When John drove Nikhil nuts...
By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Tuesday,
December
05,
2006
Nikhil
Advani
was
on
tenterhooks
a
day
before
the
music
launch
of
Salaam-E-Ishq.
With
John
Abraham
accompanying
Big
B
and
Ravi
Chopra
to
London
for
Baabul
promotions,
Nikhil
wasn't
sure
whether
John
would
make
it
to
the
music
launch
on
time.
"I
kept
telling
John
that
he
must
reach
Mumbai
anyhow.
Vidya
and
John
were
to
kickstart
the
fashion
show
and
the
entire
sequence
would
fall
flat
if
John
was
delayed
for
any
reason," Nikhil
reminisces.
John tried to pacify Nikhil that he'd make it on time, but Nikhil wasn't convinced. Nikhil called frantically at regular intervals and when John finally told him that he was about to board the flight from Heathrow Airport, Nikhil still didn't believe him. "I thought he was lying. So I told him to hand over the phone to any other passenger in the queue so that I could verify the facts," Nikhil laughs.
And John did just that! He randomly handed over his phone to a co-passenger, who assured Nikhil that John was indeed boarding the flight to Mumbai. "I felt relieved then," Nikhil says.
Was it tough convincing Govinda to walk the ramp? "When I approached him with the concept of the music launch, Govinda was stunned. He was quiet for a minute... after all, he was asked to walk the ramp for the first time in his life. But he broke into the by-now-famous Govinda laughter, 'Yaar, tum mujhse kya-kya karwa rahe ho?' Believe me, he was like one obedient student during the rehearsals," Nikhil smiles.
Meanwhile, Aangan Trust, run by Nikhil's wife Suparna, has collected Rs. 50 lacs as donations from the event. Did his actors donate as well? "Of course, they did. Everyone has donated a substantial amount," Nikhil says.