Ashish Vidyarthi, a graduate of the National School of Drama in Delhi, moved to Mumbai in 1992 in order to pursue a career in Hindi films. He had already appeared in memorable movies like Ketan Mehta’s 1993 period political drama Sardar, Govind Nihalani’s 1994 action drama Drohkaal, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 1994 romantic film 1942: A Love Story, and Sudhir Mishra’s 1996 thriller Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin. But he was still getting used to the ways of Mumbai, particularly the Hindi film industry.
He recently recalled his first experience at a prayer meeting in Mumbai after the death of filmmaker Mukul S Anand, who was directing the actor in Dus, a film starring Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, and Raveena Tandon, which never saw the light of day. “We’d gone to Utah to shoot. It was the first time I’d gone to the US. We came back, and he died,” said Vidyarthi.
On Cyrus Broacha’s podcast Cyrus Says, Vidyarthi vividly recollected his experience at the prayer meet. “I was a beginner, a novice in the film industry. I’d never been to a prayer meeting in Mumbai. The first time I land up, everybody’s wearing white, with dark sunglasses. I never had white clothes. I felt so out of place because I was the only one in colour.”
If the proceedings were already not awkward enough, they turned even more so for Vidyarthi as he made his exit. “When I was stepping out, and I’m feeling very bad, so I’ve folded my hands and lowered my head. Then this gentleman touches me on the elbow and says (in a measured voice), ‘Very sorry. Next week dates ki baat karte hain (let’s discuss dates next week),’” recalled Vidyarthi.
He then remembered responding to him with the same gesture of folded hands and lowered head. “After stepping out, I wondered what’s happening,” he said, adding, “Unless you’re personally related, you don’t really feel the pain. But here, you’re there in a professional capacity. And you’re grieving together as a profession. Everything is slow, and everyone is whispering. It’s like you’re in the hospital, I call you up, and you say (whispering), ‘I’m in the hospital.’ So I say (whispering), ‘Everything okay?’ I start whispering just to respect that moment.”
He observed another recent trend related to mourning that’s taken over X (formerly Twitter). “Nowadays, something very interesting has come up on Twitter: it’s ‘Om Shanti.’ Like how they say RIP. And it’s followed by another line: ‘Gone too soon,’” Vidyarthi said, adding, “Call it ‘Om Shanti. Gone too soon,’ and you’re safe. If I go, people would say, ‘Gone too soon. Amazing talent. Was never used by the industry. Amazing talent.’ Everything is clear. I’ve understood it. Society, in a way, also works according to what it should look like.”
