The weekend before I am scheduled to meet Jackie Shroff, a barrage of messages breaks my slumber. My grogginess is replaced by concern when I see that they're all from the actor. But before my panic can congeal into anxiety, I notice that he has sent a bunch of stickers, a photo and a voice note on the WhatsApp group that was created to discuss the shoot schedule. The stickers are different versions of the veteran actor saying, what else, but, "Aye bhidu". Meanwhile, the photo of him in a white suit is inexplicably captioned 'Happiness always' and the words "Let's get high on oxygen" pour out of the voice note in his unmistakable baritone. This is how my dad texts me when he hasn't heard from me in too long and wants to guilt me into realising that he misses me. Should I expect peak dad humour from 66-year-old Shroff when I see him?
A few days later, I am instructed to leave my shoes at the entry gate to the actor's farmhouse in Chandkhed, an unassuming village between Mumbai and Pune. It's a bit of a walk to the house and I flinch when wet earth and bird poop stain my freshly pedicured feet. I reach a shed where the production team is setting up and I'm about to enquire where I can hose down my legs when the aroma of curry leaves wafts out of the kitchen, followed by a plate of Shroff's famous and a kadi patta being carried by the actor himself. Turns out, one of the crew members had a hankering for the actor's popular recipe and he was only too happy to whip up a couple of eggs. "You want one too?" he smoothly asks me and I am once again reminded of my father's enthusiasm for feeding guests. I shoot a glance at his feet before nodding. Like mine, they're smeared with soil from tending to his beloved plants that dot the property.
Esta historia es de la edición January - February 2024 de VOGUE India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición January - February 2024 de VOGUE India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
HEART AT WORK
London is a stomping ground for many South Asian creatives. AKANKSHA KAMATH meets an artist, an author-stylist and the duo behind a first-of-its-kind label on Savile Row to see what their work desks reveal about their unique expression
TSUNAINA
Otherworldly and bewitching are two words associated with the multi-hyphenate model. But who is the person behind the sculptured mask?
Viscountess of Hearts
She was catapulted into the stratosphere as Bridgerton's leading lady in 2022, but Simone Ashley is quite enjoying the descent as the spotlight shifts to a new couple this season. Speaking with Grammy Award nominee and fellow South Asian artiste Anoushka Shankar, she reflects on navigating fame, where she's headed next and if her path will lead her to India
Waning and waxing
The terror of inherited trauma always made SHYAMA LAXMAN keep her mother at arm's length. Now, with both of them older and wiser, there's a new dynamic to their relationship
Three's company
For as long as she can remember, SADAF SHAIKH has only ever hung out with her friends in groups, rarely one-on-one. Finally, she enlists help to excavate her passive pal origin story
Welcome to paradise
In the heart of the Mediterranean, a sisterhood gathers to pray, paint watercolours and pursue peace through spiritualism. MEDINA TREVATHAN reflects on the heaven to be found within The Women Sanctuary
The long game
Tamannaah Bhatia knows exactly what her skin needs-simple rituals, serums and stress-free days.
Current affairs
Can you plug into better skin with microcurrent therapy?
Ice me out
Torture method or genius life hack? NIDHI GUPTA investigates whether ice baths are really as cool as they're cracked up to be
She's got the look
Pop on a Punjabi song, fill a bowl with ice and get ready to immerse yourself in Kriti Sanon's skincare universe