Corporate Carnival by P. G. Bhaskar Page A

at the offer. He wanted me and a few other friends to be mystery diners at his three restaurants – Kitcha Hut, Kitcha Inn and Kitcha Corner. I was quite excited about indulging in this rather novel experience. The idea was to act like a regular customer and use the opportunity to observe how well or badly the system functioned, something the owner himself might not know since employees tend to behave differently in the presence of their employer. Mina was still in Kenya. She would fly down directly to South Africa from Nairobi.
    On the flight to Chennai, I noticed the airhostess paying particular attention to a passenger sitting on my right. I took a closer look. It was Shankar Mahadevan! I started. What a coincidence! It was just a few days ago that my client told me he had signed him up for a film and now here he was. I was a fan of Shankar’s and was glad to have a chance to tell him that. The last time I was with a celebrity on a flight was when Katrina Kaif sat next to me on a flight from London. At that time, while every cell in my body urged me to strike up a smart conversation with her, I couldn’t for the life of me think of anything to say. I didn’t want to tell her I was her fan, because I had seen all of one film of hers. Once, I did think of something to say but when I turned and saw her long legs, my mind went blank. So I spent the entire journey discreetly eyeing her, but not exchanging a single word. On another occasion, I found myself just behind Amitabh Bachchan as we were walking out of the aircraft. As I walked towards the luggage area, I thought of a few bright things to say to him, including a point about Abhishek’s acting in Guru . But he never came to the luggage area. It was only then that I realized that the luggage of superstars is probably handled separately.
    But this was different. There had not been a single day in the past few months when I did not listen to the ‘Iktara’ song from Wake up Sid . All of last year, my favourite had been ‘Sapno se bhare naina’. So I rather fancied we had this ‘bond’. Besides, we had a common producer friend.
    ‘Hi!’ I said suavely. ‘I’m Jai Patel.’
    He smiled. Not in that cagey, wary manner that most celebrities adopt while dealing with a potentially chatty fan inside an aircraft, but crisp and matter-of-fact. ‘I’m Shankar,’ he said.
    ‘I know!’ I gushed in a rather silly way and suddenly couldn’t think of anything else to say. I think I simply have a problem when it comes to celebrities. I am just not at ease.
    I struggled for a few moments. He busied himself with a book.
    ‘I met Mr Dodhia last month,’ I blurted out.
    ‘Sorry?’
    ‘Mr Dodhia.’
    ‘Who is he?’
    I was discouraged. How could he not know his producer’s name? That too, of the first film in which he was to star as a hero. Then a thought struck me. Maybe it was still under wraps.
    ‘It’s okay,’ I told him with a half wink. ‘Mr Dodhia told me about roping you in as a hero in his film.’
    He stared at me blankly.
    Suddenly I started having all kinds of doubts. ‘Er… maybe not as a hero…’ I mumbled, desperate to see some trace of recognition on his face. ‘Mr Madan Dodhia… he… er… his son is making a film starring you? That’s what he told me. Mr Dodhia from Nairobi? Used to live in Kisumu,’ I concluded unhappily. All I could see from the expression on his face was that he was getting irritated.
    He shook his head. ‘My name is Shankar Mahadevan,’ he said sharply, like he thought I had mistaken him for someone else.
    ‘I know, but this friend of mine said his son was making a film with you in it.’
    ‘Where is this guy?’
    ‘In Kenya,’ I replied. ‘His name is Chimpu.’
    ‘Chimpu from Africa!’ he exclaimed. Then he clammed up, put on his headphones and closed his eyes. I decided to give it a break. I slipped over to the back of the business class section to pick up a magazine. Behind me, I could hear Shankar talking