A short story on how a Nawazuddin Siddiqui Superhit movie almost ruined someone’s life
Walking down the stairs, I witnessed my dreams crashing in front of my own eyes. I was summoned by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and was asked to vacate the United States in 5 days. My visa extension case was not approved and as a result, my American dreams got nipped in the bud. I had packed all my bags and I saw Ashwin, my best friend from the MS days standing in the hall with both my bags. He was my trusted confidante and I am sure he would miss me the most. I was supposed to join my Indian company after reaching India.
“Machha, take care of yourself da,” Ashwin Ravikumar, said to me with a strong accent. “Of course, I will!” I said.
I had a direct flight from the Newark Liberty International airport to the Mumbai International airport. The best part about flying in a direct plane was that you could sleep the entire journey without having the trouble to board and deboard at intermediate destinations. “I will miss you da!” Ashwin said.
“The feeling is mutual, Ash!” I retorted. As I stepped outside, I saw him running into his room. He quickly came out with a DVD. “Machha, tell me your favorite actor name da,” Ashwin asked me. “Ughh? for what?” I asked. “Dey machha, tell me da,” he requested.
“Nawazuddin Siddique,” I said. He quickly scribbled something on the DVD and dropped it into my laptop backpack. I didn’t actually read what he scribbled but whatever he did would be right. I believed him and trusted him a lot. I hugged him for the final time before leaving for Newark. I boarded the United Airlines flight in time.
*******
I reached Mumbai airport at 8.50 PM the next evening. I was so happy to step into India after 5 years in the USA. I saw my kith and kin standing outside at the arrivals. I was thrilled and exhilarated to see my family. I ascertained that they would have missed me the most all these days. Now, it was my duty to spend some quality time with them.
“Machha, I reached India da,” I whatsapped Ashwin. “The USA misses you da, 😉 ” he replied back. I was quickly settling down. We had visitors every day at home who came to meet me. Some were friends while some were my relatives! It was one of those when my nephews and nieces were at my home to visit me. I had lots of visitors at my home that day in the form of cousins.
My 11-year-old nephew’s curious eyes grabbed the attention of a DVD on my laptop back. I was in my bedroom working from home. I had sought special permission from my Indian boss so that I could work from home because of the terrible jetlag. Eventually, I slept for some time. My 11-year-old nephew called my other nephew and nieces.
“Let mama sleep,” my younger brother silenced them.
“But Chinna mama, see this DVD!” My oldest nephew said to my younger brother. They referred to him as ‘Chinna mama’. Chinna in Tamil means small and mama was referred to uncle.
“Nawazuddin Siddique superhit movies!” My brother read the text written on the DVD loudly. “I think its a movie DVD,” he said.
“Mama came from America and must be tired,” my brother said to my nephews and nieces and continued, “Let him take some rest, okay!”
“Let’s watch this movie,” he said and took them to the main room. My Uncles, Aunties, and my other cousins were seated in the main room. My mother was busy narrating my American journey to them.
My brother inserted the DVD into the DVD player and played the movie. “Monamour!” read the title of the movie. “Whose movie is this da?” My uncle asked my younger brother. “Nawazuddin Siddique’s, Chithappa,” he replied. “Directed by – Tinto Brass!” read my brother.
“Never knew Nawazuddin also acts in Hollywood da,” My cousin said to my brother. “Anna, I think its an old movie,” my brother replied to my cousin. “Dey Thambi, isn’t he the guy who acted in movies like Jurassic Park and the Life of Pi?” My other cousin asked my brother.
“Ayyo Akka, that’s Irrfan Khan that you are talking about,” he replied to my cousin.
“Now, let’s watch the movie guys,” he said and silenced everyone. Everyone in the room was busy watching the movie. The first 15 minutes of the movie didn’t show the presence of Nawazuddin anywhere.
“You sure, this is Nawazuddin Siddique’s superhit movie,” my cousin curiously enquired him.
“I think that actor is him,” my brother was referring to a character that was heavily covered in makeup. That character soon removed his clothes and the actress was lying naked on the bed. She beckoned him and the guy reached her bed. He grabbed her from behind and cupped her succulent breasts.
“That’s definitely not Nawazuddin!” One of my cousins said and shooed away all my young nephews and nieces to the other room. My brother forwarded the scenes and there were too many steamy racy sex scenes. He shut the DVD player and there was deafening silence for a few moments.
“Raghav!” my mother screamed at the top of her voice. She had clearly lost her cool. I jumped out of my bed and went to the main room. I saw shards of the DVD on the floor. My father had destroyed the DVD. I saw raised eyebrows and a few bemused pairs of eyes. I was caught in a fix! I knew I had to answer many questions. “Ashwin, I will kill you the next time we meet!” I said to myself.
How embarrassing it is, I thought to myself as I confronted my parents in the other room while my cousins were busy discussing Nawazuddin’s acting skills.
