It was a little more than just a brief interview meeting that happened at Chai Coffi for BollywoodLife.com. By the end of the conversation, Mukesh promised to cast for my debut film as a writer and I promised to write a film that he might like to direct some day. We were obviously unaware that it was just a dream. Something that happens at such networking places 34 times a minute.
That meeting or interview (call it what you will) meant so many things to me at so may levels.
Here I was sitting opposite a guy who had Anurag Kashyap, Imtiaz Ali and Raju Hirani on his speed dial, and here I was, a rookie nobody who just wanted to make or write films. Mukesh Chhabra is one mad man, one of those who might jump out of an auto rickshaw shouting that the bloody flight has caught fire or some such. You can't make sense of what he said or did. His sense of humour might get him jailed for all we know, but today is his birthday. One of the nicest guys you could meet at Araam Nagar, the doors of his office are always open, no matter who you are.
Having had the proximity to work from one of his office, I can say for sure that he has a gazzillion visitors. Right from those who came fresh from the gym or those who have just stepped out of the set of Nukkad or Buniyaad a decade or two ago. Everybody wants to meet Mukesh Chhabra, if only for a few minutes. Mukesh barely looks at them, as he knows that he will know who to cast for that unsuspecting role. He just knows his craft at the back of his hand. Don't even get me started about his team, it's simply awesome!
Many people come knocking at Mukesh Chhabra's office door… struggling actors, producers, directors and the entire gamut. Even writers like me. He is just a nice guy who doesn't seem to know when to say 'No'. He encourages everybody, he entertains fungi who don't even recognise him. Read the texts he gets on his mobile phone, you might feel suicidal… The most talented folks who are now out of jobs think that Chhabra will get them THAT elusive break.
I am just feeling lucky that I got to spend some good time with Mukesh Chhabra. He is one of the few people here who ensure that you are not going hungry or you don't have enough money to spend on this Diwali, just because he spent one festive season with just Rs. 50.00 on him many years ago. It is his birthday today and he is known to fight for actors like Rajkummar Rao and make others come to the limelight just because he can.
The talents that he has discovered are now driving around in the fanciest cars in town and are getting awards that actors get when they perhaps are on their death bed. On his birthday, I just wish that our brother, Mukesh Chhabra continues to get the love and the recognition that his hard work deserves. While we continue to make jokes about misfit actors being cast for roles they do not deserve, Mukesh Chhabra is going out of his way, trying to cast the best of the lot.
On this awesome day, I just hope that Mukesh Chhabra wakes up to his higher calling. Will Mukesh make films? Will he continue to cast brilliant actors for awesome roles? Will he break out from being a casting director to something that will get him more glory? I have no idea. I am just rooting for a mother who wants her son to be a lot more famous than the prodigies her son has just discovered. I still remember Chhabra's mother recently telling me, "Beta, woh khud ko chance kab dega?"
It is all about being honest to the moment and your craft and that is what I learned from Mukesh Chhabra. He gave me the inertia to type 'The End' on the script that I was writing, but our journeys are different… who knows… Thank you for being there, maalik…
Let us make that film some time soon…
Cheers...
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