Rajanikanth - Govinda and bottle

All those who are heaping praises on Rajanikanth for his view on opening of TASMAC  has missed the point. He said that if you open before lockdown ends you will not come to power. After Lockdown ??? Back to business???. But I also appreciate EPS for his counter reaction to Kasturi Sankar who asked -Is it food that one needs every day? He announced opening of all tea shops but with a rider – only parcels. So you can get your vessel and collect tea and the bites ( don’t mistake it for bytes). By one stroke EPS says look I am not only in favour of saraku but also of tea-kadai class. Now Radhakarishnan IAS will have to handle Nair tea kadai cluster in Teynampet to Annachi kadai in Pulianthope. Tea can be sold on  cycles too. So tracking of cycles is needed. GPRS fitted cycles or vendors linked to setu app. Anything to do with Setu creates controversy. Remember Ramar Sethu bridge?

The most   frightening assignment I got was to cover a Govinda – Karisma film shoot in Hyderabad. During my tenure in Delhi, I was send to cover riots in UP and Bihar. It never scared me. It was a cover story or inputs to a cover story. But this assignment given to me based in Chennai scared me. I called Bombay and said that I had an important Tamil film shoot on same day to cover. My News Editor said ‘” Look, no one here is free”.  Anyway, I was told by Bombay PRO that Govinda and team was going back same night. I was relieved. I could come back to Chennai, the same night. It was not my desire to be with my wife that I wanted to come back or that I missed Chennai. Whole of Andhra was under prohibition.

I reached the hotel and the counter staff gave me the return ticket. My heart sank. My flight was only the next day. So what about the night ?. I entered the room and first thing that caught my eye was a full bottle of Whisky inside my cupboard. I quickly shoved it my bag. So night is taken care off. The PRO said the car was ready to go to the location. I left. Govinda and Karishma were shooting a song. Came lunch break. Silver tumblers on silver trays went around. All of us picked one and Govinda remarked that it was very Royal. The tumbler contained whisky with soda. After a few a Royal treats, we had lunch.

The PRO said –“Sir evening we are having a press conference and all of us will leave for airport. Your flight is tomorrow,” I nodded and I thought of the bottle in my bag and thanked the good soul who left it in my cupboard. As I was crossing the lobby, I saw a few read beacon cars outside. At the door to hall stood  khaki uniformed men. Inside was a big party on. Usually, the meet has journalists and cast and sometimes the family of the producer – financiers. Here it looked like a shaadi ka Baarat. There was a bar counter, barmen and waiters going around with glasses and bites. I nearly swooned.

At that time the man behind this entire miracle popped up and hugged me. “ Ayyappa. Where have you been?. I hope you got my welcome bottle kept in your room? Enjoy. You stay as long as you want. Your flight is tomorrow morning,” he said.  The man is none other than the Great Movie Moghul D Rama Naidu. The PRO told me that the families were that of the Excise Commissioner and other top brass. There was also the Police top brass. I innocently asked – “ They can have booze anytime and anyplace they want, why here and in public  ? “ . The PRO said that – “It is not always you get to drink with Govinda and Karishma”. He added – “Your Press friends did not believe that Naidu gaaru will pull it off and somebody scared them of being in jail. Even your office chickened out and send you,”

The next day in Chennai. I opened the bottle for my friends and said I brought it from Hyderabad as a gift from D Rama Naidu and the first drink was toasted to the finest movie maker of India and man who understands the feelings of a thirsty man.