C OVER STORY
affair with me. I’m just good for conversation. That’s all
I’m good for. Jokes apart, honestly, even if you were a
banker or a lawyer such insecurities exist for any couple
around the world. That can happen at any stage and
can happen as harmlessly as when you attenda dinner
party and someone talks to you. Main bada posessive
hoon. When I see attention being given I’m happy. But
when I see extra attention being given, I don’t like it. I’m
possessive that way and I expect her to be that way as
well. But it’s not happened to an extent that it’s interfered
with our relationship. Haan ladte hain. But that happens
in any relationship. There are several excuses to fight.
But we’ve been going strong. We’ve gone through that
patch, after which life cannot be restarted again. We’re
happy. We’re both lazy to restart things now. So that issue never comes up. It’s a chilled out dynamic between
us.
Are you dead sure about the future?
Yes, you cannot foresee what is going to happen in the
future but if something were to happen it would have immediate consequences. But sitting there and brooding
over it? She wouldn’t do that. We have a term which
we use for each other. Like she’ll always tell me, ‘just
remember that you’re ‘unf***withable’. That also goes
the other way around where I say ‘you’re ‘unf***withable’
too’.
Coming to your family, how has it taken to your stardom? Have things changed?
Nahin I’m still the sloth and slob that I was. My family
lives in the same city. I touch home for four-five days
so I drop in and out. I’ve not let things change. But yes
your habits change when you’re getting a good pay and
you are living a good life. We try to keep it as real as
possible. So that if things change tomorrow we still feel
the same.
When you’re with your son do you see a lot of your father in yourself?
No my dynamic is completely different with my son. My
father is a strict person. Though that does not affect his
love for me in any way. He cared in his own special way.
We had this traditional dictum that when Abu is at home
everyone should remain khamosh, maskhara nahin
banna (no mischief). The words he used to reprimand
us were old world phrases like ‘ullu ki dum faafta’, ‘ek toh
karela upar se neem chadha’. But when I went to college, I turned into a rebel. There was angst and I used
to fight often.
Did the Western music you listened to those days also
make you a rebel?
Yeah I guess. That supercharges you. You’re like ‘yeah
man I want to change the world’. ‘Oh man I wanna be
cool’. Even today I act things out in front of the mirror
in the bathroom. But yes, my dynamic with my son is
different. I believe we are equals mentally. Somewhere
in my head, I’m like an eight-year-old. We play video
games; we watch cartoons and do all kinds of stuff together. That kind of things I did not have with my father.
I believe parents should enjoy this kind of relationship
with their kids. You need to be friends with them. Not that
I’m saying that my parents weren’t caring. But when you
are closer to your children, they find it easier to communicate and let you into their lives. They trust you and if
they’re in trouble they can confide in you. Similarly, you
can confide in them. That’s what a family is ultimately
about.
Does your diabetes come in the way of your travel and
your work? How do you cope?
The cure is on the way. Hopefully, you’ll never have to
see a glucometer again you’ll never have to see insulin
or an injection again. I have type 1, which is said to be
incurable. type 2 is also incurable but you can control it
with lifestyle changes. In type 2 you may need insulin
eventually. But in type 1, you’re insulin dependent from
day one. Though type 1 is said to be genetic, earlier it
was believed to occur because of an autoimmune disorder that can come on because of a viral infection. In my
case, I used to smoke in school. We’d hide behind the
swimming pool to smoke. There used to be pipes there
with raw and unfinished concrete on it. We’d swim, come
out, take a puff and go back again. Once, when I was
standing against these concrete pipes, I got scratches
and cuts. But I jumped back into the swimming pool. The
water had not been treated that day. I developed a terrible infection. I lost 10 kilos. That’s when I realised that
I was diabetic. Now, I have managed to procure a wireless pump. When you sit down to eat and enter what you
will be eating into it, it calculates the number of calories
and the number of units of insulin you’ll require for that.
You press the button and it automatically starts delivering the required amount of insulin to the body. Science
is truly amazing!
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