CRASH! TINKLE! SMASH! And pin-drop silence! I didn't know where to look. And everyone was looking at me. And at the heavy glass ashtray that lay smashed at my feet, thanks to my errant bag. Then, from the far end of the huge room at the Hyatt, New Delhi, a lazy voice rolled, "No problem. Theek hai. It's okay. Don't worry about it." Subhash Ghai was at his magnanimous best. He even gave us an exclusive appointment for the next morning. But it didn't make me feel any better. Or less clumsy. But then, it is said that breaking of glass is supposed to be auspicious. Maybe it was. For what we saw on the evening of Saturday, June 12 -- the evening that saw the launch of Taal's music -- was a sight for sore eyes. Subhash Ghai, A R Rahman, Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Aishwariya Rai, Amrish Puri, cinematographer Kabir Lal, art director Sharmishta Roy and choreographer Ahmed Khan all trooping down towards the Rediff gang that was seated in the orchestra pit, covering the event live! The evening had ended for the audience. But not for Ghai, who had promised that he and his entire team would join our audience in the Rediff Chat Room as soon as the event was over. So here he was -- and boy, it was a sight to see all of them sitting in a row like school children, patiently waiting for their turn even as a large part of the audience tried to throw themselves into the pit in order to get close to their idols. You can imagine our delight -- on every other event coverage, we've had to use a combination of abject pleading (Sir, only five minutes, sir), constant reminding (You promised us five minutes), shamelessly chasing across lawns and stairs (Sir, this way, remember you said you would chat with our readers...) and acrimonious exchanges with other journalists (especially the TV crews) as we rudely shove them away while guiding the precious guest to our computer station. On the other hand, it could have been a sign of bad luck -- the breaking of glass, I mean. After all, our swamped webcast server died on us after 230 viewers had logged on... And we had to face irate readers, and not to mention an even more irate boss. If Ghai had a tight leash on anyone though, it was Anil Kapoor. The minute he thought the actor was hogging the limelight, he would tick him off... Like when he thought that Anil had spent more than enough time in the Rediff Chat Room, " Kya, Anil, puri raat yehin bitani hai? Chalo, bacchon ko baite do..." And earlier, when he had unsuccessfully attempted to replace Kapoor with someone else on the chat. "Anil, zyada mat bol, newcomer ko chance do, Amrishji ko chance do..." To which, Amrish Puri sadly shook his head, " Woh uthne wala nahi!" Subhash Ghai: "The upcoming..." And Puri shook his head even more firmly, " Woh uthne wala nahi!" Subhash Ghai: "The up and coming..." Amrish Puri: " Arre, I am up and coming, he has already come!" Subhash Ghai: "The rising star..." Which finally got a smile from a dour Puri (strange, for Puri is normally very amiable) who bared his bald head in thanks for the compliment. Ghai is a director who does not like anything going wrong, be it on his sets or when he is orchestrating the publicity for a music launch. Akshaye Khanna had apparently been driving him up the wall, turning up late for every interview and cancelling most of them because he was "not feeling up to it." Then came the final straw... the stage was set, the props were in place, the stars were there and everything was ready for an exclusive interview with Rediff. Well, almost ready! For Akshaye was again playing truant. "Where's Akshaye?" roared a suited and booted Ghai, as he simultaneously supervised the setting of the breakfast table by room service. "Akshaye ko phone karo." Ghai stomped around some more as minions traced the errant star. "Is he on the phone?" asked an irritated Ghai. "Give me the phone." "Stupid," he whispered furiously, "What are you doing? I've been waiting for half an hour. Come down just now." And when a sullen Akshaye slunk into the room exactly five minutes later, Ghai slung an arm around his shoulder. " Badmash," he scolded lovingly, "don't make me wait so much." Coming back to Ghai and his fetish for perfection. He just could not bring himself to relax. The next thing we knew, he was at the Siri Fort auditorium (where the event was held), persuading a reluctant Kavitha Krishnamoorthi that she was doing a wonderful job lipsyncing to her own song. "You were very good. Looks real!" And then, adding a little pep to Alka Yagnik's song by getting three dancers from Ahmed Khan's troupe to groove in the background. "Nooo, no, no, no, no, no!" Obviously, he was not happy with what they were doing. "Not like that, like this," he insisted, as he heaved his girth to the music. Ghai may have had control over every little detail of the evening, but he had absolutely no control over the master of ceremonies, who went on to commit one faux pas after the other. Here are some gems. "And now, we invite art director Satish Kaushik on the stage..." The portly comedian-cum-director, we're sure, was never more shocked. "And the star of the evening, poet A R Rahman..." One wonders who was more stunned -- the master composer or lyricist Javed Akhtar who was introduced simply by name. "I am very, very hurt," he said, "that Mr Rahman wants to put me out of business. That is why he has started writing lyrics..." Everyone got the point, except the MC that is! Savera R Someshwar has an unerring eye for detail
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