Close To The Sun - Meeting Anurag Kashyap

 

 

"Dude, I won the bet". "No way! I won the bet". I was dreaming about the bet I played on the gender of a child of my friend's. I definitely won that bet because I said it would be a boy. I was just arguing when the phone rang. No not in my dream but in reality. It broke my dream. It was my friend Aman Sharma calling on a Friday morning. It was his job day. I picked up the phone. "Hey! Let's go Rishikesh". "Okay," I said without inquiring how and why he made up his mind. The next thing he said, "Anurag Kashyap is in Rishikesh today, I guess". He was talking about the Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. One of the best directors India has seen who has literally fought and changed the way Indian movies are made and should be made. The true cinema lover was in Rishikesh. So close to where I live. Aman had guessed this by seeing the post of his Assistant Director on Instagram the caption of which said, "Triveni Ghat, Rishikesh". He took his day off just to try his luck. You must have guessed it. He is a true fan of Anurag's work. Published an article on Anurag Kashyap (view), he is passionate to work with Anurag Kashyap once in his life. I remember how happy he was 3 years ago when Anurag Kashyap replied to his message on Facebook. I am never fond of meeting celebrities. I just want to meet people who are really doing their work right and fighting for it. These people deserve respect and should be respected. I have always heard a word of praise from his mouth for Anurag Kashyap and it has been really long since I met Aman. Needless to say, I knew how important it was for him to try his luck when he is just in the neighbouring town. I agreed.

 

 

 

 

As we were heading towards the town, he, like everyone else, started to gather negative thoughts about the plan he had in mind while we started. "I don't think we will meet him." As close as we get, the more pessimistic his thoughts became. Human nature. As we reached Rishikesh, he was fully convinced that we will not be meeting him or seeing him. He asked me, "Should we eat first or just roam around?" "But what about Anurag Kashyap?" I said. "Leave him, we will never meet him." I was neutral. I never expected to meet him in the first place. I myself is a huge fan of Anurag and really praise his work and contribution to Indian cinema. A movie which says, Anurag Kashyap's movie, is worth watching. But since I have no interest in direction, I never dreamt or thought of meeting him. I would have never put up efforts, honestly. It was not the case with Aman. "I had my breakfast, I'm almost full," I said. "Okay, Wanna go to Triveni Ghat?" He asked me. I have never been to Triveni Ghat, so I agreed. We reached Triveni Ghat where Aman was excited to see the complete Ghat which is very long. I wonder he was trying to see every corner of Ghat so that he doesn't miss Anurag. But he said, "I have never been to Triveni Ghat. I want to see it completely as we have now come here." "Makes sense," I said. We roamed for about half an hour and then came back to the starting point of Ghat where we sat for some time immersing our feet in the Ganges. From the point we started to this point, I was neither excited nor sad about anything. I never thought of anything. I was just neutral. It was just an outing for me. Just another normal day. "Let's go, eat something," said Aman after 15-20 min. It was a hot day and I was sweating. "I need to take water". "Okay, I will start the bike". "Cool".

We were just drinking the water when Aman said, "Hey! it is the AD of Anurag Kashyap". He spotted one of his crew members. I was not surprised. He was. The key was on the bike. The AD went past us and turned right into the hotel. Aman said, "Let's ask him about Anurag". "Okay fine," I said and suddenly my phone rang. "Hello, I am calling from Reliance Digital, is this Harish?". "Yes, this is". I said on the phone when I saw Aman pacing for 3-4 steps and held the hand of a man from behind. A man 6 feet tall with all black hoodie and lower, looked like Anurag Kashyap. The man turned and the expression on Aman's face was priceless. The expression that you want to see the reality and hope in your heart that what you are thinking is not true. I am sure I had the same expression. I was more surprised because I had never thought of meeting him. I never thought and this thought never came in my mind. But with his all familiar smile, there he stood in front of me with 3 other crew members. Aman had the expression of a child who gets a gift as a surprise for which he is fighting for long. An expression when a dream is achieved. I have never seen this expression on anyone's face. A slightly trembling hand moved towards Anurag Kashyap. They shook hands. Aman hugged him. It was a priceless moment. I wish I had the technology of Black Mirror to check the history through my eyes. I shook Anurag's hand and hugged him back. Anurag's expression was different. They were not the expression of someone who is used to meeting his fans. They were different. An expression of satisfaction. He was smiling at his heart. It seemed like he never expected something like this because everyone is behind the actors. The way we greeted him was different. We did not shout, scream or did anything as people do. It was such a heartwarming gesture from both of us. We just saw him, held him, hugged him. He was surprised. It is not how fans meet. It is how people meet who respect their work.  He stood in front of us waiting for us to speak. He did not just continue walking after the hug. He was looking at us. Smiling. Waiting for us to speak something. We never thought of it. We never planned. I had nothing to say. It was a dream come true for Aman. He said, "Enjoy". A word Anurag Kashyap never expected. He raised his eyebrows. An expression to tell he did not hear. He did not hear or he did not expect it. Aman's voice was low. Too low to be audible. A countenance showing the reflection of his heart. He couldn't speak. Cleared his throat and said, "Enjoy Sir". Anurag smiled and nodded his hand. No one in the entire Rishikesh had come to him. He was walking on the streets but no one came to him. He was surprised by us. Went ahead towards the hotel. We never asked for a picture. A mental picture is more valuable. It is more rememberable. I disconnected the phone from Reliance. We went back to the bike.

Aman's heart was still beating fast. I know how important was it for him. It was so important for me and therefore I can imagine how it would be for him. He was restless to know the schedule of the movie. We stood there for maybe 2 hours and waited for someone in the crew. A man came out of the hotel with a walkie talkie in his jeans and cigarette in his mouth. "What's the schedule for the movie?" "We are packed up. Going back. It was a short movie. It was the last day" He said. I don't know how Aman felt when he said that. He waited to see him once again going in his car. It was a too precious moment for him. A moment he can never forget. A moment of which he talked about till we reached back our home. A moment to feel how close he was to the sun. Something he sees every day but can't touch. It's too far. It's too hot. It's surrounded by many. What if I never would have been thirsty? What if I never would have bought that bottle. What if I had said I am hungry when we arrived in the Rishikesh? I played a crucial part in this. I was happy. I am happy. I hope the saying is true. You get what you wish for from the core of your heart. You will. You will.