Maine Pyaar Kiya!

Birju Shaw is not a man who dwells on what didnrsquot work out Clicheacuted though it may be the selfmade entrepreneur instead believes in another clicheacutemdasheverything happens for a reason So even though he has waited 21 years to meet his favourite actor Salman Khan hersquos not nervous At least not yet ldquoNervous kyun marsquoamrdquo he asks while clipping on the car seatbelt with yet a steady handWe and Shaw are on our way to Yash Raj Films Studio in Andheri This newspaper has been on this mission for the last two months midday was doggedly determined to fulfil a jabra fanrsquos dream If it happened around Diwali it would only make it sweeterItrsquos the dream that brought Shaw 44 from Jhariya in Jharkhand to Bandra riding on Howrah Mail Express This was in 2002 ldquoI didnrsquot come here to make a livingmdashI came to see Sir I thought miloonga aur wapas chala jaoongarsquo But things rarely work out as plannedrdquoShaw was 22 then with a young wife whom he had married four years ago and a baby girl He arrived in Mumbai on a hot Sunday in April and spotted Govinda shooting on the steps of the Asiatic Library in Horniman Circle He was finally in tinsel town ldquoMain khush tha Pehle hi din hero ko dekhardquoLast week Salman Khan took time out from promotion of his latest film Tiger 3 to meet Birju Shaw The star spent time with his fan signed a special autograph and accepted a collectorrsquos edition book from him PicsRane AshishThe next day he reached the famed address on Bandra Bandstand Galaxy Apartments where Khan lives with his family ldquoYou know how they show in the movieshellipThe hero has a bath and comes to the balcony to dry his hair with a towelhellipThatrsquos how I had envisioned it I waited till evening outside Galaxy but it didnrsquot happen I didnrsquot eat or drink anything that day I was disappointed but decided I wouldnrsquot go back homerdquoLike lakhs of others who arrive by bus or train and alight at CSMT and Mumbai Central to try their luck in the city of dreams Shaw hustled His first job was changing R2000 notes for a businessman at the bank for smaller notes standing in line for hours Hersquod make R200 for this and did it for two monthsSalman indulges Shaw with a hugHe collected enough money to start a puribhaji stall at Flora Fountain which shut down in two days because a worker ripped him off by stealing He then worked at a chai tapri near Wankhede Stadium then at an agarbatti shop in Colaba Yoursquod imagine that the harsh knocks would have dissuaded him but every chance he got Shaw returned to Bandra ldquoI came here every Sunday Irsquove spent trying days on the footpath but the desire to meet him never diedrdquoKhanrsquos body of work managed to evoke such devotion Shaw names a song O O Jaane Jaana from the 1998 KajolSalman hit Pyaar Kiya To Darna KyaShaw opened his shop hoping to be called into Galaxy one day to collect scrap and get a glimpse of SalmanBy 2005 he was working at a bookstall at Flora Fountain this is when Aamir Khanrsquos Mangal Pandey released The premier was at Inox Theatre at Nariman Point ldquoI knew Salman would comerdquo Shaw jostled through the crowds as Rani Mukerji Bipasha Basu John Abraham and Salman Khan walked the red carpet He was within touching distance ldquoMany of the stars touched our handsrdquo Shaw remembers ldquoBut Salman sir didnrsquot even say hi lsquoIs this whom I have come to seersquo I thought disappointedrdquoThis Shaw a Class X graduated says was a turning point His goal now became to give his two children the education he never got But he kept one eye on Khan Fandom would sneak back each time he would read a news report about the star helping people in need and giving himselfto charitiesShaw says he feels his idolrsquos life changed after the hitandrun case of September 2002 ldquoI feel he wanted to be good after that to change what had happened I had heard many tales of how he helped people around him Phir mujhe unpe pyaar ayardquo he says ldquoInsaan change ho sakta hairdquoShaw moved from the book trade to the raddi business from Flora Fountain to Sion Koliwada from the footpath to a chawl in Dombivli In 2007 he moved his family to Mumbai his son was only two months old then Hope continued to linger as Shaw wondered ldquoHow can I get to Bandra West to be close to himrdquo By opening a scrap shop on Waroda Road a stonersquos throw from Galaxy Apartments he was hoping that a neighbour to the star may call him to collect scrap giving him a chance to catch a glimpse of the starAnd then one day it happenedldquoThere was one Mehta saab who called me He lived on the same floor as Salim Khan Khanrsquos scriptwriter father Salman sir was exiting his fatherrsquos flat coffee cup in hand But since I was in the middle of dealing with Mehta saab I didnrsquot get the chance to stop and speak to sir After that I managed to spot him on similar occasionsrdquoBut thatrsquos not what you call a ldquomeetingrdquo ldquoA meeting is when you chat exchange wordsrdquo Shaw saysShaw now runs The Topaz bookstore and scrap shop at Waroda Road His daughter Anjali is an advocate at the Bombay High Court and son Alok named after Khanrsquos role as a dutiful son in Baghban studies science at Wilson College he dreams of being a chefShaw credits this social mobility to Khan ldquoIf I had not come to Bombay my daughter would not have grown up to be a lawyerrdquoWe are curious as our car turns into Veera Desai Road What will you tell your idol ldquoWhat can I ask him I cannot ask him a personal question like why he didnrsquot decide to marryrdquoWhile Khanrsquos team was chalking out the promotion plan for the recent season of Bigg Boss midday had reached out to them to share Shawrsquos story We followed up when we knew Khan would once again interact with the public to promote his upcoming release Tiger 3 His team told us that when Khan heard of Birjursquos story and love for him he decided this was worth his time As Shaw unclips the seat belt to alight from the car we see that his hand is not steady ldquoMaybe I spoke too soonrdquo he chuckles almost out of breath But it doesnrsquot show as he sits patiently on a plastic chair outside the main studio building clutching a gift for the star on his lap Itrsquos a rare book a collectorrsquos itemmdashThe Epic of Heroesmdashwhich he has been holding on to for 15 yearsShawrsquos relationship with the written word is nascent and yet he has managed to make himself a connoisseur of littleknown tough to find literature ldquoThis book has stories of people from before the Mughals they are unheard of The most unique thing about the book is that the pictures in it are handcrafted colour plates you cannot find this todayrdquo Shaw elaborates He hopes Khan will appreciate the gift given his own passion for paintingKhan is inside a tent a makeshift waiting area where he is meeting others who have an appointment before us We hear that one of them is an American of Indian origin who has written a thesis on the star Khanrsquos costar from Tiger 3 Katrina Kaif pops in at some point and leaves in 10 minutesWe are finally called in The star is all grace and patience as Shaw tells him his story Shaw knows that his dream to have had a glimpse of the star on his balcony now feels immature hersquos glad that didnrsquot happen ldquoI would have gone homerdquo he says mistyeyed ldquoI wouldnrsquot have brought my children to Bombay and they wouldnrsquot be who they arerdquoHe asks Khan if he can give him a hug Khan smiles indulgently He presents the star with a special paper for an autograph Khan asks him to turn around so that he can use Shawrsquos back to sign it ldquoSir Of courserdquo he says with militarylike obedience and flips about like a child playing hopscotch He gleefully looks around the room and then back at us as Khan scribbles Great to meet you Birju Lots of love and all the best SalmanItrsquos clear to everyone in the room now that this isnrsquot a regular fan Shaw is a disciple Before we leave Khan whispers something to Shaw ldquoWhat did he sayrdquo we ask him on our way backldquoThatrdquo he says ldquois between me and my Godrdquo