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Follow UsOur second trip to Mumbai, and it was time to rub shoulders with the second and, in my eyes, the only other uniting religion in this country (cricket being the other), Bollywood.
21st July 2023 - when we first started sketching out a plan for the World Cup, we knew that we had to be in Mumbai on 2nd November, come what may. India also playing that day in the same city happened to legitimize our fantasies.
Why, one might ask?
Shah Rukh’s birthday.
Am I his fan?
Sure, I love his interviews just as much as the next person. And that’s about it.
But what we felt on his birthday eve in front of his Mumbai residence, Mannat, cannot be expressed in words. Arguably, that’s also the closest I’ve come to feeling what it might be to idolize someone.
We reached there at about 10 in the night, assuming that that would be early enough to catch the early crowds coming in. Almost poetically, we reached the Baadshah of Bollywood’s place only after paying a visit to probably the one person who could rival his fandom, Sachin Tendulkar.
Overlooking the Arabian Sea, the sprawling bungalow had about 2000 fans eagerly waiting to see their idol.
As always, such fans make for great conversations.
And the night in front of Mannat was no different.
We met fans who’d come from rural Maharashtra, Bangalore, and even Turkey.
Yes! Two ladies from Turkey have been coming to Mumbai on his birthday to try and soak in the euphoria.On being asked about their love for Shah Rukh, they could only muster up one coherent sentence.
He makes us feel good.
Almost as if part of a cult that ignores reality, another fan proudly said,
He’s proof of the fact that someone from the footpaths can also make it big in this country.
Not sure if that’s how Shah Rukh would describe his childhood, but I'll probably have to side with Saurabh Shukla here.
Anyway, after interacting with some crazy Shah Rukh Khan fans, it was time to do what we were sent to Mumbai for.
Interact with some crazy Virat Kohli fans!
With his 35th birthday only a few days away, there was only one talking point around the Wankhede.
Virat’s 49th ton. Similar to the hype around Tendulkar’s 50th ODI ton in the 2011 World Cup, everyone - broadcasters included - has been desperately waiting for a Kohli ton to see him become the first batter in ODI history to score 50 tons.
The fact that he’s been in such good form only adds to the chatter.
As hilarious as it might sound, broadcasters have also left no stone unturned to milk this milestone fascination into TRPs. Supposedly, a mail was floated around to the producers of one such platform, where they spoke about the different plausible scenarios and ways to market them.
Kohli reaches 49th ton in Mumbai - he would equalize Tendulkar’s record at his hometown
Kohli reaches 49th ton in Kolkata - he gets to reach the landmark 50th ton in Bangalore
Kohli reaches 49th ton in Bangalore - he gets to equalize Tendulkar in Bangalore and go one up in Mumbai during the semi-final
This game, in a sense, was special. Because this was a repeat of the 2011 World Cup final that happened in the very same venue exactly 79 months ago.
Most of us teenagers have grown into full-sized adults between the two fixtures, and the responses we got when we asked the fans about their recollections reflected that. Despite our attempts, they somehow managed to bring it back to Kohli and his pending landmark ton.
While he came agonizingly close to equalizing his role model’s record, he was dismissed for 88 trying to up the ante for his team.
Having already come with scores of 85, 95, and 88 in this World Cup, he finally got to his 49th ton in Kolkata on his 35th birthday, setting up a fantastic opportunity for him to become the first batter to reach 50 ODI tons in Bangalore, his self-confessed favorite city.
The deification and obsession of our actors and cricketers have always been a major bone of contention, with social media’s polarizing nature throwing them off the pedestal at every chance possible. But till they keep treading on the right side of the line, one can only say - Sab Changa Si
