Struck, but not by cine-stars

My Week

MONDAY
Four months ago, when I started reporting on the media and entertainment sector, almost everyone I knew was thrilled that I'd be meeting 'their favourite actors'. Back then, I wondered if I would ever get swayed by the citizens of tinsel town. Well, I did get star-struck at the FICCI-FRAMES 2007 "" Asia's largest entertainment convention is in its eighth year "" but not by Bollywood stars.

As the electronic media went hysterical in an attempt to get a quote from Kareena Kapoor, I saw somebody who I always aspired to interview""India's super-cop Kiran Bedi. To me, she's the real star. This time around, India's most famous lady cop was playing mother, attending her daughter's panel discussion on 'Financing options and valuation of the entertainment industry'. Signing an autograph for me, with pride in her voice she said, "My daughter has flown in from the US for this event and I'm here for her." Recalling the times my mother accompanied me all through my years of growing, I couldn't stop thinking how special a mother-daughter bond is.

TUESDAY
Day two had its own tale with journos running helter-skelter, filing stories in between attending sessions, trying hard to meet 'office deadlines'. The sessions, you see, were in true filmy style, running behind schedule. What pepped me up was the hearty applause and appreciation by a young movie buff from across the border (Pakistan) for our regional cinema (which we have given the short shrift).

WEDNESDAY
Shekhar Kapur was the king of hearts (and ears and minds) on day three. The auditorium was packed during the sessions he addressed. During the session on 'Building media brands', he vehemently denied being a brand. "I don't want to be labelled as a brand because to me, it is to depend on my past work. It is an artistic death." As I sat there listening to him, I said to myself, "Believe it or not, Mr Kapur, we watch your movies simply because you make them."

In another panel discussion on 'Creating animation intellectual property with global appeal', he questioned, "Why do you think someone sitting in the US has better brains than Indians? As long as we look at animation as a business and not as a creative endeavour, we will never have intellectual property in animation."

Towards the end of the concluding day of FICCI-FRAMES 2007, a colleague and I tried to find him but he disappeared (very much like his Mr India) after having committed to an exclusive interview.

Finally, the convention came to a starry end, with cine-stars gracing the event. However, the limelight was stolen by heartthrob Abhishek Bachchan who once again created a stampede among the electronic media (and of course, this time there were women fans who flocked too). As they all shrieked to catch a glimpse of the superstar, I stood at a distance trying to absorb what a star-struck nation we are.

Also...
With major media houses playing hosts for lunch and dinner, it was sad to see the amount of water being wasted by the litres! People were taking a sip or two from 250 ml mineral water bottles and chucking the rest of the water along with the bottles into the trash bin. And to think that we complain about lousy water supply during summers.