Believe me, I must have lost a chunk of the best years of my life — biding my time in the quest of star interviews. These were conducted in ornate drawing rooms, imposing hotel suites, stinky make-up rooms, igloo-cold vanity vans, under banyan trees, and railway compartments. Time crawled in bullock cart motion.
So I wasn’t at all flabbergasted by the angry reports that Saif Ali Khan showed up three hours late for a press conference in New Delhi, on the eve of the 'Bullett Raja' release. But for sure, I was pleasantly surprised by the stand taken by the paparazzi and reporters who protested against the three-hour delay, mostly associated with airflights.
And it seems Saif apportioned the blame on the capital’s traffic snarls and the organisers of the event. Whoa! Crypitcally, he even vowed to “withdraw”, only to come up with a defensive I-did-no-wrong interview, the next day. So go configure!
Snag: Saif Ali Khan, an emblem of good manners otherwise, is not exactly Mr Understandably Late. The longest time I’ve ever had to cool my heels for a star, alas has been for the very same actor. Indeed, once he had solicited an 11 am meeting over a late breakfast (yummm) at the Oberoi Hotel in Delhi. I clocked in to be told that Mr Khan was not to be disturbed. Began the wait which ticked on to 1 pm. Two hours already down the drain.
Fortuitously, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan sauntered in for lunch and noticed me, resembling a hungry puppy. “You look famished!” he joked (accurately). “Join me for the buffet here if you like.” I did, forgot about the younger Khan, ended with a dessert of peaches and ice cream, shared the cheque, and was about to leave. Time: 2.15 pm Just then, a wild-eyed, wet-haired Saif Ali Khan collared me in the lobby, demanding, “You can’t leave. I slept very late, just got up.”
Followed reasons for the late night: An intense script discussion with the 'Love Aajkal' director Imtiaz Ali, a micro-argument with Kareena Kapoor about the airconditioning temperature in the suite (should it be 18 deg. C or 21 deg. C?) and general stress levels.
“Okay, but I have to leave for another appointment,” I said crisply to which he responded, “Cancel that. Let’s get some lunch. I’m starving.” Unacceptable, it’s all about I-I-I, isn’t it? A journalist — however junior or senior — is just a tape-recording machine. That wasn’t the last I saw of Saif saab though. The next time was in Mumbai for yet another interview — exclusive if you please — which made me realise that I can be made a sucker. The next morning, two Saif “exclusives” appeared: In the paper I worked for, and in another. Wow, howzzat!
On the sunnier side, there are stars who respect an interviewer’s time: Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, for instance, can never be late or cancel at the last minute. Neither can Salman (despite mood swings) and Shah Rukh Khan, Anil and Sonam Kapoor, Rishi and Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone or Akshay Kumar. Their secretaries will never tell you, “They are in the shower” or “Not keeping well today”.
This is not to suggest that Saif Ali Khan is the only late Latif in showtown. There are plenty of ’em. Why name them? It’s high time that, like the New Delhi media’s protest at the 'Bullett Raja' event, other journos also got mad as hell, and announced that they won’t take it any more. Because that spells self-esteem.
