Before she embarked on her musical career at 18, Komal Rizvi had already made some pretty cool contacts.
As a VJ for India’s Channel V, she got up close and personal with some of Bollywood’s brightest superstars.
From being pranked by SRK to doing the ‘Ae Kya Bolti Tou’ routine with Aamir Khan, Komal recalls the time as “the most exciting and challenging days of my teens”.
Clearly, she made many memories in the process:
1- Got pranked by Shah Rukh Khan:
“I remember Shah Rukh Khan being a little arrogant. Maybe it was because I didn’t realise at the time what a big star he really was,” shares Komal.
“He played a joke on me with Madhuri Dixit, pretending to ignore me and giving me attitude, but the minute I told Madhuri Ji that I’m a huge fan, she melted instantly and SRK’s plan failed.”
2- Had the iconic Ghulam exchange with Amir Khan:
Komal chills with Mr Perfectionist, who turned out to be far more relaxed than his nickname suggests
“Amir khan, on the other hand, was ‘sooo’ much fun to work with,” remembers Komal.
“He redesigned the entire interview and almost took over the show’s direction too. We did the whole ‘Ay, kya bolti tou! ” and “Ay, kya mein bolon?” routine. He was relaxed and funny and both of us had a really good time at the interview.”
3- Met childhood hero, Amitabh Ji
A nervous Komal sits timidly by the superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s side
“OMG! I was ‘sooo’ nervous in this particular interview because it was the first time I was meeting [Amitabh Ji]!”
“I met him several times after this as well,” tells Komal, “But this interview was really tough on me because I was a huge fan and had grown up watching his movies, unlike Aamir Khan and SRK.”
“Considering he was and is a legend, he was quite humble and gentle with a newbie like me. It was the most polished of all the interviews I did that year, including Kajol, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee!”
4- Shared secrets with Akshay Kumar
Komal shares a laugh with the then newbie Akshay Kumar
“Akshay Kumar was possibly a bit nervous. Maybe because he was a new hit in the industry,” recalls Komal.
“He confessed that Akshay wasn’t his real name and he has trouble speaking fluent English. He was basically a martial arts expert and not really an actor, but he was humble, sweet and intelligent and it was very obvious that he was ambitious. I have a lot of respect for self-made men like him.”
