"Click Baby Photography Review"

Recently we got our baby photoshoot done by Suryakant Raut from Clickbaby.in who is a maternity and baby photo shoot expert. He covers variety of occasions of new borns and  also makes creative videos and potraits. The session started at about 11:45 A.M. at our own place and lasted till 3 P.M. in the evening. When he entered with a huge trolley bag full of props and frames, it felt like some magic show or a dance show was about to start and when he revealed all his props and plans we all were exuberant and it sure felt magical. Even if you have all the  equipment, props and every thing set up for the shoot, with out real enthusiasm, patience and passion a baby photo shoot is a bad idea and Suryakant seemed to be having loads of them which gave me an idea that the session is going to be extraordinary.

As it was scheduled on a hot summer day, I was worried that Zaara would get cranky and not co-operate at all but surprisingly she was enjoying the shoot and Suryakant was also wonderful in persuading her. The way he waited for each best shot and tried to calm her down patiently showed his experience with babies. We were super happy that she listened and was calm through out the shoot, posed for us in whatever way we wanted and the bonus was that she smiled a lot too! Luckily he captured most of  her smiling  shots.

Then came her feeding  time and we all took a break for about half hour till she again got in to good mood. All shots were  done in sync with our house environment. The props were carefully chosen so that they blend with the design of our  home and garden.

I loved the intricacy of the photography. My most favorite shot is shared below. She seemed like a blessing from heaven in mid of the plants as if she was given birth by the mother earth. I just can't stop appreciating this click. There were many more dreamy, dramatic, funky , funny snapshots which captured our happiness perfectly.

One of the many amazing shots

I also loved the shot shared  below where our baby is holidaying on a sunny morning. I can write a story for each photograph, such is the detailing of  the  photoshoot. I feel bad as I did not get my maternity shoot done by him. I  have seen his work on the website and it is fantastic. I am not sharing all the clicks here but you do get an idea of his work on looking at these pictures!

With Sunglasses

I thank Suryakant for enthusiastically finishing the photoshoot and I also want to thank his team who covered our cradle ceremony. Both the outcomes are  beautiful. I feel so elated on seeing the result of his hard work and wish him success and many more milestones! Happy that we bumped in to Clickbaby.in and decided on getting this shoot done!

Our beautifully decorated cradle from the ceremony captured aesthetically

If you are in or around Hyderabad you should opt Clickbaby.in for all your baby events. To know more contact him on facebook at Click Baby Photography!

This is also my third post for A to Z Challenge 2017 #atozchallenge

B for Becoming a Mother...

Being a mother is a role to which I am trying my best to get used to. Though it is a beautiful feeling It is not always a bed of roses. Roses have some spiky thorns too. It comes as a package with elements like sleeplessness, disorientation, being zombie mostly, anxiety, still having the after effects of pregnancy hormones, losing your cool, trying to get used to the entire idea of a person completely dependent on you, freaking out a bit-OK a lot, not being able to do the things you usually do and so on so forth. Postpartum is tough and I am still dealing with it. A mother learns on job forever and the learning never stops. A mother comes as a savior to a new mother. With out my mother my new motherhood would have been terrifying! The duties of mother start immediately on the hospital bed even before she is cleaned up. As soon as the baby was cleaned up, she was neatly wrapped in a soft blanket and  brought to me and  I was instructed that I should breastfeed her. I was like  "Excuse me! Didn't I just deliver? Can it not wait?" But it will not wait is what  I understood!

The first feed apparently is very important and I was taught, how to feed the baby, my first lesson even before all my senses started working. As and when she was kept on my chest, may be the warmth of  her body kick started the motherly instincts or may be it was just too much to take for that day but I cried, I actually wailed looking at her, who had already opened her eyes and was keenly staring at me. I felt that part, that small part of my life was Happiness :) It was just the tip of the iceberg. After all the bloody, gory environment was cleared, I felt like I was out of a murder scene where every one witnessed the crime :-)  ! I was shifted to my room but I couldn't rest for even a minute. I whatsapped my best friends, chatted for a while and kept staring at her cradle as it felt magical.

Multiple peoples' differing opinions and suggestions were mind boggling as I was already weared out. With Congrats messages in phone and visitors in the room flowing in and out and hospital staff repeatedly knocking the door, I barely got the privacy to be with her and sleep to my heart's content, but even in the mid of exhaustion I was enjoying this miracle by God. It was unbelievable to think that a tiny person came out of me and is already screaming, crying and gazing at me! Hospital staff was helpful but I was not discharged immediately as she had slight jaundice infection. Her photo light treatment started and she started screaming extremely loud due to inconvenience which broke my heart. A UV light was kept on top of her cradle, which helps in correcting the bilirubin levels. I came to know that years back people simply used to put the kids in sunlight and get the infection treated but now everything is monitored closely and is blown out of proportions. We couldn't deny the doctors and baby's safety was the most important thing at that point of time so our stay got extended and hospital bills doubled! It was a relief coming  back home and tasting the home made tea, food and even water after 5days. I stepped in to hospital at 3 A.M. on 10th Feb and stepped out in to day light on 15th Feb.

My entire family is supportive and my mom and husband are more than supportive. I cannot imagine my role as a mom with out them. I soon realized, this is not a job which I can do with perfection, single-handedly and need lot of training! Without my mom teaching me the basics of parenting and helping me out with each and every task I would definitely have felt handicapped. Without my husband burning the mid night oil along with me I would have been dead by now. I want to salute mothers, fathers and all those single parents who do all this with zero help! 
Feeding the baby, keeping her clean, maintaining hygiene, changing diapers, talking to her, calming her down and trying to understand different patterns of crying are the basic new parenting skills every one needs to have on their resume :) Even if we haven't excelled, we are doing a satisfactory job is what I feel. Having said that I did acquire few skills naturally. May be that is the  magic of parenting!

source: here

Being a mother comes with other miscellaneous challenges like being put on pedestal by every Tom Dick and Harry forever, people questioning your parenting style, X,Y, Z giving some advice which gets added to the endless list of advises. Advice keeps pouring in from all directions. Some are worth listening and some are tiresome and all of a sudden everyone seems to be having an opinion about your choices. The first question which every one poses after delivery is, Is the baby being fed enough breast milk or if it is the bottle feed? :) At times I feel like taking a break from all this and just be myself and enjoy the solitude. That is when my family comes to rescue. Being a parent is definitely a miracle but I don't want to fake it by saying that every minute of it feels magical. You are stressed out, worried and always lost, specially when you are a first time mom.

source: here

But ya when your baby smiles looking at you, then you ease a bit, when you see that your touch immediately calms her down you swell with pride and when you kiss her and feel energized you don't mind the stress you take!

My baby recently started smiling a lot, specially in the wee hours of morning and we all compete to hold her, just to look at those pure smiles free of the worldly stuff! Now I gotta go as it is the feeding time. My posts will just be anecdotes from tomorrow as I want to survive the challenge !

A calls for "Announcement" and "A new beginning"

July 9th 2016 is  a date I will always remember. I had a gut feeling that there was something different going on inside me from few weeks. I  randomly did a home pregnancy test, like I used to do in the past months hoping to see those magical two lines. But this time I casually did the test, like a routine act to rule out the possibility but ... voila it came positive. I couldn't believe my eyes. As I was still sleepy at 3:30 A.M. in the  morning, I rubbed my groggy eyes and looked at the test result, startled. I didn't know how to react, though I felt a jolt in stomach and performed a mental jig. More than excitement, I  was worried because I heard home pregnancy tests are not always absolutely correct.

I woke up my husband and it was not really an announcement but a doubt I expressed, "This thing here, it came positive!"

image source: here

I still remember the way I told him  and  it feels quite funny now. He too was startled and I immediately questioned him, "What next?" He asked me to relax and that we will go to doctor for confirmation. I kept the tested device carefully in bag but did not talk to any one else other than my mom. She couldn't control her excitement but I asked her to be calm till we are sure about this. Morning 5 A.M, itself I whatsapped my doctor, silently thanking the boon called technology and networking, and sent images of the two pink lines! She was more elated than me but she also seemed to compose herself and told us to meet her, the first thing in the morning. Immediately after scan when she confirmed the pregnancy, I was super excited. I asked her 100 times, 100 questions, Are you sure ? Can we tell others ? Is every thing OK ? What should I do now?

First thing she told is, RELAX and that it just is the beginning and there is a long way to go. She told I might be 5-6 weeks pregnant and asked me to come for further scheduled scans and appointments and WARNED me to not reveal it to any, just yet. I was worried. The conversation with her was already stressing me out ! I just nodded , hoped and prayed that God should not play any cruel joke. I wished that everything should go smooth. As my family was facing some personal challenges and stress, I kept my fingers crossed and hoped that this tiny sparkle of happiness should enter our lives, brighten it and divert us for good. When she said, "Afshan, it is going to be a long journey," little did I know that it indeed is!

Initial excitement of pregnancy turned to a day to day challenge, as weeks and months grew. I was totally under the control of my changing body , hormones and mindset. There were weird thoughts, fears , dreams, vulnerabilities, tears and what not! All in all it indeed was and still is a roller coaster ride. When I came back home and announced it to mom-dad, my brother and in-laws I had the initial set of tears. I don't know if they were tears of happiness or if I was just overwhelmed and troubled but I was feeling a mix of so many things. I was really not feeling pregnant other than some odd queasiness, which you feel when you enter the examination hall a half hour late during your board exams or when you just have to face an interview which you really want to crack!

I sat down, letting it sink in, calmed my self and cooled down. As I was new at work place and not much conversational, I was not sure with whom I should share the news, so I did not. Some of my friends were elated and were jumping in joy which doubled my bliss but I later understood that folks around you will not necessarily be part of your happiness and high spirits, even if they seem quite friendly :).

 I would be talking about other pregnancy challenges , some funny stories, about people, their opinions, unsolicited advice and miscellaneous stuff which happened in these 9 months, during my A to Z challenge. In between I may talk other random things too! 

I am happy to announce on my blog that I gave birth to an angel on Feb 10th 2017 at 11:07 P.M. after a long eventful day. The contractions , the ordeal of pushing and the lingering feeling that I may die lasted for almost an entire evening :)  I want to introduce my princess, "Zaara Parizaad Khan" to the blogging world and the muggle world too (I mean the non-writers;-)) in the below video:)

Thank You!

This video is made as part of her cradle ceremony invitation!

Introducing Baby Zaara

This is my first post for A to Z Challenge 2017 #atozchallenge

To be continued ... 

When Blues Strike...

When blues of life strike you with full force
When you feel you are not able to understand life's course
Hang in there and wait for things to fall in place
Slowly but surely the blues can turn to hues of solace

Image source: here

Blues are funny, they can make you brood, smile or cry
There isn't always a clear answer to the question why!?
When blues invade you, sometimes there  is no escape
You gotta be your own magician who wears a cape!

Blues can paint every thing  grey in your mind
Blues can be defeated with blues of a different kind
Vast expanse of the blue sea and the sky, the water and the clouds that fly
The blue gladiola, the blue of the eyes and the blue of the moon can make you high
There are only few experiences in life which do not fail when you try

When blues strike, all you need to do is sit and revive
Recollect those happening moments which let you thrive
Those moments ease the other moments where you need to strive
All the moments which are happy, sad, tough, easy and crazy keep you alive!

When blues strike, exposed are your colors which actually are true
Hidden ideas and thoughts resurface about which you had no clue
When all other feelings and emotions are waiting in the long  queue,
Blues start making decisions and you just take their cue!!

The only way to get rid of blues is to splurge on all other colors around you
White to stay calm, orange to feel energetic, red for warmth, energy, rage or passion 
Yellow for joy or ecstasy, Green for peace, Pink to feel the love, a beautiful emotion
Black for royalty and sophistication, use all colors in a balanced proportion!!

Fighting the blues is not as easy as it seems to be 
Some times it takes days , at times weeks or months to feel free
You can bury the blues and stop feeling always low
Just go with them and flow with them as it helps to just let it go!!

Image source : Facebook Happy Page

A very Happy Weekend to All  !

"Dear Zindagi"

Dear Zindagi,

How are we doing so far? Since the writing bug bit me we both are interacting in one form or other, sometimes on paper , some times  on blog and some times by telepathy. So what is it like, is it carpe diem till now or did we totally waste some  moments? Hand in hand we surely have come a long way! If I have to write a letter to a 15 year old you, I would like to write that I miss you. I miss the innocence , the purity of thoughts and  the bigger dreams. Nevertheless I just want to tell that I am proud of you for dreaming big, for believing in yourself, for being in terms with your conscience always. I just love you more as your heart was less complicated and demenour was more sweet. Time and things have changed you for good and sometimes for bad. But that is how dealing with you is no?  The issues which seemed like mountains are like molehills now. I hope the mountains of the present day would be molehills tomorrow. I still remember how some things seemed like burning issues years back. 

The social studies exam paper which always gave me shivers and the memory of how I just wanted to tear the pages off the civics or economics text books after the exams is still fresh. But later in life I loved few concepts I learnt. I mean just think about law of diminishing marginal utility--- The first unit of consumption for any product is typically highest, with every unit of consumption to follow holding less and less utility. Consumers handle the law of diminishing marginal utility by consuming numerous quantities of numerous goods. I still remember how my wonderful social teacher explained this law and the supply and demand theory using the banana fruit as example. You first eat a  lot if you are hungry, then if supply keeps increasing and you are no longer hungry , the demand for banana reduces. The study of demand and supply and law of diminishing utility got etched in my mind and I even applied it to my interests in life. When something is in abundant, we never love it. When we lose it, we miss it and start craving for it, we all know this fundamental principle. I realized every thing I study can be linked to life in one way or  the other. I started enjoying whatever I was taught or whatever I learnt all by myself. I realised that the feeling of learning something new is so liberating.

Years kept moving on and the things I love kept changing with time and happenings. If I loved drawing at  8, I loved writing and reading at 17. If I loved motichoor laddu as a kid, I loved barfi more as a teen :) Some loves  remained constant and some didn’t. While  racing with you I realized nothing is constant. The things which felt may kill me didn’t seem so harmful later. The day I broke  up with my best friend due to some silly reason seems  funny today. The day I cried because  I thought I would fail in the annual examination which would be the end of  my life  sounds stupid now. Some  friendships stayed with me, some were seasonal , some were there for a reason but every sort of bonding  taught me what I need to know. My love for reading started some time in high school when I finished the English non-detail book, Great Expectations – a novel by Charles Dickens. I finished it even before the school term started during a train journey and I was super excited by this colorful world  of books I entered in. My imaginations got new wings and I got new friends in the form of books. To all my friends it is a common  sight to spot me sitting in a corner, sprawled in the hostel lawn or sofa or sleeping on my bed holding a book. Harry Potter books were my best companions  during  my college life. It is not an exaggeration if I say that these books helped me get over my home-sickness , only difference is, I  was not in Hogwarts but was just pursuing graduation like every one else!

Many books influenced me in many ways and I evolved. Anne Frank’s – The Dairy of a young girl left me teary eyed  during an industrial trip in college. Life of Pi taught me how to face adversities and Tuesdays with Morrie is the book I will keep near to my heart. The Alchemist has every thing you need to know in a nut shell.  Great poets  like Robert Frost , Maya Angelou,  Oscar Wilde, Kahlil Gibran, Kabir and so on so forth influenced my thoughts and made me pen down many poems. Their wisdom is contagious! I am a bibliophile but a slow reader. I don’t read everything on which I get a hand on but most of the things I read stay with me . There is so much to read and so less time. I am still catching up with my reading list and I hope to read more and talk only when there is a  need!

My love for books has surely changed me and you for good! This  letter is an ode to all kinds of books I read, be it in curriculum or outside it, which influenced me. Thank you books for filling less non-sense in my head and for being there  always no matter what! Hoping that the mountains always turn to molehills in the end I sign-off!

Source: here

With love,

Afshan

“I am writing a letter to life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda".

Dear Zindagi - Take 1: Life is a Game

"C'est la vie"

Dear Zindagi,
                     
I remember writing letters of this sort in my personal diaries or journals. Now that the habit of writing a diary is a thing of past, this is a wonderful opportunity for me to thank life and fall in love with it all over again. C'est la vie in French means  "That's life" in short. It is what you say when something happens that you do not like but have to accept because you cannot change it! Life is a mixture of events, some may give immense happiness and some leave you stranded and teach you the much needed lessons. How much ever hard a phase may seem in life, it passes too. This  is the biggest lesson I learnt, that time heals the wounds and always gives a chance to begin afresh! In my 20s when I was struggling, figuring out my actual ambitions in life and fighting my body-weight issues, I  started hating and cursing my life. I do have many hate letters written in my personal journal , cursing life and God for the life I got :-).

I know "being slim" was and will always be the in thing. How much ever attractive or smart you may be, you know for a fact that looks matter and mostly the first and foremost factors which attract a person to other person are - good looks, physique, the debonair way of dressing and so on so forth. It takes lot of maturity to actually know a person and like him or her. Due to my obesity I used to shun from any kind of relation-ship even if life gave me some fair chances!  The same life gave me few great memories and friends who made me feel good. I realized I am good looking, no matter what. I slowly came out of the shell of self consciousness and mingled with people who can hold an interesting  conversation for more than 15 minutes atleast. The life which made me feel like a  loser due to turbulent graduation years and body image issues made me feel like a star when I cleared job interviews effortlessly and got a wonderful opportunity in a reputed organisation.

It was always a roller coaster ride as I sailed through my adolescent years.  Which major subject to choose? Maths or Biology? Which choice has more career options? What do I actually want to do? Do I like that boy? were the questions which strangled me for long. All I wanted to do was "have fun" and let time decide the best for me. I was a topper, rank holder all my life but YES I never actually had clarity on what I want to do and neither do I have a clarity now. I love this suspense. When life hits me head on I feel prepared as I faced many uncertainties by now and have come out of them in  flying colors. Education and career-wise, I transitioned from being a full blown Biology student who is quite  attached to the subject, to a Bio-Technology student, to a Software Engineer , to a Technical Writer and I am quite happy on the podium I am standing today with no idea of  what future holds for me. 

I am at that juncture where I feel happy by my acts and not the place or people. This made it easy for me to live even when I am surrounded by some folks who can pierce me like a prickling cactus. I bloomed like that brilliant flower in mid of cactus spines.Years of life have taught me how to respond to cacti or just not respond to them. 4-5 years back it would have been an impossible scenario to me, but thanks to life which taught me to bother about things which actually mean something to me.

Crossing all my 20s , now after a decade,  I feel like a winner at 31 when no one's shit matters much. I have outgrown opinions of others about me but I don't like to announce my victory to the world because when did world actually care about it? 

When I remember my 20 year old self and when ever I am facing life as my opponent I recollect Baz Lurhmann's powerful sunscreen song shared below. This  holds good for me till my last breath and summarizes days of my life!  Listen to it carefully! Concentrate on all lyrics. If it didn't relax your nerves and change your perspective a bit, let me know!

Once out of my la la land where day dreaming ruled my hours during my teen years, I realised life is not a bed of roses. There is not  going to be a knight in shining armour or a dewy eyed Shahrukh Khan waiting for me at the end of the tunnel :) The real need to work on self-love and on things which made me feel better and happy dawned on me, some time immediately after my graduation and I sensed that things will slowly fall in place when I love myself. Losing body weight felt good , not for any Tom, Dick or Harry but just for myself. It did boost my confidence , when I started wearing clothes I liked, which earlier were not available in malls in my size . You know how the best attires are made for skinny people :) I  danced to myself on my achievement but I understood I may gain weight once in a while and free advice would always be dispensed by anyone and everyone regarding all aspects of my life!

There are funky people like Aunty Acid and so much humour embedded in universe in so many forms which come to my rescue when I feel like dispensing an advice to folks around. Having some inbuilt humor in me helps in overcoming the biggest obstacles or the nosiest  people around!

Source : here . hahha . Joke is on u ;)

"The next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it." --- Frank Clark

All in all I feel content with the life I am living. On this day if I get a time machine and travel back in time, I really can't think of editing something I have done already because how much ever you travel back, life is always full of surprises , challenges, smiles and tears and it always lifts you up after making you fall down. I am trying to take life as it comes and make it less complicated because it all depends on how I react to life and its happenings and I will always remember to count my blessings! Ending my post with a beautiful quote by Abraham Lincoln!

Love you Zindagi,
Afshan

source : here

“I am writing a letter to life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda“.

Being a die hard SRK fan I am quite intrigued by Gauri Shinde's Dear Zindagi, in which the talented Alia Bhatt acted too. I just can't wait for it to hit the screens on November 25th. Watch the teaser below.

Dear Zindagi - Take 1: Life is a Game

For the Love of SRK!

Some call it madness, some are in sync with me. Some think I am still stuck in teens. Some say I should move on! (but why??) 

I say that this love is unfathomable and irreparable. My unconditional love for SRK cannot be explained clearly to 'others' . I dont even remember the exact moment, when it started. I was 7 years old when Baazigar was released and was clean bowled by this man with captivating eyes. I didn't know the actual meaning of words crush, mush or love then but one feeling I had was I could easily get drowned in those eyes, get arrested by that stare and keep staring at that adam's apple. Those contact lenses Vicky Malhotra  uses to look different from the good SRK aka Ajay, make him look almost vile and some one like me cannot stop admiring every shade or color he shows! The song ye kaali kaali aankhen (though both hero and heroine do not have black eyes :) ) is my heart favorite till date. Baazigar is one of its kind. There are many movies where hero goes to any extent to take revenge on the villain but baazigar has an interesting plot, two charismatic new comers (Kajol and Shilpa) with our very own heartthrob SRK. The movie has many factors to make it a good watch, also it is the first movie which earned Khan a Filmfare Award for Best Actor.  The sweetest Fauji who enchanted the audience on small screen, acted in many more tele-serials like Circus, Dil Dariya, Waghle ki Duniya  and has just spread his charm quickly in all directions!

Young lad from Fauji- source here

SRK as Deewana

His intense acting in Darr and Baazigar won my heart. I became an instant fan in Kabhi haan kabhi naa. I mean look at how he looks at you. Can you escape the charm? The innocent Raju from Raju bangaya gentleman who travels to city to establish himself, again made me fall head over heels for him.

This wonderful song is quite inspiring

The role in Raju Bangaya Gentleman is very near to SRK's real life. Juhi and Shahrukh made a cutesy couple though it never felt like there was hot chemistry between them, atleast to me. The movie shows the struggle of a man who wants to succeed. Two more good movies, where the duo showed their charm are Yes boss and Duplicate, with a slightly similar story line where a talented young man is trying to establish himself. Each and every movie done by SRK and Juhi is enjoyable. Their comic timing is perfect and they both complement each other well! Then came 1995 ... The first movie I went out with friends, the turning point of my life when my eyes couldn't dart off from RAJ MALHOTRA on the screen is Dilwale Dulhaniya Lejayenge. I mean just see how he turns around and looks at you ;) . My heart was gone that moment and it goes on and on even now and the hotness both the actors kick started continued for years :) ! Even after 30 years I still see people arguing on Facebook that DDLJ is a bunch of crap , quite unrealistic and totally non-feminist (this part I never can comprehend even though I am a feminist myself). First and foremost thing for which movies are made is - entertainment. There are different genre of movies , some are hardcore romantic , some are real , some have senseless comedy and so on so forth. How much ever unrealistic some haters may have felt  while watching the flick, it is not an exaggeration if I say, it made many people believe in love which can happen like an accident, not necessarily in a train or in Europe but the belief keeps a person get going. The hope that there may be a guy or a girl  just there who can love you as much as Raj and Simran love each other is good. The words, "Mai aaraha hu Simraan" or the way they both wait for the elders' consent overcoming all challenges may be unrealistic but life can be unreal and magical once in a while right?

source : here

A different angle is shown in Bachna Ae Haseeno where our protagonist Ranbir Kapoor goes to apologize to Minisha Lamba who blindly thinks Ranbir is her Raj but finally starts feeling may be her husband who has overseen the shortcomings and accepted the challenges in the marriage may be her real Raj? The point here is, Raj has set a benchmark which sometimes may be fulfilled by the most unexpected person in your life! YES. This can happen. Even though many guys say they hate the movie and SRK and curse the movie makers by cribbing that no one has shown what happens after Raj and Simran get married, I know that secretly they adopt a pinch of SRKism to woo a girl. The magic of DDLJ still is intact in my heart and many hearts like mine and my belief in love is unflinching no matter what!

source: here , Sarson ke khet became the most romantic place to hangout for me after the movie ;)

No one can romance like this man does. It feels like he is romancing the mind and not just the body! After all these years even in his 40s when he played Suri Paaji in Rab ne Bana di Jodi, I was clean bowled. Such a cute, innocent common man who puts a sincere effort to win his wife's heart will make any one feel good and dreamy. The story line may seem silly and the comedy at times may seem monotonous but the premise of the movie and the sweet nothings can make your heart warm! If a fighting couple goes and watches the movie, I am sure they would cool down after the movie :) "Aapka dil chahta hai ki uska dard kam hojaye!", these words work like a balm when told or just calmly implemented! There are many more movies where SRK showed his magic of wooing / romancing a woman. If friend ship bands became famous after Kuch kuch hota hai (which almost feels like the famous Archie comic- with Archie, Betty and Veronica), valentines day became a hit-celebration after Dil to Pagal hai. For the unromantic in you, if the rugged looking SRK boiled your blood and made Chak de an overwhelming watch for you, I am sure you would have liked him just for once though you may not want to accept it. 

With Swades he ignited my patriotism. As the detective in Baadshah or the reporter in Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani or journalist in Dil se, he made me smile and feel good. His exuberance and energy levels are unbelievable. He is quirky and will make you laugh no matter what! There are many more good movies done by him which influenced me in one way or the other. Every one talks about Kajol and SRK but there is a movie Chalte chalte, which shows the much wanted after marriage-love and struggle of Rani and SRK who effortlessly heated up the screen with their chemistry. The song pyaar ham ko bhi hai pyar tum ko bhi hai makes one muse a lot ;) 

When the topic of sad songs has come, how can I not talk about Hamesha tum ko chaha - from the epic movie Devdas? Dilip Kumar may be the best Devdas but SRK is the most adorable Deva. Paro and Chandramukhi weaved their own magic and make this one of the most memorable movies of Sanjay Bhansali that exudes grandeur!

The song which once upon a time made me cry!

Coming to his quick wit and humor, I am sure there is none in Hindi film industry who is as witty as him and who talks to his fans with so much ease! His fandom is unmatchable. I have heard and seen the stories about people waiting outside Mannat (his residence) for having one distant glance at their super star. Recently after watching Fan, I wanted to write on how I felt connected to the movie but I was at loss of words. Though there were elements in the movie which were not much to my liking, I loved it for many other elements. I may not be a psychopath like Gaurav Chadana but the intense passion and love of SRK's fans is so aptly shown in the movie. Going to the movie with another fan was an exhilirating experience for me . I went on first day first show and there were people in theater who were as mad as me, screaming during the opening scene where all bits and pieces of his journey, interviews and awards are shown! I loved fan for the very Jabra (something extra ordinary )factor and the words, "Rehende Tu nai samjhega!" is what I tell to many who question me how can I like him ? and exclaim that he is a old bag, he has no talent and is just lucky or this or that! 

Seriously this feeling can never be explained...

Some of the many witty quotes told by Shahrukh Khan are here .  

When asked if he is bisexual - Source: here

Just like there are many memorable movies done by him, there are some poor choices too. I  did not like watching him in Happy Newyear, Chennai Express or Jab Tak hai Jaan or Dilwale and some other movies. Even if I play the songs in loop, these movies made me feel bad as the work done by him doesn't suit his skill set, humor or mettle and the movie may not always work when a guy is good , acts in all his glory and gets what he wants or the love of his life no matter what. I would be lying if I say, I missed his good movies and started craving for them.

 I had my fingers crossed hoping that he strikes back with some thing different, something which will mark as a new start! May be he listened to his fans' hearts, he came up with the apt film - Fan ! Even if the movie has minor loop holes it was blissful to watch him play both roles of Aryan Khanna and Gaurav Chadana. All the fans were taken back to the Baazigar and Darr era. I am eagerly waiting for Nov 25th, for Dear zindagi and for other upcoming movies- Raees  and Imtiyaz Ali's romantic film (still untitled). I am sure with better directors, SRK would be able to deliver better performance and mesmerize me like he usually done! I can write  many sequels to this post but for now I want to stop  here, and wish him, a very happy Birthday! The hope to meet him one fine day is still strong and inshaallah it will happen :)

Dear SRK,

Thanks  for making me an absolute romantic at heart :) May this year give you great health, more success , more awards and many more good movies - 
A post, straight from the heart of a Jabra fan!