Ranbir Kapoor recently showed up at the Crossword bookstore in Kemps Corner to launch Pritish Nandy‘s new book, and let me tell you, I’ve seen my fair share of events, but this one definitely goes on my list of craziest. Usually, I have to battle the paparazzi to get in, but this time I had to have a full-out war with a bunch of fangirls. Nonetheless, we got some great pix at the event which you should definitely check out, but before that, you’ve gotta hear what a couple of crazy fangirls did…
So just as I was walking towards the store, I glanced behind me and saw a bunch of girls literally running at full-speed, and I kept hoping that they wouldn’t take the left into Crossword, but of course they did. I entered the store and let out a huge groan because as soon as I saw the crowd, I knew what I was in for. Call it a mismanaged event, over-enthusiastic girls, or just Ranbir Kapoor’s stardom, but the store was filled to the brim with girls standing on chairs to get a better look, begging the guards to get them autographs (none were obliged, as far as I saw), and generally pushing and shoving to get closer to the front. I suffered through my fair share of elbows to the ribs before I decided to call it a day and head home, and that’s when I saw the funniest thing…
I’m leaving and I hear these girls making elaborate plans to station themselves at the exit because of course that’s where Ranbir would leave from, so they could accost him there. I didn’t have the heart to stop and tell them that he’d be surrounded by guards, and anyway a hundred other fangirls in the room probably had the same idea, making their attempts all that more futile. But then I get out and lo’ and behold, Ranbir’s white Audi is right in front of me… and his driver is absolutely frazzled because there are girls circling the car like vultures, and a bunch of them were literally bargaining with him through the window to get autographs for them once Ranbir came out.
Poor guy, I think he was trying to maneuver into a more convenient parking spot, but couldn’t even move his car at the risk of running over these girls. So of course there was a bit of a traffic jam in that area (a friend of mine was passing that spot around the same time and couldn’t understand why she was stuck in traffic for so long), but I didn’t stick around to see if it resulted in a happy ending for those girls – by that time my patience had worn thin and my sides were hurting from being elbowed extensively.
I mean, I gotta admit, I am a total fangirl myself (for another Kapoor, though!) and can go into stalker-mode if the need arises, but I can’t imagine myself bargaining with drivers and guards. Or, wait, there was that one time with Abhishek Bachchan… so, er, okay, scratch that earlier statement. But really, this weekend was a lesson in the inner workings of a fangirl’s mind, and while I can probably write a thesis on the subject by now, I feel for those innocent shoppers who just wanted to pick up a book to cuddle up with on their day off.
So now this has gotten me curious… have you had any fangirl experiences, either as a participant or an innocent bystander? Do share!