The other evening some of us were invited to the debut book release of Soha Ali Khan. It was a windy night at Taj Lands End in Mumbai and a rare occasion to find all the Khans and spouses assembled under one roof. The security guards escorted matriarch Sharmila Tagore and her children Saif, Saba and Soha Ali Khan along with Kareena Kapoor and Kunal Khemu to their respective seats.
A few moments later the famous family was invited on stage and all of them narrated interesting anecdotes related to Sohal Ali Khan. Sharmila Tagore recalled that Soha as a little wanted to know who her brother would get married to and whether her bhabhi would be a princess. Brother Saif Ali Khan said it was when Soha came visiting him during her holidays that she had a change of heart to quit her job as a banker and join films. Sister Saba Ali Khan said though Soha was the youngest in the family she was the wisest. Kareena Kapoor confessed that while nobody can diminish her confidence she feels intimidated by Soha’s natural intelligence. Husband Kunal Khemu echoed Kareena’s sentiments and added that he was still figuring out what Soha liked in him.
It was evident from all on stage that even though the film fraternity has not discovered as yet, Soha Ali Khan is special. Then Soha read passages of her delightful book and everyone in the audience was riveted. I sat up the next day and read up Sohal Ali Khan’s book and agree with the family why she is so special. For those of you who were not present at the book launch or who will not read the book here is my review to tempt you to buy the book.
First and foremost you have to be an extremely confident person to address yourself as Moderately Famous and when you read princess turned banker/ turned actor’s memoirs, you discover Soha Ali Khan is not just super confident but an amazingly courageous, brutally honest and deliciously funny person who is consistently thoughtful and naturally bright in all that she chooses to pursue – a trek, a job, a role and now motherhood.
Reared in a royal family Soha went to Oxford University while still a teenager and learned to fend for herself, she survived difficult climates, conditions, and people and learned very early in life to live and let live without judgments. She embraced adventure, courted challenges and in the process discovered her strengths and weaknesses.
From a princess to a migrant and a banker to an actor, Soha Ali Khan narrates her journey, both personal and professional with alarming honesty. There are intimate passages about her father/ Mansoor Ali Khan’s accident and later demise, her brother/ Saif Ali Khan’s second marriage and her own attraction for her husband Kunal Khemu and she recounts them with sparkling insights, her ability to laugh at herself in the oddest circumstances, her keen observations and her skill to recap the seemingly mundane moments in glorious imageries with exact conversations is what makes this book so precious.
As an actor, she hasn’t got her due from Bollywood but as a writer, Khan is a natural and has a way with words and emotions without being even slightly dramatic. She reports on tragedies and the comedies of her life in the same tone and forever looking inward. The book is more than an actor’s collection of personal essays, it is erudite, introspective and a social comment on youth and conditioning irrespective of workspace, marriage or parenting.
I finished reading Moderately Famous in a day and I guarantee you will not be able to put it down either. It is difficult to believe this is Soha Ali Khan’s debut book and I will never forgive her if this is her last book.
Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya
There are kinds and kinds of sweets, kinds and kinds of ice-creams and deserts and kinds and kinds of paan. Everything is moderately priced no wonder families come in big groups and make a celebration in the narrow lanes. The night in Saraafa is young and people relish the stall food till as late as 2am. One of the sweet seller adorned in gold rings and chains told me that by the time all of them wind up it is usually dawn and by the time the cleaners come and sweep the floor and the exteriors of the shop, it is usually morning.
As we walk out of the campus to find our car, I notice that the security guards at the campus have lit a bonfire and are relishing kadak chai. I decide to join them spontaneously and they are more than happy to share pages from their villages – happy stories, sad stories that have the potential for a powerful script but let’s leave that for another time as today the much talked about Saraafa awaits us.
Pravin Sharma, editor Hello Hindustan made sure that he was present at all the sessions, introduced the speakers himself and supervised their stay personally as well.
I check into my room, order a quick lunch and head for the venue to listen to seasoned poets recite their latest writings.
There is a huge poster of the festival all around and young volunteers going out of their way to make you comfortable. This time they have restricted the schedule with just two sessions at a time, one inside the tent the more serious panel discussion and the lighter one, usually a workshop outside the tent. There is an Author Lounge where the speakers can relax before and after the session and it is the place where interviewers seek time to chat with authors.
IPTA’s Bobby Ki Kahani tells about a little girl called Bobby who has been brought up by her parents like a boy. The story has no connection with Raj Kapoor’s Bobby because this one is written by legendary Vijay Tendulkar and adapted by Shivdas Ghodke. It is interesting how so many decades later the subject still has relevance in our society and echoes the same sentiments in our children.
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