 ANUP PRAKASH |
Kumari or Jai Nepal was the question. We finally settled for Jai Nepal because it was closer to Thamel and we could go grab a few beers after the movie. Since I'd arrived home for my summer vacation my cousins had been raving about the movie theatres – "bahira ko bhanda kehi kam chaina," (no less than any place outside). They had tickets for the premiere of a Hindi film, a Bollywood flick.
When they came to pick me up, my cousins were dressed in their best, which made me reconsider my rather shabby jeans. It was just as well. The crowd outside the hall looked almost as glamorous as a gaggle of movie stars. My cousins bumped into colleagues and friends and traded talk about stocks and finance. Cell phones buzzed and along with namastes and handshakes, people greeted each other with cheek-kisses and elongated "hiiiiiiii"s. Had I arrived in New Nepal against the backdrop of an opulent Bollywood film?
Once we took our seats and the trailers began in Dolby sound, my cousins worked hard to make me comfortable. "Want more popcorn?" they asked. "How about a burger?" I thanked them and said I was fine. The movie was shot in America, Europe, and India with characters who slipped effortlessly between East and West. At every opportunity my cousins leaned toward me to whisper that crores had been lavished on a single song. To be honest, I knew all of that. I am, like them, a Hindi film buff, but I pretended ignorance and kept my reserve. The movie was a blockbuster hit and no one left the hall until the last credit rolled.
We drove to the newly opened KFC, and on the way, my cousins argued over who was better: Katrina or Priyanka. "Bollywood rocks" someone said and over fried chicken and Pepsi, chitchat over Hindi film stars and their affairs continued. "Let's hit Thamel," a cousin suggested.
Outside KFC, a woman, with her head draped in a sari, approached us carrying a naked child. My cousin grabbed my arm and led me to the car. "Dhat! Bloody Indians – always begging. They've ruined our city," she said. Everyone agreed. In typical Katrina Kaif style, my cousin then put on her dark glasses and off we went, speeding towards Thamel, cranking up the latest Coldplay and Bollywood songs.
