The testing ground was Aamir’s terrace on Pali Hill. He has grown up here, but clearly, Aamir hadn’t flown kites from home in a long while. I watched as he
gazed at the satellite TV wires that hung over the terrace in dismay, muttering to himself. But other kites were already up, riding the wind, and challenging him to a fight in the sky.Aamir had large, colourful kites scattered on the floor. And firkees of assorted sizes with orange, green, yellow and white manja . “I’m mad about kites,” he said, squatting to tie the kanni on a bright yellow-blue-red-black chequered one. Young Darsheel peered over his shoulder. “I’d get home from school and straight away come up to fly kites. Waheeda Rehman’s bungalow used to be here in front and Sanjay Dutt would fly kites from there. I’d cut him constantly. And Yusufsaab (Dilip Kumar) used to fly big black ones from his terrace. I cut him so many times, too. Once I told him this and Yusufsaab just laughed.”
He tested the wind by holding up his kite. “Hmmn, it’s a windy day,” Aamir observed. “Darsheel, do you know how to fly kites?” His young co-star of TZP pulled a face, “No, yaar . But with your kite, I’ll make a bow and arrow.” He gave Aamir’s kite a hoist, and it caught the wind and went up in a bright, colourful streak. Immediately a black kite closed in from the left, and Aamir went in to do battle, brow knitted in concentration.
Darsheel held the firkee, letting out manja loosely, so that Aamir shouted, “Ladki ki tarah kya pakadta hai, tight pakad!” The fight was fierce, but when it was over, Aamir’s kite drifted away in defeat. He sucked blood from a finger cut by the sharp manja and chided Darsheel, “Partner, tu dhyaan nahi diya , support nahi kiya, is liye kat gaya .”
But soon he was up again, flying a yellow kite, and in hot pursuit of his black conqueror. The light of battle in his eye, Aamir nimbly criss-crossed the terrace, and in response his kite cut and thrust at the opposition until the black one was sent packing. “Kaipo!” cried Darsheel in triumph.
But competition was mounting, other kites were coming up in the fading evening light to challenge the new champion. Aamir called for tea and bhel. “You cannot fly kites without having bhel,” he grinned turning to deal with a green kite that was upon him. Again the fight was fast and furious, and Aamir’s kite having tasted blood already, was soon despatching the second one. “He’s gone,” said Aamir in satisfaction, as he reeled in his kite.
Lesson learned, it was Darsheel’s turn to hold forth. “You know, the TZP team rocked, we got six awards,” he told Aamir of the film that has already started winning accolades everywhere. “I got two. One was the jury board’s and the other for child actor.” “Are you happy,” asked the man who produced, directed and acted in TZP himself. “No!” replied Darsheel. “I would have been happier if I had got the best actor’s award. That category had Amitabh Bachchan. But so what!”
From TOI
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