Farewell Karachi book launch: Javed Akhtar brings the house down as he jokes, “Bhawana Somaaya mujhe dahej mein mili hai”; shares hilarious story of their first meeting, “I told her, ‘Main aapse do rupaye ki tip nahin lunga’”

Eminent journalist Bhawana Somaaya launched her new book ‘Farewell Karachi’ in the presence of Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi at a club in Mumbai on May 30. The conversation was moderated by Chirag Thakkar of Bloomsbury. The book is based on Bhawana’s family and their migration to India after the partition. Javed Akhtar raised laughs as he spoke about his first meeting with Bhawana Somaaya.

Javed Akhtar said, “I met Bhawana ji in the pre-Shabana days! It means that I had not become friends with Shabana, forget being marrying her. Bhawana’s colleague Pammi Bakshi was my friend. Both worked in a magazine and I saw Bhawana’s picture in one of the issues. I found her face very attractive – deep eyes and deep expressions! I told Pammi, ‘Mujhe apne dost se toh milwao kabhi. Badi attractive lagti hai’. She assured me that she would set up a meeting.”

Javed continued, “Those days, I was writing dialogues for a film in Hotel Holiday Inn. Pammi called me and told me to come down to meet her and Bhawana ji. We sat at the pool side. We had coffee and I got to speak to her for the first time. I signed the bill and since I was staying in the hotel, I went to my room. Sometime later, I heard a knock. I opened the door and lo and behold! Bhavana ji was standing in front of me. She told me, ‘I met you for the first time. Mera aap se koi khaas relation hai nahin. Why did you pay for my coffee? Please take the money’!”

As expected, the crowd burst out laughing. Javed Akhtar further said, “She handed me a ten-rupee note. I told her, ‘You are right. I appreciate that. But the coffee costs Rs. 8. Main aapse do rupaye ki tip nahin lunga! Please give me exact change’. She went down to arrange for it. But Pammi met her who convinced her to (drop the idea). Both left.”

Javed continued, “It’s been nearly 50 years since that episode. She still owes me Rs. 8!”

He added, “Yeh (Bhawana Somaaya) mujhe dahej mein mili hai. She’s a very old friend of Shabana. Toh dahej mein yehi aayi thi. Aur kuch nahin tha! Hence, she’s very valuable to me. Yeh kho gayi toh mera toh poora dahej chala jaayega.”

On a serious note, Javed Akhtar said, “The kind of depth and maturity she has of people and situations in this book were beyond my imagination. It made me realize that I hardly knew her. The way she has analyzed the bygone era and gone through it is unbelievable. If a literary piece is easy to read, it’ll lack depth. And if it has depth, then it’s difficult to read. She has maintained such a perfect balance between the depth and tempo.”

Boney Kapoor leaves a mark with his guest appearance

The event was attended by other celebs like Juhi Babbar Soni, Anup Soni, Boney Kapoor and others. Boney came late and sat with the audience in the middle row. He was getting late and left in some time. When he got up, Bhawana Somaaya thanked him and asked him if he’d like to say something. Boney had taken a copy of the book by then and he said, “Please pay Rs. 400 on my behalf!”

Bhawana Somaaya linked it with the Holiday Inn episode and joked, “Now, this is my second account which is going on!”

She added, “I have known Boney Kapoor since the 80s.” Boney corrected her, “Earlier than that!” She continued, “I believe that agar Boney Kapoor aapki zindagi mein hai, toh sab kuchh theek hai!”

Also Read: Farewell Karachi book launch: When Amitabh Bachchan broke his 18-year media SILENCE and Bhawana Somaaya’s mother thought he was a FRAUD caller; journalist adds, “My mother also remarked, ‘Shah Rukh Khan’s hair is falling on his face’”

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