I might be from the entertainment industry but not star stuck in any way. But even after all the growing up I did in the last few years, this experience feels remarkable. Well, that alone goes on to show it was something special. After all, Babetude only roots for the special stuff.
I wasn't an experienced journo then, but I made sure I did my job well and also enjoy it up, close and personal.
Well, I’m calling him Big W here because this is what he christened himself that day.
He had said: ""The first Hindi film that I saw was ‘Sarkar’ and I was blown away by the Big B (Indian megastar Amitabh Bachchan). I want to be known as Big W from today..."
Yeah guys, if you haven’t guessed it as yet, it’s Will Smith, I’m talking about.
He’d come to Mumbai to launch the English movie channel PIX, a presentation of Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India in February of 2006.
I was writing and researching for a few Sony India TV shows and given my knowledge of Hollywood, I was asked to do a complete coverage. I’d to frame the questions, help my reporter friend and thankfully it turned out to be a pretty neat job.
My colleagues had to admit the same too! Some days turn out to be really good, right?
The press conference was at the Taj Mahal Hotel which almost two years later would be attacked by terrorists during the infamous Mumbai carnage of 2008. Even Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie would stay in the same hotel later that year while shooting for ‘A Mighty Heart’.
A sad co-incidence but thankfully the hotel has been rebuilt and the damages taken care of…
Talking of the presscon, there was of course a mad rush and not surprisingly the room was almost crowded. Thankfully I and my crew got some of the front seats and it was worth it.
The born entertainer was entertaining with a capital E and completely at ease with the media contingent. He made sure he kept us all charmed and captivated with his appeal and wit.
He had talked in length about Indian actress Aishwarya Rai, how his film ‘Hitch’ was offered to her, but she was filming ‘Bride and Prejudice’ and it didn’t happen. He’d said, “She’s quite well known in our part of the world. She’s so smart, beautiful and she has a powerful energy around her. She doesn’t have to say anything, [or] do anything; just stand there. I’m here to make any movie she wants to make.” Interestingly when he was asked what things he would do if he were to be the President of the United States for a day, he had remarked wittily, “I would immediately give Aishwarya Rai US citizenship!”
I later heard that she did meet him at a film awards function later during his visit, where he was the presenter.
But unfortunately even after this and many talks between the two parties later, a movie with the two never materialized.
Ash got caught up with managing her marriage and career, thereby breaking the dreams of the Indian fans who would have liked to see her in a true blue Hollywood film!Some are still hoping, but no one can tell for sure whether it would become a reality or not.
He also talked about his long relationship with Sony Pictures thanks to the MIB Films, Bad Boys movies etc and how they were like a family to him and how when he got the opportunity to visit India and launch the channel, he saw it as a prospect to make Hollywood more popular in the country.
I can't say about Hollywood as a whole, but he sure made himself even more popular with the crowd that day. His aura was amazing; and he knew how to ensure there were many smiles and lots of laughter.
Here was an actor, one of Hollywood’s highest paid stars, standing in front of us, totally modest and grounded. He joked with the crowd and did the ‘jiggy’ with the reporters. He even distributed hugs, making the whole situation humorous.
He had said: "I think my best performance to date was ‘Ali’. My next release will be ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, which will be released towards the end of the year. My seven-year-old son is acting in it too. I think we have both done a great job in the movie."
This very movie had gone on to win a lot of critical acclaim, awards and nominations.
After hearing many good things about it over the last few years, I only got to see it on TV recently (I know I should have done that earlier but didn’t really get the chance) and the memories of that event just flooded back…
Well, that was quite a day. I saw him again at the party thrown in his honor at the poolside of a suburban hotel that very evening. Double whammy of the best kind!
Later I also went on to recount the whole experience for an American website( filmstew.com) for which I was freelancing. This very article was proudly circulated till as late as last year by one of my well wishers. I don't blame him. It was really so good!
Yours truely loves to flaunt the article about the same too!
Like most people, celebs or otherwise, Smith had made it a a point to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, one of the seven wonders of the world with son Jaden and entourage. He had said, "We drove to The Taj Mahal from Delhi. I felt an instant connection. Walking around there, I understood why Shah Jahan built the Taj. I understood the kind of love and passion he had for his wife. In my property in LA, I have something dedicated to the love of my wife. I thought to myself - I’m Shah Jahan."
Things of this sort just goes on to show that not only did Big W develop a wonderful career; in the process he made sure he’s a great family man too.
I think by now you guys know that Babetude has a soft corner for the few who balance it out so well in life.
Jaden was younger then and waiting for his big launch. Not surprisingly he didn’t make any media appearances. Today it’s nice to see Jaden flower into a big ‘little’ star himself.
Apart from enjoying his cute acting in ‘ A Pursuit of Happyness’, I checked out ‘The Day the earth stood still’ and the recent ‘ The Karate Kid’/'The Kung Fu Kid'. Like many wise 'film forecasters', I can see that Jaden has the trappings of a super star. He’s very likely to do better in the years to come. Must say, he owes a lot of that to his great dad and mum Jada as well.
And big daddy Will is a proud man too. I'm not a parent yet, but I know it feels really good when one's offspring, someone you mentor, goes on to shine so bright.
I had interviewed a mom of a recent Indian superstar (Shahid Kapur,if you would like to know his name) once and she had said what a heartwarming feeling it was for her to see her son do so well in life.
As for the movie itself, I too think Will Smith really did full justice to the role and the movie.
The amazingly true and inspirational story of a father (Chris Gardener who became a self made millionaire in real life) trying to have a better life, struggling against all odds, trying to make sure he kept his vow of being a good father, never giving up and losing his spirit is very, very fascinating.
Well, I too feel that there was no one better than a compassionate actor like Will Smith who connects with the audience to play a role like that.
And some of his narrations( Smith as Chris Gardener) from the movie just stayed with me. They were so deeply philosophical.
“I met my father for the first time when I was 28 years old. I made up my mind that when I had children, my children were going to know who their father was.”
“It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?”
“You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period.”
Things of that sort really touch me. No wonder, I was so impressed.
Well, after enjoying ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ thoroughly, I must admit I feel even more proud to have met Big W. I’m so glad it happened.
That’s it for today. My next post will be of the philosophical type as I've thinking a lot these days. Good, wise and deep things of course!
And please don't worry, it's going to be entertaining as well. So you guys can very well look forward to it. Till then, take care and be blessed.
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