superstitious bollywood

Trysts with superstitious Bollywood

The Abhiash wedding generated a media hysteria right from 18^{th April} right up to the finale where the wedding finally took place on the fateful akshaya tritya 20^th of April, where the guessing games of the media became a real mega event.

The event was fascinating at many levels. It was not just the romance of the Bachchan film dynasty's scion Abhishek marrying Ms Universe and India's most-celebrated beauty Aishwarya Rai; but for the details of the finery employed (the 50 kilograms of henna ordered specially from Rajasthan, the silk saris) and not to forget the astrological superstition that enveloped their nuptials.

And so, a manglik, or someone with Mars in the ascendancy, the bride Aishwarya carried the risk of illness and untimely death for her husband. So viola, this fate was diverted from Abhishek when Ash "married" a banana tree last month… twice was the confirmed reports. The media in all their fawning mentioned the superstitious rituals that this marriage of the century provoked like it was the thing to do quietly forgetting the impact it might have on the masses.

But then, it brings to attention that where superstitions are concerned the twain of classes and masses meet. Mostly, at Pandit Janardan’s office at Crystal, 5^th floor at Andheri West. With due honesty Panditji’s is not the only sooth sayer, the celebrated fraternity go to but a myriad others in the city and outside of it. But tarot card readers and numerology experts do not really count, when with mantras and pujas, the believers wishes get fulfilled, their enemies vanquished, astrological ailments removed and plum assignments head their way.

Two years ago, quite by default when I had reached panditji’s office it was to verify and see for myself what the man was all about. For, he had managed with one red rose to get my boss’s friend his job back.

The office was spacious, a constant drone of gayatri mantra was playing near his assistants’ desk and a line of people awaited their turn, standing, sitting as it was wont. A board hung in the waiting room had news clippings with his broad happy face with television stars etc. Reverentially kept for it was an awestruck reporter’s witness to his face reading prowess.

Even as I waited I was privy to the most interesting gossip/ information that has to be shared. First of all the visitors here were old hands and came regularly to panditji, a lady in green panjabi suit confessed she had been visiting him for more than a decade, ditto for a whole lot of them.

Later when there were only three of us left, the lady in green panjabi suit chatted me up as she wanted to go in before I did. Querying her about panditji, I found out that she was mother of ex-actor Mandakini’s mother of Raj Kapoor’s Ram Teri Ganga Maili film.

She said, “Panditji’s daughter and one of my daughters went to school together. I had heard that he was an expert at face reading etc so, one day I took my eldest daughter’s photo and I went to him. He said in no way will you get this girl married now. She is going to be a famous star.”

And turning round to me she said, “If you must know my daughter is Mandakini.”

Halleluah! He was right, but, was that fate so good for her or what, is the question?

This was one actress whose life has been more than interesting, RTGM launched the water-soaked heroines more than ever and even though she became an B-grade actress, she is and only be the ganga maili. However, when suddenly went off the Bollywood radar, the next news was that she was in Dubai had become a gangter’s moll, not less than Dawood Ibrahim.

And suddenly after all these years … her fate, which the panditji can never have known has shown a loving side to it. Mandakini is now married to a Buddhist spiritual head, no less than a Rinpoche from Ladakh, happily married.

Guess what her mother had to say about this marriage, “Rinpoche saw Mandakini and fell madly in love with her.”

More about Panditji’s celebrity clients next time … you are yet to be shocked.