Day out with team Yodha: Sidharth Malhotra consoling fan, Karan Johar losing his voice, Disha Patani turning a Gujarati thali place into carnival

Wild conspiracy theories came up decoding Bollywood’s sudden interest in the state (Filmfare awards were held in Gandhinagar earlier this year) as singer Usha Uthup took the next table at the coffee shop. The theories rested when she was joined by a women’s group, all above 60, who shared her table and opened up their home-cooked food boxes. In a surprising twist, the women, all unknowm to Usha, started singing for her. The singer clapped and tapped her feet as they sang retro tracks and within seconds, she joined the chorus. It was a mini music concert in the open, free of cost and selfie bombers.

As everyone boarded the special chartered flight after the impromptu performance, most were convinced they had the answer– Yodha team chose Gujarat so they, including Sidharth, Disha, Raashi Khanna, Karan Johar, Shashank Khaitaan, could take a quick flight from Ahmedabad to Jamnagar and attend Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding festivities. None were prepared for what happened next.

Before the flight took off–with the film’s core team seated in premium seats–another unusual and self-aware amusing disclaimer flashed on the WhatsApp group of travelers created by the team– Please avoid using terms like “hijack” while having casual interactions on flight, as you are aware it’s prohibited by law to use these words on flight. This was followed by another text, the emoji of a monkey closing his eyes in embarrassment.

As soon as the flight touched the altitude of 37,000 ft, the captain made an announcement that there was a surprise in store. Within seconds, the cast and crew of Yodha entered the media section, with Karan Johar leading the big reveal. The Yodha trailer was pre-loaded in Tablets handed to the media, which was password protected. The key to unlock it was ‘1980’– the year when Dharma Productions debuted its film, Dostana.

“We complete 44 years in the business. The code is 1980, and if we do that number at the box office, we will be very happy,” Johar quipped, addressing a sea of cell phone cameras covering faces of media. “Everyone now, watch the trailer,” Sidharth said as he walked right till the end of the aircraft, greeting journalists, posing for selfies.

But in its true sense, the impact of film stars was seen in full display on the ground, when hours later, Yodha team reached a PVR theatre in Ahmedabad for their event. The Mumbai multiplex ushers, though equally always excited, are used to the sight of actors walking in and out of the screens for promotions or premieres. There is that joy of watching stars up close, but perhaps not the novelty. Something which wasn’t the case on Thursday.

As soon as the media started arriving at the screen, a battery of ushers of the multiplex chain stood peeking out of a Yodha standee, armed with cell phones and bubbling with impatience. Like paps, a few of them even started recording visuals of the media marching in, with hushed jokes of Viral Bhayani-Manav Manglani being cracked by the journalists.

Inside, was a healthy screaming match between fans of Sidharth Malhotra and Disha Patani. The chants of their names at one point jumbled and became a strange amalgamation of ‘Sidisha’. At least they could cheer, because Karan Johar could barely make himself audible. When the filmmaker walked on stage, he announced–or tried to in his raspy voice–that he had lost his voice. The fans instantly stopped cheering and a few giggled as the man with the gift of gab addressed them in a hoarse hello.

But the silence wasn’t for too long, as Disha Patani was called on stage. The auditorium, bustling with young boys and girls and local media, echoed with her name. Every time she spoke, the fans cheered, if Karan revealed that she has stage fright, they vocalised their disbelief in unison. When the launch ended, a Sidharth Malhotra fan girl almost broke down in tears looking at him from a distance. She was panting and crying, prompting the media to swiftly alert the host to let Sidharth know.

Just before the actor made his exit, he called for the young fan and hugged her. Their meeting was strangely poetic, in a very Instagram aesthetic way– a star consoling his fan; the two surrounded by people in a packed circle, pushing and protecting, recording and absorbing. By the time the event got over, things were back to normal. The tears had gone, ushers took their positions and Karan’s voice was almost back thanks to a cough lozenge given to him by a media veteran, who had also covered Dostana, his father’s film, back in the day. The goodbye was sweeter than the hello.

The night then finally ended with a lavish Gujarati thali spread. Just when the over-stuffed and in food-coma media was being rushed to their bus for their flight, there was one more surprise– Sidharth, Disha and Raashi were back for a quick meet and greet. If the seat belt on flight made sure people remained seated, and the decorum of a press conference ensured no one rushed to the stars for a chat, all that was gone for the more informal setting of a sumptuous vegetarian dinner. What remained, though, was the palpable excitement of the servers of the popular food joint of the city standing in attention with a permanent smile plastered on their faces when Disha walked in. Later, a few eager paps also engaged in a me-first moment when it came to getting clicked with her. For an actor who has had such few releases on the big screen, the myth and the reach of Disha Patani definitely calls for a deeper digging up.

At the dinner, the three actors visited every table and did a quick ‘vibe check’ of the latest asset of the film– what it meant for Sidharth to return to action after Shershaah, how Raashi saw incredible potential in her part and why Disha would hope to surprise the audience. Finally, when the three media buses left for the Ahmedabad airport, it was understood that the film team would stay back for the big wedding in Gujarat. Every piece in the puzzle fit.

That is, until the last batch of the media ran to board the flight shortly before the gates closed and found the front row seats occupied by Sidharth, Disha, Karan, Raashi and producer Apoorva Mehta. They were now heading back to Mumbai on the same flight, flying economy. All the conspiracy theories of the morning were debunked at night, and there was no Usha Uthup to drown the disappointment.

Yodha, presented by Amazon Prime and Dharma Productions, in association with Mentor Disciple Entertainment, is set to release on March 15.