It wasn’t only about the minute details in Aamir Khan’s planning. It was his “sabka saath for a grand celebration” that was outstanding. As Jackie Shroff’s wife Ayesha, a rare sight at large parties, put it, “It was so old school and well organised.” Ayesha, Jackie, Tiger and the ubiquitous plant in Jaggu’s hand were not only there at the January 13 party for Ira and Nupur, they also stuck around and partied. Aamir explained how he had always wanted a large space where everybody could really have a good time. Everybody did.
Aamir’s chacha Nasir Hussain, under whom he learnt to love filmmaking, had a blockbuster friendship with Shammi Kapoor. His Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957) had made Shammi a star and with the vibrant Dil Deke Dekho (1959), in which he introduced Asha Parekh, she joined the gang, topped with Teesri Manzil (1966). Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973) was another winner that brought Dharmendra too close to Nasir. Aamir, who respects his family’s association with senior actors, always makes it a point to personally invite them to his special celebrations. Shammi’s wife Neila Kapoor, Asha Parekh and Dharmendra were all at the multi-generational gathering that kept Aamir, Reena, Nupur’s mom Pritam and the bridal couple on their toes for over four hours on stage.
In the unending queue were also Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia. When I teasingly asked late CM’s son, “Riteish, don’t you have enough clout in Mumbai to get this queue moving?” he quipped, “It’s the BJP in power now.”
Someone suddenly asked, “Do you mind if they go up before you?” I turned to see the attractive Rashmi Thackeray, who introduced sons Aaditya and Tejas to me. Whether they’re in power or not, who’d object to the Thackerays jumping any queue in Maharashtra?
Ronit Roy, who always credits Aamir for kicking off a list of celebrity clientele for his security agency, stood with son Agastya, the tallest in the room. The teenager, who has to get his shoes from the US, is so tired of inevitable questions that he wants a tee that reads: “I’m 6 ft 6 inches and I’m not a basketball player”.
Aamir’s cousin Mansoor Khan, the director of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) who gave up movies decades ago and moved to homestays and organic farming in Coonoor, had copies of his debut book One, which he autographed and presented to the guests he knew. “Will wait for your feedback,” he said. Even if quirky, the romance in it was apt for the occasion.
With the Raj and Uddhav Thackeray factions on the guest list along with CM Eknath Shinde, a slimmer Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur and Bhai Jagtap from the Congress, the evening was studded with Aamir’s eclectic ideological friendships.
There was whiff of the “Jai Shree Ram” wave too. Nitesh Tiwari, the man who quietly delivers hits like Dangal, said he was all set to start his cinematic version of the Ramayana in March, with Ranbir Kapoor as Rama. Aparshakti Khurana said he’s finished filming Ram, which tracks every place Rama visited during his 14-year banishment. “We shot in Ayodhya too.”
The “old school” that Ayesha mentioned was evident from Aamir’s mantra of setting aside differences to celebrate a wedding in the family with everybody. After the ceremonies in Mumbai and Udaipur, Aamir broke journey to personally deliver mithai to the PM in Delhi before rushing back to Mumbai on the 12th for lunch with journalists and veteran photographers like Yogen Shah. To ensure nobody was left out, the red-carpet media that covered the event the next evening was invited to another floor where the same dinner menu as the 3rd floor reception was laid out.
At the end of it all, a tired but conten- ted Aamir wisecracked, “I told Ira, when your parents eloped and wed, why didn’t you do the same?” An understandable statement from the father of the bride.
Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and author
