Ramlal had heard about some festival happening in Jaipur. He had no connection with the literature world even remotely. The only books he read were the text books up to fourth standard in school.
Ramlal said to his friend sipping tea from his glass,” Do you know Shamlal, that there is some festival going on in Jaipur currently?”
Shamlal said,” Oh yes, I overheard while someone mentioning it yesterday. I think it is some kind of an exhibition or something. Are they selling cattle? Or is it a mela of some sorts?” ”
Ramlal said,” I am not sure exactly. But I heard Salman is coming to attend this event. I think he is coming to promote his next release ‘Ek tha Tiger…!”
Shamlal looked interested. He said,” Vow… that is fantastic. I wanted to see him for a long time. Now that he is coming to Jaipur, we can see him. I am his fan since the ‘Maine Pyar kiya’ days.”
They decided to go to the exhibition on Sunday, their weekly off day.
As they approached the festival venue, Ramlal said,” Shamlal, why are these people looking so different from normal people? Everyone seems to have a different kind of beard or hair style. Many have over grown hair... Don’t they have enough money for a nice clean hair cut?”
Shamlal also looked puzzled. He commented,” And see their long cloth bags hanging from their shoulders… As if they are here to buy vegetables.”
Ramlal also noticed that all these people had some serious expressions on their faces. He assumed that they were all SRK fans and that is why they were not happy to see Salman khan. So they were serious.
Ramlal asked one of person there,” Sir, We are here to see Salman. Where is he?”
The person emphatically started off,” No. Salman is not here. He shall not be coming here either. We shall not allow him to come here. He is banned from attending this festival.”
Shamlal interrupted,” But why sir, is it because he killed some Chinkara or something in Jodhpur few years back? He was also in jail for a few days because of that.”
The person looked confused. He said,” Oh is it? See, he is not the right guy.”
They went further. This time Ramlal asked another person,” Sir, when is Salman coming here?”
That person said in an upbeat mood,” He will be here. There is a strong opposition for him, yet we will be successful in bringing him over. Already, we read out some of his works earlier.”
Ramlal thought, ‘Read out? What did they read out? May be some of his famous dialogues, like ‘Mai jab ek bar commitment karta hun to phir apni bhi nahi sunta’ or the more latest, ‘Mujhpe ek ehsan karna... Ke mujhpar koi ehsan nahi karna....’
The idea of someone reading out Salman’s dialogues thrilled him. If they allowed him, he also was ready to dish out a few of his old hit lines.
As they were standing there, there was suddenly a commotion and people scrambled to catch the glimpse of an African looking lady. And they were surprised to see the attention given by all around them, when she spoke in phirangi accent. The only thing they could make out from people who spoke about her was that she would win fried chicken in Opera house somewhere.
Ramlal and Shamlal assumed that the excitement in people was because she announced some news about Salman’s arrival plans.
As they stood wondering about what to do, they heard from someone that since Salman shall not be coming, there shall be some video--- something. They were disappointed that finally, in the name of Salman, they would show his movies on video. This was not fair.
And by the time they left, they heard that even his video would not be shown. A day was wasted by them looking for their hero.
The next day, as Ramlal was walking past a shop near bus stand, he saw in papers a photo of an old looking bald man with round spects with sharp eyes on the front page. And he overheard that he was Salman.
The makeup men are doing a good job these days, thought Ramlal.
But the real face of real Salman and the real face of fictitious protestors are still hidden.
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