Chasing Ranbir Kapoor

By Rinky Kumar, Team iDiva

It was just another day for me or so I thought. I rushed out of my home to the Hyatt Regency (Mumbai) for a press conference. What got me excited was that Ranbir Kapoor was supposed to grace the event ;) I was strictly instructed to get an exclusive interview with the chocolate boy or not report to work at all!

Bollywood standard time

The event started after an exhausting 45 minutes. Ranbir was to launch a product and the marketing head took the opportunity to assault the media with power point presentations!! That's probably the first time in the day, I thought, "Why me?" But after 30 minutes of profit figures, the chocolate boy finally made an appearance. I must confess I'm not that big a fan. I skipped his debut film, but did enjoy watching his second, Bachna Ae Haseeno - which was a complete time-pass flick!

Cho chweet

So there he was resplendent in a black velvet jacket, crisp white cotton shirt and snug fitting blue jeans. The paparazzi went berserk, clicking pictures of course! "Ranbir this side, Ranbir smile, Ranbir hold..." screamed the photographers. The dude obliged everyone!

But the real fun was yet to begin. After the Q & A session, the paparazzi went completely overboard and attacked the 6 foot star. Flabbergasted, he walked out of the hall, to the nearest door at the same venue. Television and print journalists followed suit. He was one-helluva-irate Pied Piper, being tailed by mice like me.

After an elaborate chase, the actor gave up and parked himself on a chair. The breathless mice… sorry scribes… rushed forth, only to be disappointed to see that a fellow journo was already in the throes of an interview. Everyone pushed, jostled and elbowed each other to get a quick byte. Amidst all the chaos, Ranbir continued to answer the volley of questions in a calm and composed manner.

Mouse attack

After a couple of interviews, Ranbir realised that the mice had crawled all over and they were too close for comfort! When one of the hairy journos edged closer and was a kiss away from Ranbir, the harassed star sounded the alarm. His entourage started pushing the journos back. But that was an impossible task.

The actor stormed out once again! My brethren mice and I followed like vultures (sorry about the simile!!) and we went in for the kill. But, the television reporters of course outdid us with their inane questions. I watched and smirked on the sidelines.

Caught in the net

After a few questions, Ranbir was escorted by his entourage to a hotel room, far away from our prying eyes. Or so you would think? In fact, this move only strengthened everyone's resolve to interview him. I hung around the lobby hoping that I would be able to ask him a few questions.

After sweet talking the public relations (PR) chick, I hurried to the second floor where the actor was holed up. But I didn't know where, exactly, he was. By this time I had spent two hours chasing Ranbir. Finally, I spotted the PR chick who headed towards the room where he was almost being held hostage and I followed. An unidentified guy was keeping vigil outside the room, preventing journos from barging in.

Vulture attack!

So there I was stuck with other journos, pleading with this guy to let us in. Vultures that we were in the guise of mice, we pounced on the waiter who was delivering some food for Ranbir. He said sternly, "Ranbir ke liye khana hain. Penne Arabiatta, fish & chips and cold coffee!" The poor guy needed food too!

After another hour, we were let in. As I stepped into the room, I saw Ranbir - cool and collected, answering the most mindless questions with a smile. Chasing him for three hours had seemed like a Herculean task to me. But when I saw him standing tall, I wondered to myself, "How can someone be so patient?" And yes the food was still lying untouched on a table.

After the television scribes left the room, Ranbir got chatting with me and puffed on his cigarette like a chimney. Since I was among the last to interview him, he actually got comfortable and seemed to enjoy answering the questions I posed.

Finally after three hours, I had some "meaty quotes". I thought to myself, "That should cheer my editor up!" As for me, I was just excited that I managed to chase a celeb for the first time and complete the mission successfully!