I work for the travel industry and my role demands a fair bit of travel, which means I often go to the airport and stay at hotels. This is routine. Also, I have been doing this for about 6 years now.
Now, within this routine, the usual domestic suspects are Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. In the last 5 years, I might have made 12-15 trips to Mumbai and it was always work and good food. By the way, Mumbai's gourmet scene is next level. During these visits, I never really bumped into celebrities at the airport or otherwise. Also, to be honest, the idea of meeting celebrities or getting clicked with them never was my thing UNTIL I saw Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh up close. It created a storm inside my head and I couldn’t sleep the entire night.
Now, let me narrate how it happened and who I met and saw.
I stayed at JW Marriott Juhu, Mumbai on 23rd March. It was a regular day until 6:00 pm as I was on the job and checked in around late evening. The hotel was pulsating with crew members running, sprinting, talking, and performing their regular chores. While providing my consent to authorize my credit card for incidentals at the check-in counter, I noticed that the guy standing next to me was Abhishek Upamnyu. We exchanged smiles and I moved on to the elevator.
60 seconds later, as the elevator opened, I bumped into Kushka Kapila and again it was just an exchange of smiles. I pressed Level 1 and 10 seconds later was in the corridor scanning for the sign boards to direct me to my room. As I walked past the corridor and almost reached my room(108), I saw a group of men guarding room no 110. By this time, I was thinking, am I the only regular guy staying today? Why did this hotel allow me to check in?
Anyway, I changed and came out of the room and this time I saw that outside room 110, which was next door, there was a dapper dude standing and an army of men was at work. One was doing his hair, one was holding a mirror, the other was holding a camera(of course) and there was me. I reached out to Aparikshit Khurana and he was super friendly. We chatted until we reached level 0 and I wished him the best for the evening ahead. This time I took a picture too with him.
This time the lobby was hot and the car porch was super busy as all the guests started pouring in for the red carpet entry of Indian Sports Honors, an annual event to honor outstanding sports personalities of India by the RPSG Group in association with the Virat Kohli Foundation. The event was only for the closed group and I wasn’t on the guest list, so I decided to move on and head out for dinner.
Fun fact - Each time I visit any new city, I plan my restaurants before boarding the plane. So, The Soho House, Mumbai was on my list.
The private members-only club is a buzzing word in the city and I was told that for an exclusive experience, it’s a must-visit. Usually when I walk into a new restaurant, my attention first goes towards the furniture used, the hues and colors, sculptures, lights, etc but here I will be honest my gaze shuffled between various familiar faces. Not getting too distracted, I ordered a mushroom pizza and an arrabbiata and decided to take a quick tour of the place.
Now, comes the moment of truth. I took 10 steps ahead and there was a table on which 4 people were seated. I looked at them and lightning struck. It was Deepika Padukone in a beautiful black saree, Ranveer Singh in a white shirt, and Prakash Padukone in a tuxedo. Like a kid, I stood there for 5 seconds with my chin touching my neck. They both looked at my thunder-struck face and just acknowledged “my moment” with a smile. That’s it, I came back to my table with an active volcano ready to explode in my head. I respected the place and didn’t ask for any pictures (it was so hard to not do that) but smiled for the next 30 minutes as I could see them eating at the next table. I will keep this memory etched in my heart and will cherish it for a lifetime.
I always was sure to have a fan moment with both of them at some point but this was a dream come true. To see the two biggest stars of India dining next to me & to discover their presence in the most ordinary way, gave me the adrenaline rush that I experienced never before.
The next day I also got an opportunity to exchange unguarded hellos with Allu Arjun, Arbaaz Khan, and Girogia Adrani. So, yes this was a star-studded Mumbai trip for me.
Best,
A
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