Music maestro remembered

It was an evening that started with the screening of a film on Ustad Bismillah Khan and ended with Vinay Pathak's birthday being celebrated.It was an evening that started with the screening of a film on Ustad Bismillah Khan and ended with Vinay Pathak's birthday being celebrated.It was an evening that started with the screening of a film on Ustad Bismillah Khan and ended with Vinay Pathak's birthday being celebrated.It was an evening that started with the screening of a film on Ustad Bismillah Khan and ended with Vinay Pathak's birthday being celebrated.doweshowbellyad=0; THAT’S STYLE: Vinay Pathak & Rituparna Sengupta (TOI Photo)It was an evening that started with the screening of a film on Ustad Bismillah Khan and ended with Vinay Pathak's birthday being celebrated.
Kya se kya ho gaya:
It started out as a sedate get-together to celebrate a film on Ustad Bismillah Khan. Juhi Sinha, the filmmaker, didn’t expect it to become a birthday party.
Let us tell you the story of exactly how some of tinsel town’s celebs turned out to smear each other with birthday cake at midnight after a perfectly quiet evening do.
Chapter one: Arif Khan from the Ministry of External Affairs welcomed everyone and the screening began. Juhi was nervous at first, but the number of compliments she received afterwards put her at ease. Shovana Narayan hugged everyone with her usual warmth, and Neville Tuli was as gracious and suave as ever, taking time out from his current priority, Cinefan. There was still no talk of birthdays or cakes.
Chapter two: Actor Rajat Kapoor was lost. He was among the first of the Bollywood pack to arrive, and he looked a little confused as he took a round of the hall and came back. “Where are all my friends?” he said, giving us the first sign that his ‘friends’ were supposed to join him there. Friends who? “Ranvir (Shorey) and Vinay (Pathak) were supposed to be here, but they haven’t arrived yet, so I’m feeling a bit lost. I don’t know anyone here.”
Chapter three: Next to arrive was Jimmy Shergill. The actor sported a pair of sunglasses (in the evening), greeted a few people and attacked the food. “I just came from Mumbai and will be in Delhi for a couple of days,” he told us. He soon found Meeta Vashisht there and they chatted nineteen-to-the-dozen.
Chapter four: Anurag Kashyap, Sudhir Mishra and Seema Biswas strolled in. More of the gang was here, but nobody still had any clue of what was to come, since the protagonists weren’t there yet. Then Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranvir walked in together. With their purported affair being the talk of town, they got a lot of attention, till Vinay made an entry.
“Hey, Vinay’s here,” exclaimed Konkona, and rushed off to greet him. Rajat joined them and the foursome spent a lot of time catching up.
Chapter five: Neha Dhupia was there too, and while she chatted with Anurag and Sudhir, Raima Sen caught up with Konkona.
Then, Anurag whispered to us, “It’s Vinay’s birthday. Konkona and Ranvir have a surprise planned for him. They’re going to get a cake and have him cut it.” And so, when some of the evening’s guests had begun to walk out, the Bollywood bunch hung back, and so did we!
Chapter six: The clock struck twelve, everyone went quiet for a minute, and then... surprise! “Happy birthday,” shouted Konkona and Ranvir as they produced the yummy chocolate cake they had got for unsuspecting Vinay.
The inscription on the cake was nothing less than what you’d have expected from this gang – “Happy Birthday Vinay (the idiot king)”. Vinay was taken aback at first, but soon broke into a grin. He cut the cake amid much fanfare and fed a slice to each of his buddies. He was a bit embarrassed when he finally got to talk to us. “It was really sweet of Koko (Konkona) and Ranvir to do this, but there was really no need. I told them not to plan a surprise but Ranvir doesn’t listen to me,” he chuckled.
Moral of the story: Always tell your friends not to plan a surprise birthday party for you, like Vinay did. That way, you’ll be sure they will, and you’ll have a rollicking time!
Neha’s Delhi affair
Neha Dhupia is having an affair... with Delhi. We told you she loves her hometown, and she confirmed it. “Thank God I am back in the city that loves me,” she laughed.
“It’s like coming home. People ask me why I come here so often and I tell them, ‘Hey, you want me, that’s why I come here’.” Right you are, Neha!