Note: This is a work of fiction. I've taken my inspiration from my favorite author who weaved true events in history with fiction, to create this story. Please treat it as a work of fiction featuring my favorite actresses and nothing more.
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The year was 1994. I was called in by David Dhawan to his office in the Bandra area of Mumbai. I drove my Maruti Esteem into the building's parking lot and walked up to the building's entrance. As I walked into his rather shabby office, I saw quite a few men and a couple of girls sitting in the waiting area. I walked upto the receptionist and asked her if I could meet him.
"David saab se milna tha. Unhone bulaaya tha," I said. (Wanted to meet David sir. He had asked me to meet him)"Baithiye. Aapke aage aur 3 log hain," the receptionist said looking at me and smiling.
I said there and looked around. The men were pot-bellied middle aged men whereas both the girls were pretty but badly dressed. Wannabe actresses it seemed. Mind you, this was the early 1990s, when most actresses or starlets had no stylists and no real idea of style.
As I waited outside, I began to think about what I wanted to tell David. I had known him for about half a decade and liked him and his jovial nature. In an industry of sleazebags, he was relatively clean. I mean relatively because he too had his flings but he never made the casting couch a mandatory clause when casting actresses, unlike most other directors I'd worked with.
His last few movies had done very well and he had become quite a well known director. "Shola Aur Shabnam" starring Govinda and the incredibly cute and fuckable Divya Bharati, had been a moderate hit. But "Bol Radha Bol" and "Aankhen" had been smash hits and he was really sought after once these movies were released.
I had worked with him on "Bol Radha Bol" since I was Juhi Chawla's agent. "Aankhen" was a movie where I had wanted him to cast the rather fresh-faced Raveena Tandon as one of the female leads but he had gone ahead and given that role to Ritu Shivpuri instead. I knew the exact reason why that had happened, but I wanted to bring it up in our discussion today to try and push Raveena's case.
How did I start my firm? Well, I was a Film & Television Institute (FTII) graduate and had gotten to know and become good friends with two of it's most famous alumni, Shabana Azmi and Om Puri who were well established in the art genre of Bollywood cinema. They were both over 2 decades older than I was but had kind of taken me under their wing, guiding me with my work. Being a tall, good looking guy, I was able to get breaks, but only in so called art movies. And the art movie and theater work didn't pay well.
It was on Om Puri's suggestion that I decided to try my hand behind the scenes rather than struggle as an actor. I wasn't a very eager actor and was more interested in the work that went on behind the camera. It helped that working behind the scenes helped me build contacts that helped land my first few contracts as an agent.
I had been a publicist and agent for a few of Bollywood's upcoming new actresses for about 5 years now. My top clients were Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla who constituted the bulk of my work and revenue, but I had worked with others in the past such as Kimi Katkar, Sonam, Moon Moon Sen and Dimple Kapadia.
Among these my favorite being Kimi Katkar, who I had been in a relationship with and truly adored! Kimi had taught me more about sex and different things to experiment with during sex than any of my other girlfriends or one night stands. She was a tigress in bed, with an incredible appetite for sex and that showed in her long list of boyfriends, who included some of the top names of Bollywood. Anyway, I'll reveal more about my relationship with Kimi some other time.
I had just recently signed up Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon with my firm and was busy connecting with different directors and producers to try and find good work for them as well.
As I was thinking about what I needed to do to get Raveena the role, the receptionist called out to me, "Aapko andar bulaya hain." (You've been called inside)
I walked into the modest office and found David with his secretary inside. She was a pleasant looking young woman who smiled as she recognized me.
"How are you doing, Ms. Chopra?" I inquired.
"I'm doing well, thank you Kartik Sir." she said and then turned to David and asked "Shall I leave?"
"Haan, ok. Baad mae call karunga," David said to her and winked. I caught the drift and took a seat in front of David.
"David saab, I heard about the new movie you're planning to cast for," I said politely. Adding "saab" was essential in an industry of fragile egos. People took offense if they felt they weren't given enough respect, whether they deserved it or not was another matter.
"Kartik, I don't want to work with Juhi again. I mean, not that I don't like her. She's pretty, a good actress, dedicated and all that, but she's simply doing too many movies of late. Bahot zyaada exposure ho gaya hain uske face ka." (She's been seen too much of late)
"Yes David saab, that's true. She's been extremely busy last year, with what, something like 8 movies on the floor. It's been hard work for me managing her dates, handling all of her appointments and all that. And I'm not here to try and get Juhi into this movie."
"Then you're here for Madhuri I guess. Yaar, she's too big a star already. My budget will get stretched getting her. Plus, I've already decided on the main hero and it's Govinda. Madhuri won't work with Govinda now that she's become a star."
"No sir, she's not got any dates for this year anyway. 'Beta' was such a big hit last year, after that there's been a flood of offers. She's now working on 'Khal Nayak'. Subhash Ghai's movie. You must've heard of it."
"Haan, of course I have. That Subhash. Saala tharki aadmi hain," he hissed. (That Subhash Ghai is a really lewd guy)
"Aapko toh pata hi hain sir," I replied (You already know that sir)
"Madhuri ko compromise karna pada?" David asked.
"David saab, I'm her agent. Ab kya batau aapko?" (What can I say?) I responded.
The truth was that Madhuri was left with no option but to sleep with Subhash Ghai to get that role. That was how this industry worked. Even an established actress like Madhuri, with multiple big hits but no big family name, had to sleep with industry bosses and directors to get plum roles like hers in Khal Nayak. Once she had read the script, she insisted she wanted the role, even if it meant that she had to sleep with Subhash Ghai to get it.
"Batao bhai, sona pada usse?" David insisted. (Tell me, did she have to sleep with him?)
"Hmm. Contract would not be signed without that. Madhuri only spent one night with him at his farmhouse. But Ramya Krishnan ko toh ek poora mahina uske farmhouse pe rakha tha." I replied.
"Ek mahina!? Ramya ko? Sahi maal hain yaar woh!" David was shocked. (One month?! She's one hot babe!)
"Yes. At his Lonavala farmhouse. She described what he did to her, to me. Bada hi pervert hain," I replied.
Ramya Krishnan was this really attractive South Indian star. A Tamil Brahmin girl, but her attitude was nothing like any other Tamil Brahmin I knew and I knew quite a few. No real airs, loud mouthed and pretty open. She had this really curvy body that many men I knew lusted after. Before I actually met her, I had heard a rumor that she was quite promiscuous and was the mistress of some big shot Telugu movie producer. Once I got to know her well, I discovered that to be true and ended up having sex with her on 3 occasions when she was trying to make a move into Bollywood. But I'll reveal more about my adventures with Ramya some other time maybe.
"Hmm. Accha Madhuri se kya kya karvaya usne?" David persisted. Clearly he was interested in Madhuri and I don't blame him! Who wouldn't be? She was incredibly beautiful, with a body like a ripe juicy plum. But I didn't want to drag this on too much longer.
"Normal sex, David saab. She didn't agree to his other requests."
"Saala lucky bastard. His budget was big enough that he could get her. That Mukta Arts banner really attracts top talent." David said ruefully.
"Anyway, I have these 2 other actresses I'd like you to screen test. They're not big stars, but have great screen presence, dance really well and will be perfect for your next movie." I replied, moving the conversation to the point I wanted to discuss.
"Freshers? Nahi yaar, I cannot get brand new faces. Govinda won't act with completely new starlets." David said as he rolled a pencil around his fat stubby fingers.
"Not freshers, they're well known faces, but haven't yet got big hits to their name."
"Kaun hain? Batao," David quipped. (Who are they? Show me.)
