to be where he is today. It was just the beginning for me! And I MUST not stop!!
I hope all my readers watch Pyaar ka Punchnama…it looks like a wonderful film and Kartik is a great guy!! He deserves your love! 🙂 The other guys and girls seem to have acted well too. Let’s all welcome these newcomers and show the industry that we as a smart, intelligent audience are open to new talent! 😀
Regards..