Father's Day Column

Mere Baap Pehle Aap is the best title of my career. It goes with the subject as well. In the film, the son keeps his father's happiness before his own. He gives more importance to his father's happiness. The father and son both love each other a lot. This is the basic story of the film. In the film, the father is actually like the son and the son is actually like his father.

But on the flipside, the relation that I have with my own father is very different. My father is more of a friend to me. He never imposes himself on other people and is a non-interfering person. He takes people for what they are. I have never met a man with more friends than my father in my entire life. He is a people's person who loves to socialise and it's his friendly stride that has won him thousands of friends.

He has never tried to influence my thinking or my way of life. But I have been inspired and influenced by looking at him. He has never forced anything on me. Though we talk about films, he never tells me to do or not to do a film; he leaves the decision solely on me.

In 2001, when Gujarat was shaken by a massive earthquake, I was at my father's place. He told everyone in the family that he wanted to go to Gujarat and see what he could do there. I do not know of anyone who would do what my father did. He packed a small bag and said that he would return in 3 days. Alone he took a flight and went to Bhuj. He did not come back for three and a half months. On his own, he built the largest non government relief camp. He slept on the floor for three months. By the end of the camp he had around 800 people sitting in it. He built a full fledged running hospital having about 20 beds. He called every friend of his to send all the essential things like beds, blankets, food, soaps etc. All his friends in the constituency sent whatever they had. It was an unbelievable achievement and he never spoke about it. That was my proudest moment.


(Indiatimes)