One Day

On Bollywood and a Japanese Girl

Piya bole. Piya bole janoo naa. Kya bole…”

The Deutsche Bahn(German railways) had just left Munich Central
Station about 30 minutes ago, and we were now in the Bavarian
countryside.

It was nice to hear her sing, and see her in such light. All smiles. A
sharp contrast to her serious-woman-at-work image.

“Are Indian men as sportive as Aman?”

I looked up at her with a startle, spilling some of my coffee.

“Sorry?”

“Aman…isn´t that the name?”

I wondered what was this all about. Then I remembered.

“Ahh…yes”

The train was picking up speed, and she was lost in her own thoughts
coming up with some questions now and then. She looked at me again,
for the nth time, with her pretty smile in place, and she sang:

“Piya bole…piya bole janoona”.

To hear her singing, in that almost silent train as it criss-crossed
across Bayern, was amazing. Her voice, despite the accent, was
amazing. And….she was lost in the world of Parineeta and Kal Ho Na
Ho. In the world of beautiful sarees, soulful songs (she had printed
out the translated lyrics!!). She had seen both the movies twice, and
had taken a holiday on Saturday last, to rest her baggy eyes. And now,
here she was, bombarding me with questions. And to imagine that we
were going on a holiday!

“Isn´t Vida really beautiful? Do Indian women always dress like Parinita?”

She is Kayo. My Friend. She is from Japan. Tokyo to be precise. Lives
in New York and Tokyo. Works as a Lawyer. Now in Munich on a short
visit. Met me. Got those two DVDs from me. “Poison”. Thats what she
calls them. Today we are on our way to Mittenwald on the German Alps.
Eight of us. Six Indians. Kayo. And..a Sri Lankan who looks Indian.
And…the questions that Kayo keeps coming up with. They cloud my
brain as I try to appreciate the quaint little German country
villages.

The others are too oblivious to the ongoing chatter between myself and
Kayo until, we started discussing the Bollywood of the 70s, 80s and
90s.

“Two sons. Separated at birth. Reunited after six songs, copious
tears, a bit of romance, and a lot of misunderstanding”.

Sid: “Two girls. One guy. Fall in love. One loses the girl. The other
gets her. Eight songs. The end. Or….Two guys. One girl. Seven Songs.
Mayhem. Peace. The end.”

Kayo keeps nodding sagely, all attentive.

Me: “But this was the past. The new Bollywood is full of diverse story
ideas, and I do long for those old movies.” (Sigh!)

Shyama (angrily) interjects:”Ram is cutting such a bad reputation for
Bollywood. Watch “Black Friday” and “Black”…then make such comments”

Kayo jumps in again: “Are the women from Punjab as curt as the ones in
Kal Ho Na Ho? The mother-in-law? And, Shyama, what do you think of
Rohit?”

Almost everyone has a bewildered expression. Rohit, who?

“The one who falls for Naina”.

“Err..”

“And yes, is it easy to get into Bollywood movies? In Japan, its
really easy. You can go to a street where all the film companies
are……….”

We are finally in Mittenwald. A village in the Alps. Covered at the
summit by clouds. You could almost touch them. The huts on the South
side of the mountain. 1250 M above sea level. Hikers making their way
to the top. Slowly and Slowly.

Snow covered top. Amidst the cloud covered top, over hot cups of
coffee, Sid can´t, but continue with the film banter.

“Are Parineeta and Kal Ho Na Ho your first brush with Bollywood?”

“No..I saw Mudhu in Tokyo with my family and my friends”.

“Mudhu?”

“The hero has a moustache, and is really cute. In fact, the story was
so touching that my family saw it thrice. The movie ran for a year in
Tokyo and we all loved it”.

Mudhu? Err..ahh…its “Muthu”. The Rajnikanth blockbuster in Tamil. Ahem!

Sid (with a rather stupid grin): “What did you like about Muthu?
Rajnikanth…cute??You liked the old balding man with the copyrighted
gestures?”

Shyama, as indignant as ever, casts an eye on Sid and at me. I know
whats shes thinking. Cursing us for being such bad ambassadors.

Kayo bursts out again in her beautiful voice:

“Piya bole..piya bole…janoo naa”.