‘It was lovely and may God bless Lolo’

Her hands were cold and clammy and her face a mixture of excitement and nervousness over the beginning of her new life. She laughed and told me that she had done so many scenes with me. ‘‘But now, when this real scene in life is taking place, I’m so nervous,’’ she said. I gave the couple my good wishes and hope God blesses them.

The arrangements were wonderfully laid out. It reminded me of the time I used to come with my mummy’s tanpura in the time of Raj Kapoor. It was the same atmosphere, the same regard even today. I couldn’t eat from the elaborate lunch because of Navratri—I only grabbed a bite for two minutes.

When I saw Karisma today, I remembered the first time we met. I was 21 and she was 15. I had just done a show and she came and offered me a rose. Years later, I saw a tape of her dancing and signed five films with her. We delivered more than half a dozen hits. David (Dhawan) and I just reminisced about this one shot in Raja Babu. Lolo (Karisma) had to climb on top of a wooden plank on a water tank. She cried for an hour, but she did do the shot!

We were discussing how young our Lolo was and how she looked like a doll on screen; like she does today. None of our songs played today, but how could I dance anyway? I’m from the girl’s side.