In London… expected snow but its still very cold… Its amazing to see the spirit with which all caste and creed celebrate Christmas in London… streets beautifully lit up, hustle & bustle of last minute christmas shopping, excitement & warmth on people’s faces… 24th December flew past with decorating the christmas tree and placing our little gifts for every member of the family & friends at Raj’s beautiful country home… 25th December started with all of us opening our gifts (loved my gifts)… was so exciting… Then Shamita and I took over the kitchen to cook enough for a battalion. Marks & Spencers food store is a scary place to be in pre-Christmas!! People shop like there’s no tomorrow and who says there is a credit crunch… ha ha… dinner was a lavish (healthy), exotic spread …. fruit punch, salmon & chicken appetisers with some dips, Golden Roasted stuffed Turkey,(it looked like a tandoori turkey by the time I was finished with it!!!!) Yorkshire pudding, Mozzarella Salad, Roasted Parsnips Organic vegetables, corn pulao, brussel sprouts with roasted chestnuts… and finally topped it with a two layered chocolate cake and apple crumble with icecream and traditional mince pies with warm custard. (Thank God for readymade mince pies) Phew!!! Luv cooking but (for 15 people) was backbreaking, but worth all the same when showered with huge compliments which we thoroughly lapped up. Raj nearly fainted with shock seeing the spread and I nearly collapsed with fatigue…. just as well Christmas comes once a year!!! Also the family sat around the dining table and we did remember 26/11 and prayed for the departed souls before thanksgiving.

We even found time to hear the Queen’s speech on television which all seemed so wonderful and traditional… Winding off the day with some card games… I am quite enjoying this multicultural activity specially since I looked forward to this time with my loved ones around me… Oh my advise to everyone - dont shop on boxing day unless you’re geared with boxing gloves… sales are tempting but shopping a nightmare…. While I skedaddled to the nearest exit the damage was done… someone stamped my already hurt foot again (did see stars and the goddamn planets!!!). Luckily not too much damage done to the foot thanks to Shamita playing a wonderful Florence Nightingale… Hmmm!! I also found myself keeping a track on the Indian news which I had never done in the past and am happy to know that slowly and steadily things seem to be moving in the right direction.

Got to pack for Spain… thats where we are heading for New Year… will keep you posted… Heartfelt thanks to all my fans and my well wishers for wishing my foot a speedy recovery…

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Dreading today ‘cause my stitches are going to be removed. Not all, just some – that’s what the Doctor says. I went limping to my mum, looking for some attention and she said philosophically – “This is nothing, pain is what you will experience when you deliver a baby.” Ohkaaay! That’s a scary thought. Don’t know whether I wanna have children soon (but I love kids ). I went back to my room (limping) to continue reading a script, groggy with the painkillers. Doesn’t seem like I can do too much here. Think I’ll take a holiday! So off to London, my second home, expecting a white Christmas this time!  Got to pack my Christmas presents, can’t wait to get there.

Got to pack!  Bye for now!

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The whole of last week just flew experiencing this near war situation in Mumbai, the place I was born in and unconditionally love…  After living a whole lot of emotions in 61 hours, I felt a greater emotion emerge…. a great sense of pride and patriotism and the need to feel united and connected with every Indian irrespective of caste and creed. The intent of the act was to break the country but it has done the opposite - brought us all together and that was visible starting with the proceedings in the Parliament house where all parties forgot their differences and with solidarity expressed common concerns and suggestions to tackle terrorism.

In all this chaos I completely forgot that I hurt my foot bad enough to get 15 stitches… don’t ask me how… in a freak accident, thanks to my big sunglasses and nose in the air,   I overlooked a sharp metal piece that slit my foot, thankfully not below but over the foot…! In normal circumstances I would’ve got hysterical thinking its serious… Don’t panic, it’s not…. I’m fine! Nothing that local anaesthesia, a tetanus injection (OUCH) and antibiotics (ARRGH!) couldn’t solve. Nothing to worry about other than my dates that have gone for a toss, disabling me from taking my Odissi lessons for my new film “Desire”.  Really excited about this one since it’s an Indo-Chinese project. It’s got a Chinese actor, Xia Yu, my first with a foreign actor. Looking forward to working with him and R. Sarath (renowned Malayalam director). Got to take it easy for two weeks and then will resume work. Hoping to get back on my feet soon!

Moral of the story is – Look before you leap and stay grounded! Ha ha ha!

(P.S. Thanks so much for your comments. It does matter.)

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I don’t know from where to start as I am still reeling from shock, shame, outrage, anger, disbelief, a sense of insecurity & helplessness at what happened in Mumbai on 26/11 by presumably a bunch of 10 terrorists who held the city to ransom for over 61 hours and this horrific carnage was viewed by the whole world? Our tolerance was mistaken for weakness and we have now been rudely woken up from our resilient slumber. This is a welcome & positive change though it is sad that it came about in through this gruesome situation which cost precious lives and scarred our lives deeply. A feeling of outrage enveloped our very beings as our dignity and honour of our country has been touched upon and we WILL NEVER FORGET IT.

Our media went overboard with detailed coverage and some channels spiced it with some rumours which seemed detrimental for the commandos braving the terror inside before laying down their lives as media became the terrorist eyes by this coverage of the blasts and NSG activities. Some restraint was probably necessary here. While the needle points at Pakistan with the terrorist Kasab’s confessions, they seem to be in denial. It would be in their interest and ours to collectively try and weed out this evil with the world support. Maybe Kasab should be interviewed on TV in the presence of representatives of all countries so that the world can see how serious this situation is…

“Terror has no religion” and there is no point getting into blame games. People from all religions and countries, whether they were Hindus, Muslims or Christians, British, Americans etc, were all affected simultaneously. Hence it’s important that we should join hands to fight against terrorism be it India, Pakistan, USA, UK, Israel and the rest of the world. Pakistan should definitely take a close look at the breeding ground closer to home and clear it with the support of the world if need be . IT IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR. There IS NO DOUBT there has been an intelligence failure and lack of coordination between Police, ATS, Army and the different forces with outdated equipments and lack of personnel. Its time our current politicians took a leaf out of the past and got patriotic inspirations from the likes of our genuine leaders who laid down their lives for the country like Subhash Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi who walked and led our people to victory of freedom. Compare our present bunch of Politicians with their “Chalta hai” attitude, who are only interested in flaunting and hiding behind their huge number of body guards as a show of power, blatantly and shamelessly squabbling over retaining their “CHAIR” which they are so unworthy of and amassing wealth. This is the time to accept faults and shortcomings in the systems which need a radical change as they are so outdated and then heal, secure and provide what is rightly due to the Indian citizens and that has to be top priority.

Citizens pay their taxes on time and get penalised if delayed and the least they expect in return is such funds should provide SECURITY amongst other things. Politicians should be accountable for their lapses and be more responsible and not make a spectacle of themselves to the world who is watching. While I say all of this, it is very easy to denigrate the government but the citizens collectively can change that with their precious votes to the right candidates (Wonder where we’ll find them!) who have education and good track records to prevent such serious lapses in future. My heart goes out to all those people who’ve lost someone dear and I SALUTE THE BRAVE HEARTS ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, ACP Ashok Kamte, Encounter specialist Salaskar, the NSG commandos and police personnel, the helpful hotel staff who laid down their lives valiantly fighting in this near WAR critical situation. We have to look inward and make sure that it is the duty of each and every citizen to be alert to change our feeling of anger and hate to love and understand the importance of ONENESS and not break up this country into North South East or West. As we witnessed in this situation, everyone got together and faced this crisis and the whole nation was affected. We have to feel like one big family and feel for each other.

WHEN I was first contacted by GM TV, London, amongst all the other channels, I WAS SHOCKED and wondered why they thought of calling me. It was strange for me as an Indian for I felt indignant as we really cut a very sorry figure in the world eyes due to government failure to handle this crisis… Then I realised this unrest and terrorism was faced by most countries at some point or the other - the London bombings, the Marriott attack in Pakistan and the US 9/11. It’s not possible for any country to evade or debunk terrorism completely but we can join hands and forces to prevent it from happening again and in time eradicate it. Precaution is definitely a top priority for us. I think we took things for granted and became complacent and this has been a wakeup call for not just the people but also the government.

As far as change is concerned, how much my life has changed after this incident… other than, that I think a hundred times before I have to visit a 5-star hotel, or take a flight, or attend an event at a big gathering, the prominent change that has happened for the better has been that I have decided to vote now. All these years I haven’t voted, (and I feel ashamed and guilty) not because I was disinterested or I cared less, because as an actor it was difficult to do so and be bothered by people around continuously. Another reason for not doing so were my erratic schedules, but this time around I will make sure that I do because I understand the importance of it now. And I urge all you responsible Indians out there to do the same. Take time out and vote. VOTE SO THAT YOU DON’T REGRET — THE FUTURE — IS IN OUR HANDS!

STILL A PROUD INDIAN! JAI HIND!

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