It was four years ago when Ranbir Kapoor announced himself to the world and weaved his magic. But yesterday, the whole of Ahmedabad was a witness to the hysteria he re-created at the Karnavati Club.
When I read the advert in the Ahmedabad Times about Ranbir and Nargis attending the Garba event call, I wasn't expecting it to be anything less than a glamorous affair. But nothing could have prepared me for what happened. Forget a cosy tete-a-tete in the Courtyard Marriott where the stars were put up - I was just the two out of the three journalists to have been granted VIP access-all-areas.
And there they went high up in the air rejoicing their first and probably their best 'Garba' outing. Screaming fans climbing on top of each other to get themselves close to their 'youth icon' was a must see. Then the fence collapsed, aunties detached themselves from their husbands, college girls needed a break from their boyfriends and of course, the 'Garba' came to a standstill. And for me, well, it was time to work again: time to shake the journalist hand because at a time when Big Boss, cricket and the 'saas bahu' soaps were being watched by the millions, here was Ranbir Kapoor - arguably the greatest live performer of this generation.
But what the two actors weren't prepared for was their 'Up in the Air' moment. There was a special crane that leaped the two in the air at a height of about 30 to 40 feet from stage into the midst of the crowd. But before that, Ranbir greeted his Ahmedabad audiences in Gujarati. The actor screamed, "Kem Cho Amdavad? Majama? Haalo Badha Garba Ramo" (How are you Ahmedabad? Alright? Now let's play some Garba)
Nargis too impressed one and all by shouting, "Kem Cho Amdavad?" in Gujarati but did fumble a bit. It was a 'freeze frame' moment though. What surprised me was the fact that she didn't have a trace of nerve being a debutant facing thousands of fans for the first time. She looks to have it all, and if the future sees as much flux as this decade, then perhaps we won't be seeing so many more of her kind, either.
I arrived an hour before they were scheduled to arrive at the venue. The crowd that started from a mere two to three thousand went on to multiply itself to a number of fifteen thousand die-hard fans wanting to have the glimpse of their lovable, adorable Rockstar Ranbir Kapoor and the ceaselessly charming Nargis Fakhri.
I kept tweeting and the world kept re-tweeting till two cars arrived with 7 to 8 bouncers all prepared for a 'knock down' with the fans. At about 11 pm, he arrived in his traditional Rockstar attire specially designed for his movie's promotions. Looked more like a 'pathani' or a 'jodhpuri'. Dressed from top to toe in black, he was indeed 'The Dark Knight' coming to steal the thunder. With him, walking tall and sexy was, wait a minute...my eyes popped out. Nargis Fakhri in India's favourite 'Garba' outfit - a striking red 'Chaniya Choli'. How would anyone guess that? Fakhri looked like a Goddess.
