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| (Image Source: Bollywood Life) |
For the next ten weeks, the weekends are going to be fun because something very unique, a groundbreaking new show is coming our way. Come Saturday, the 8th of October and India will celebrate Friendship day every weekend at 8 PM on Zee TV because a new light-hearted chat show, "Yaaron Ki Baraat", is going to premiere on the Indian Television. Since the last few days, its teasers are being shown on Zee TV and that has got me super excited and so also the other Indian television viewers. Based on a noble and a unique concept (in that it will focus on celebrity friendships), the chat show will feature some of the well-known celebrity pals and will be hosted by Sajid Khan and Riteish Deshmukh, both of whom are known for their sharp-wittedness and good sense of humour. Co-incidentally, they are very good friends in real life too.
There goes a popular notion that no two celebrities can remain friends with each other for too long because being highly success driven and competitive, they often suffer from their own insecurities. It's said that their insecurities will eventually drive a wedge between them. This show looks to change that notion and instead prove that celebrities too can be great friends. Thus the show promises to be interesting and fun-filled. Apart from interacting with their fans, the celebrity pals will also play fun games on the show (which will test their compatibility as friends) and may also be asked questions that would bring out their mischievous sides to the fore.
Let me admit this upfront that celebrities have always interested me and I am forever eager to know more about their lives. I never seem to get enough of them. That's the reason why I am so fond of watching talk shows - I love hearing entertaining anecdotes and intriguing insight into the celebrities. Of course, the nature of the chat shows has now changed over the last few years. However I find Sajid's style refreshing and I really admire him as a talk show host. As a host, he has a good track record, having successfully hosted several talk shows in the past. But there's more to being a great chat show host than merely asking the guests a few questions. He comes across as a very charming host and makes them share interesting pieces from their lives with the viewers. I am sure, Riteish too will do an equally good job as the host. Therefore I am looking forward to watching this chat show.
Now when I am talking about friendship, how can I not be talking about Ashis, my best friend. We are like Jai and Veeru of Sholay - although presently, we are distance apart but we are still inseparable. We were barely ten years old when I shifted from the morning shift to the day shift in the fourth standard, while we were in high school. As our destinies would have it, I got into his section and that is how we had met each other for the first time. It didn't take much time for us to forge friendship, we got along like a house on fire. It was like we were always destined to meet and become friends for life! We have remained fast friends ever since and our friendship has deepened and strengthened over the years. Even though we don’t get to meet each other in person that often, now that he lives in the United States, but whenever we meet, it’s as though no time ever passed - we pick up from where we left off. We still continue doing our mischiefs and pranks whenever we are together, our age has had little effect on us. To the world, we might be grown-ups but in reality, we are still the same naughty pranksters that we used to be during our school days!
Since our school days, I have loved his company because he has a wonderful sense of humour and has always been my stress-buster. But more than that, it's his genuineness and simplicity that draws me to him. We have a special connection, that of the heart. We can talk about anything and everything unhesitatingly, no matter how personal or how insignificant they would be.
However, not just during good times but also during times when I am disturbed for some reason, he is my go-to man. If and when I am upset or feeling down about something, I talk to him. Whenever I am doubtful about something or facing a dilemma, I seek his advice because I trust his judgement, although I may not always follow his advices. But most of all, I feel completely comfortable in his company. When I’m with him, I can be myself. He never judges me. And he is a very patient listener.
It’s not that our friendship never had any drama. We had our fair share of tiffs and fights too and there were also times when we had stopped talking to each other because of some incredibly silly misunderstanding. But we have still remained inseparable. Our friendship has stood the test of time.
There were still many more memorable moments, too many to count that it's hard to pick any particular one but I can never forget the day when after having fought with my brother and so being in a foul mood, I had left home to go to a secluded playground and remained there for almost three hours. My family got worried and when they could not find me, my brother then asked Ashis if he knew where I was. Ashis then went around searching for me everywhere even though he was running high fever and in fact he was the one who found me out. I was sitting in one corner of the playground and it was evening and yet he could find me out. Not just that, on sensing that I was in a really bad mood, he started dancing in front of me with hilarious steps to cheer me up. He never fails to cheer me up, even to this day, no matter how bad a mood I might be in. I have several other fond memories too - even when doing banal simple things - the most common one being sitting at some secluded place with him and doing silly talks. Now when we look back at those times, we end up literally rolling on the floor laughing.
I wish I could turn the clock back and relive all those moments with him once more.
