Today we bid
adieu to one of the finest producers of Indian cinema.. head honcho of Red
Chillies and right hand man of Shah Rukh Khan, Bobby Chawla.
A prayer
service was organised by his sister, the ever so elegant and dignified Juhi
Chawla. Unlike other prayer services that I have attended in Mumbai, this one
was to celebrate the absolutely colourful life of Bobby. From colleagues like
Haroon and Vivek, to his music teacher, Prashant Sir refreshed our memories of
the effervescent Bobby...and finally, SRK took the mike.
Departing from
his favourite black attire, Shah was in white kurta pyjama. An emotional man,
the actor gave his speech in a choked voice drenched with emotion, choked with
unshed tears... and ended singing the beautiful song , O rahi hee. O rahi hee..
While everyone
narrated stories about Bobby's philosophy of being a maha kanjoos production
man, my relationship had to do with food.. what else????
I was working
with Red Chillies where Bobby was the CEO. Now, this company owned by SRK used
to serve lunch on the house apart from the sinfully delicious Maggi made by the
head cook, Ramji. The lunch was wholesome, dal, sabzi, roti, chawal,
dahi, papad, pickle... Fridays, we were served chicken and rajma.
The various
workers at Red Chillies would groan and moan after lunch. Ramji was the biggest
asset of this hugely famous production house. Every year when SRK's cook used
to head to the gaon for his annual chutti, Ramji would be transferred to
Mannat.
That was a
serious grouse with everyone and facing the brunt of our hunger and frustration
was the ever smiling, Bobby. Every year how this man controlled the starving
lot at Red Chillies for 2 months, was his biggest achievement.
Today I say
farewell to my friend who shared my table at Red Chillies over some awesome
home cooked food...
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