Part 34

So the period before Christmas was very full. The double shower was very low-key, considering that we had once played at others. I was told that the stag night was very ordinary as neither Balnoor nor Bill were heavy drinkers. I just had to put up with Gaurav coming home with a heavy curry smell about him and he snored all night!

The double wedding did attract some fans and the local press but it all went well. Neither couple were up for a reception so it was not a long day for the rest of us. Christmas day we spent with the Hidjeet family for a large lunch. Aganee was getting a bit excited about flying off again. Guptar announced that he had realised that there were lots of opportunities outside London and he had been in contact with a real estate firm to find properties in Slough, Manchester and Birmingham that he could lease or buy. He planned on opening them as Hi-Jet supermarkets with a good Indian content and he also had one that he was looking at in the city that would be purely Indian products. He and Birgitta would be coming to India while we were on tour to further explore the supply side.

Gaurav tried to apologise for not pulling his weight now and was told that they had discovered that it was his fear of responsibility that made him hard to get along with and that he was not only a much better person now but the stores were running smoother as well. We went back to the apartment and had an early night as we were going to be at the airport next morning. As we walked in I gave James a kiss on the cheek and he thanked me for his present. I had given him a copy of the two DVDs, both autographed by the bands.

Next morning we were picked up in a coach by Janet. She would join us later so it was just the band and spouses, Aganee and Jill and Joyce, our personal beauticians, who were very excited at getting their first stamps on their new passports. We were flying Indian Air and the cabin crew was very attentive and made sure we were well looked after. This was the first time Jill and Joyce had flown and I was sure that the whole experience would spoil them from flying any other way. Gaurav had not been back to India since the early days setting up supplies for the supermarkets and they did not go first class then. As we approached Mumbai we wondered what we would see when we got there.

When the plane finally stopped and the engines had spooled down, the chief steward asked us if we could leave first so we walked up the air-bridge before anyone else, being ushered into a separate lounge in the terminal to wait while our luggage was being sorted for us. An immigration official came in and went through our paperwork and then we were taken back down to the tarmac where several small golf buggies waited. These took us out under the huge wings and on a track leading to another area where I could see six yellow helicopters waiting for us. Our luggage was on a trailer coming behind us.

We stood beside the helicopters while our bags were loaded and Jill asked me if it was all going to be like this and I told her it may be so she could get used to it. Gaurav also looked a bit serious and I hugged him and told him that he was an Indian record star and this was how we got treated here. We loaded up in the four of the helicopters as the other two just had our bags. When we took off we circled around the terminal and I could see the crowds and flashing lights on the police cars. I pointed them out to Gaurav and told him that this was what we had avoided and he gulped.

There was a big crowd at Bollywood when we arrived but they were much more refined. Anu greeted us and pulled Gaurav into a man hug, saying “You had your light under a bushel, my friend. Now it is out and will show us the way to the future!” I saw Aganee look at me and shrug again. Well, it was almost intelligible, wasn’t it? We were ushered into limos for the short ride to the hotel where we were allowed to freshen up before dinner. Once again we were supplied with our clothing and a make-over for the meal and we all looked like stars when we went down to dine, even Jill and Joyce had been outfitted and looked radiant. Jill said “What is all this, we were dressed and made- up for this, why are we here?” I told her that she would be getting her work to do when we left this hotel but that this was Bollywood Central and this was the way they did things here.

When we walked into the dining room there was a general mingle before we sat down. My old ‘friend’ the Head of Studio was there surrounded by minions. I saw Lajpal with some other guys and I recognised the one who took me through my screen test. Anu pulled me to meet a very elegant but aged man in a nice suit who was introduced as “my very old friend, Mr Singh”. I smiled and he took my hand saying “It is a pleasure to meet you, Gayle. I had heard a lot of good things about you from your last visit. You are the sort of actress this studio needs for the coming years.” I thanked him for his kind words and introduced Gaurav and they shook hands. He said “Gaurav, I have to wonder at how you could have got so old without being in the charts already.” Gaurav said that it was because he had been involved in the family business and Mr Singh said “Yes, Anu told me about the Indian supermarkets in England, an admirable business, to be sure.”

When we were seated there was no head of the table but Mr Singh was on the corner with Anu and Anna next to him and then Gaurav and me. The band was facing us and all the studio people were towards the other end. The meal was excellent, as to be expected, and I could see Jill and Joyce tucking in with gusto. They had the head make-up woman between them and were chatting away quietly. At the end of the meal the Head of Studio stood up and nodded towards our end of the table before saying “I would like to welcome these talented visitors back again, I hope that the year goes well. Gaurav Hidjeet, you have an appointment tomorrow for a screen test to verify that you can do the film next year.”

He then introduced the screen test guy, the choreographer and then pointed to a chap with a pony tail and said “This is our maestro, the orchestra conductor.” I interrupted, saying “Excuse me but what orchestra?” He said “The hundred piece orchestra that will be touring with you. I have decided that you and your band will open the show and then Anudeep will perform in front of it.” I looked at Anu and saw that it was a surprise to him as well. I stood up and said “Lajpal, can you organise our flights home again, I can see we are not wanted here.”

The Head turned a shade of puce and blustered “You can’t walk out on the show just before it starts, I cannot allow it!” I counted five and then said “Mister Head of Studio, did you listen to the Anudeep albums that we delivered?” He said no but he has staff to do that sort of thing. I looked at Lajpal, took a punt and asked “Lajpal, what were the sales of the album with the orchestra against the one we copied exactly but without the orchestra?” Lajpal smiled as I knew he could see where this was going and he said “The original one sold a few while it was out there alone but as soon as the reworked one went on the market we took the first one off as the sales stalled. I would say that the second one sold about twenty or more times the number from the figures I have seen, but those were some months ago.”

My target said “So what?” and I went in for the kill, saying “If you had bothered to listen to the things that you think you are in charge of you would have heard that the orchestra drowned his voice to make the whole album sounding like single pappadum, interesting but not satisfying. If you bothered to watch the DVD of our show in London you would have heard Anudeep Dhawan back at his best but with a stronger and smoother voice. He is a great singer and the sales of the last couple of albums have shown that his fans think the same. If you insist on hiding him inside an orchestra again, I do not want to be there to see his slide into obscurity. Sorry Anu, but if that idiot gets his way that is where you will be long before the tour ends.”

My target walked straight into my sights with the expected “You can’t talk like that to me!” So I turned my attention to the aide beside him. “Does he ever want to hear anything that isn’t good? Do you ever tell him anything he doesn’t want to hear?” The aide gulped first and then smiled, saying “The only thing I have ever said that he didn’t want to hear was the last time you were here. He was going to sack everyone then but some of your friends showed him the error of his ways.” I said, “It wouldn’t surprise you that there were a lot of women in this studio congratulated me in the days after that?” and the make-up woman said, loudly “Right on, sister, sock it to the rapist bastard. I had to have an abortion after he raped me but it was the only way I could keep my job. I am about to retire now so I will take this opportunity to tell the bastard that I hope he rots in hell!”

Just then I heard the tinkle of a fork against a glass and I saw that Mr Singh had stood; drawing himself up to his full five foot four he said in a strong voice “This is enough. Sit down young lady; you do not have to go home. The orchestra is a step too far. How many would help, Anu?” Anu thought and then said “About twelve, I think, just some strings and woodwinds would fit in with the rest of us on stage.” Mr Singh looked at the conductor and said “Right, two violins, two Violas, two cellos and the rest can be a couple of French horns and clarinets and flutes. Can you work with that?” The conductor had a big grin on his face and said “Unlike the Head of Studio, I have listened to the CDs and watched the DVD. What you have listed would be just the right mix. I can tell the others that they can go home.”

Marianne G 2021