Meeting Celebrities!!!

Meeting a celebrity is a memorable experience, but for most people, managing to get that keepsake photo or autograph requires some effort. I have been blessed to just meet celebrities either during travel or attending events. Today, there are websites dedicated on offering tips to meet celebrities. I find these websites and the offered tips very hilarious because I did not know that people have to take so much effort to meet these people whom I have met with a good stroke to pure luck!!! Here are a few funny tips that these websites offer in order to meet these celebrities

 

  1. Arrive early
  2. Remain cool and casual
  3. If you are nervous, try to clear your mind
  4. Remember that when you are introduced to the celebrity, take three deep breaths so you do not faint or get a panic attack
  5. Make conversation
  6. When you are done meeting them, give yourself a pat on the back!

 

Wow…I have never prepared so much for even a job interview and people prepare so much to just meet the celebrities. ROFL!!!

 

Here are a few celebrities with whom I was fortunate to get a photo opportunity. I have photographs of many more celebrities but these celebrities were just kind enough to let me take a photograph with them. Of course, I never like to pay money to taking photograph with celebrities and hence I am never part of any meet and greet with celebrities when I have to pay money to take a photograph with them. I had opportunity to take Photograph with US president Barack Obama if I was willing to pay $7500 for a dinner for his presidential campaign. On one hand I write articles about reforming democracy to eliminate the soft money which is leading to a failure of US democracy and on other hand if I contribute to such events just to take a photo with the president, I am nothing less than a HYPOCRITE. I am certainly not a hypocrite and I have better things to do with my $7500 than paying for failure of US Democracy.

 

The list below do not include photographs of two prominent celebrities, one is famous marathi film actor Prashant Damle whom I met in marriage in Mumbai. He happened to be brother of my mom’s best friend in film and marathi drama industry (Mrs. Jyoti Shevade). The other celebrity that I met is Dr. Stanley Wolf who was keynote speaker at International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2006) in Austin, TX. My Master¢‚¬„¢s degree thesis would have been incomplete without having read Dr. Stanley Wolf¢‚¬„¢s books on Semiconductor Processing which have been embraced by Global Semiconductor Industry. It was pleasure to not just meet him but I also kept in touch with him until he took his retirement. I regret that I misplaced the picture I took with him in Austin,TX.

 

1. Govinda ( film Actor)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Govinda_(actor)

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Spot me if you can in this picture. When I was 8 or 10 years old, we went on a picnic to Virar. There was a film shooting and we happened to see the film actor Govinda. While, his movies like Hero No.1, Biwi No 1, Bade Miyan Chotte Miyan, etc. have been truly entertaining, I do not think he was much of a comedian in those days. This pic is extremely old and scanned and downloaded. Please pardon for the picture quality. Govinda happened to be the first celebrity I met when I was just 8 years old. I am in front row¢‚¬¦towards the right corner….LOL

2. Meiyang Ch°ng (Indian actor, television host, singer and qualified dentist)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiyang_Ch%D0%B0ng

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I happened to meet this actor from movie Badmaash Company during a Diwali Mela in Dallas,TX. The Indian community in Dallas does a great job in celebrating all Indian festivals in Dallas and the five years I lived in Dallas were truly some of the best days of my life. Meiyang was pretty okay when I just slipped backstage during the concert and asked him, ¢‚¬Å“Hi Meiyang ..do you mind if I take a photograph with you?¢‚¬ He said, ¢‚¬Å“Sure. Why not¢‚¬ That was it.

3. Dr. Irwin Jacobs (co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, and chair of the board of trustees of the Salk Institute )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irwin_M._Jacobs

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I met Dr. Jacobs when I was employed at Qualcomm Inc. In one of company parties, I just spotted him with his wife. I was bold enough to approach him and ask him. ¢‚¬Å“Dear Sir, I would like to have a photograph with you. Do you mind it?¢‚¬ He said ¢‚¬Å“Sure¢‚¬. He truly brought about a revolution in cell phone industry with his CDMA technology. Again pardon me for poor image quality; it was downloaded from a social networking site which was long abandoned and I had to make several attempts to retrieve forgotten password to get this photo.

4. Sunil Gavaskar ( former great Indian Cricketer )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunil_Gavaskar

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IMAG0373

Sunil Gavaskar is also called ¢‚¬Å“Sunny¢‚¬. He has been one of my favorite Indian cricketers and also later as a great commentator. The very news that Sunny is going to visit Dallas was very exciting. He had come as a ambassador of MoneyGram money transfer service. When I met him, I not only got two bats autographed from him that I display in my living room but I was able to speak to him. I asked him in Marathi (our common mother tongue) ¢‚¬Å“Sunny, Which has been the most memorable moment of your cricketing career¢‚¬. Sunny replied ¢‚¬Å“1983, when we won the world cup for India¢‚¬. I was 3 years old then when India won the world cup in 1983 but I am glad to have witnessed this victory again in 2012. I truly enjoyed when he asked me to spell my name to be included with his autograph. There was a personal touch to that.

5. Shaan or Shantanu Mukherjee (Singer, Television Presenter, Music Composer, Actor, Lyricist, Music Director)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaan_(singer)

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I met Shaan at local radio station in Dallas. He had come for his live concert. I did not attend the concert although he is a very versatile singer. I had plans for that evening and Shaan reached a day earlier in Dallas and was supposed to be on the airwaves of local radio station. With my media connections in Dallas, I was able to know that he might meet a few people after the radio show. I drove to the radio station after work and there he was meeting fellow Dallas residents. I was glad to meet him ad take a picture with him. I like his song ¢‚¬Å“Tanhaa Dil¢‚¬ which raised his popularity.

6. Prabhudeva (Film actor, director, dance choreographer)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prabhu_Deva

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Prabhudeva is the best of Indian dancers. His dance steps in the song ¢‚¬Å“Take it easy Policy¢‚¬ were truly unique. He is one of those dancers who even dared to challenge Michael Jackson when it came to his dance performance. I met Prabhudeva in April 2013 when I arrived at MumbaiInternationalAirport to board my flight back to US. When I was checking my luggage, I saw there was a pin drop silence and all of a sudden I could see flashes of camera. I knew some celebrity was coming. I saw it was Prabhudeva. I just raised my hand and said ¢‚¬Å“Hi¢‚¬ like I am saying to my best friend¢‚¬¦lol. To my surprise, Prabhudeva also sad me ¢‚¬Å“Hi¢‚¬ back by raising his hands and giving me a smile. That is what made an instant connection. His security and his manager was checking his luggage two counters away. I approached him directly. I was not able to believe but he raised his hands forward to shake my hands. I said to him ¢‚¬Å“You won¢‚¬„¢t believe it Prabhudeva but I was listening to the song ¢‚¬œ¢‚¬ËœChintata Chita Chita Chintata ta¢‚¬¦.¢‚¬„¢ from movie Dabangg in my taxi to the airport. It is such a pleasant surprise to meet you¢‚¬. He smiled back. When I gave my camera to one of his crew members to take a photograph, he said to that crew member¢‚¬¦¢‚¬ Take a good photograph¢‚¬. One thing I learnt, treat celebrities like you would treat your friend. They love that rather than being phony¢‚¬¦be the way you are.

7. Dr. Ravi Batra (Indian-American economist, author, and professor)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Batra

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For the world he is a celebrity and a very famous personality. But, for me he is a spiritual brother, good friend and my mentor. I have known Ravi Batra for almost 5 years now. Had it not been for Ravi, I would not have been what I am today. Ravi has had a profound influence on me. There is a great human being behind this world famous economist. He has always been there for me. He has always given me right guidance and developed in me a deep understanding about practical spirituality. I owe my greatest debt to him for enlightening me towards the teachings of his teacher and mentor, Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar. He has been to my place for a lunch and I was very glad to have lunch with him at his favorite restaurant before I left Dallas in May 2013 to move to Southern California. I have read all books authored by Ravi and I became an economist myself after reading his work. Such people are rare in this world and world needs many like Professor Batra. He shared with me secrets of his personal life and experience which he rarely does share with others. That is what has bonded us as good friends on this path towards bringing change in this world and trying to make a heaven on this earth.

Ravi Batra is the author of six international bestsellers, two of which appeared on The New York Times list. The following is a list of books Professor Batra has authored

  • Studies in the Pure Theory of International Trade, 1973
  • Theory of International Trade Under Uncertainty, 1979
  • The Downfall of Capitalism and Communism: A New Study of History London: MacMillan, 1978, ISBN 0-333-21645-8
  • Regular Economic Cycles: Money, Inflation, Regulation and Depressions, St. Martin’s Press, 1985, ISBN 978-0-312-03260-9
  • The Great Depression of 1990, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987
  • Surviving the Great Depression of 1990, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988
  • Progressive Utilization Theory: Prout – An Economic Solution to Poverty in The Third World, Manila: Ananda Marga Publications, 1989
  • The Downfall of Capitalism and Communism: Can Capitalism be Saved?, Dallas: Venus Books, Second Edition, 1990, ISBN 0-939352-09-5
  • The Myth of Free Trade: A Plan for America’s Economic Revival. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1993, ISBN 0-684-19592-5
  • The Great American Deception: What Politicians Won’t Tell You about Our Economy and Your Future. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996, ISBN 0-471-16556-5
  • The Crash of the Millennium: Surviving the Coming Inflationary Depression, New York: Harmony Books, 1999, ISBN 0-609-60512-7
  • Greenspan’s Fraud: How Two Decades of His Policies Have Undermined the Global Economy, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, ISBN 1-4039-6859-4
  • The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, ISBN 1-4039-7579-5

This is what Professor Batra has to say about me

23rd February 2013, Dallas, TX.

‚ To Whom It May Concern

‚ It is with great pleasure that I write this letter on behalf of Apekshit Mulay, whom I have known for the last three years. Apekshit is known as Apek to his friends. He is an engineer by profession, and a really good one. He already has a patent registered in his name. I am a professor of economics at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, and have written a number of books on the U. S. economy. Apek was introduced to me about three years ago, and I was intrigued that he, an engineer, was very interested in understanding what had gone wrong with the global economy after 2007. He and I became good friends. I found him to be very intelligent and hardworking. We talked a few times, and soon he began to comprehend how a macro economy works, so much so that he ended up writing and publishing an article on the failure of the U.S. economy, using his background as a failure analysis engineer.‚  I like this article so much that I am citing it in my own work.

‚ It is clear that Apek is an extremely smart person. He is honest, reliable and a man of integrity. Such people are hard to find nowadays, but he is one of them. I wish him success in his ventures.

‚ Sincerely,

‚ Ravi Batra

Professor of Economics

Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX. 75275

8. Randhir Kapoor or Daboo (Actor, Producer, Director)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randhir_Kapoor

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After meeting Prabhudeva at MumbaiAirport, I proceeded towards a local coffee shop and to my surprise Randhir Kapoor was beside me. For a moment I thought he should be somebody else. But then I asked him, ¢‚¬Å“Randhir Kapoor¢‚¬¦so good to see you. Where are you heading?¢‚¬‚  He did not reply. I said, ¢‚¬Å“ I am on my way back to US and I have to rush towards security Is it okay to snap a quick picture with you?¢‚¬. He said, ¢‚¬Å“Okay. As long as it does not take too long¢‚¬. Well, Good thing is my camera is always handy and so it was within seconds, I had my snap with him.

9. Shivkumar Sharma (Indian Santoor Maestro)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivkumar_Sharma

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I was by pure luck that I met Shivkumar Sharma. I had booked a flight from Mumbai to Patna in December 2012. However, our flight got diverted to KolkataAirport due to weather problems in Patna. I knew that our luggage is going to get delayed. Hence, I went to take a piss to the restroom. As I was exiting the restroom, I saw a tall personality entering the restroom. His face looked familiar. Coming from a family where mother is Sangeet Visharad in Indian classical music, I love Indian classical music and also know most famous musicians. As I came to baggage claim, It dawned on me that it was the Santoor Maestro Shivkumar Sharma whom I saw entering the restroom. Well, I just turned back and waited for him to come out. I said ¢‚¬Å“Panditji, It is great pleasure to meet you¢‚¬. I did not shake hands this time¢‚¬¦LOL. ¢‚¬Å“Do you mind if I take a picture with you?¢‚¬ He had no problems with that. To my surprise, As I started making a move back to the baggage claim, I saw people touching hi feet like some almighty God has arrived. Well, Whatever, He is just a celebrity not God. He has entertained the world with his soothing music. Hats off!!!‚  Panditji took Indian Classical Music on International stage.

10. Nitish Kumar (Indian politician who has been the Chief Minister of Bihar since 2005)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitish_Kumar

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I met Nitish Kumar on my flight from Mumbai to Patna via Delhi in December 2012. I had planned a trip to visit Jamalpur, Bihar but ended up visiting Anandnagar, West Bengal. I my fellow passenger on the flight knew Nitish Kumar well and hence I was able to not just meet him but also speak to him. He is amongst the few honest politicians in India. He transformed the state of Bihar from a state of goons towards development. Glad that he did not have any reservations (and also smiled) when I requested for a quick snap with him.

12. Kailash Kher (Singer, songwriter, music composer)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kailash_Kher

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I have attended several concerts of Kailash Kher in Dallas. He has truly unique voice and is an awesome performed. After one of his concerts, my mother wanted to take a picture with him. I had connections with the media team in Dallas and was able to see Kailash Kher behind the stage. I not only satisfied my mother¢‚¬„¢s wish but also took this opportunity to speak to him. He is really short and I did not wish to embarrass him anyway. Hence, I decided to take a photo with him while he was still seated.

13. Raju Srivastav (Indian comedian)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raju_Srivastav

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Comedy has been in my blood. I used to be a real joker when I was a kid. My mother recollects to have really made her laugh with my jokes and comic acts in my childhood. That is why she gave me a nickname ¢‚¬Å“Puploo¢‚¬ (meaning Joker) at home. Not that I want anybody to call me by that name anymore. But, I do have some sense of humor although I might look a very serious person to you. I love comedians and my friends had always have liked my company.‚  I met Raju Srivastav when my friend Syed Akhtar (also called RJ Moody) in Dallas was organizing a comedy show to entertain Dallas. I had to drive one of my friends to the show as he was good a playing Tabla and having Tabla during Raju¢‚¬„¢s performance would have been great for the show. The show was truly awesome¢‚¬¦I really enjoyed his practical jokes. After the show, I approached backstage (as part of security¢‚¬¦LOL) and met Raju, chatted with him and also took a picture with him. Whoever took this photo has very poor photography skills.

14. Mika Singh (singer, composer, performer and songwriter)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mika_Singh

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Mika Singh has visited Dallas several times and I became his fan after listening to the song ¢‚¬Å“Sawan mein lag gayi aag¢‚¬. Amongst a wide catalog of songs, the prominent ones are “Singh Is King” (Singh Is King), “Mauja Hi Mauja” (Jab We Met), “Ibn-e-Batuta” (Ishqiya), “Dhanno” (Houseful), “Dhin Chika” (Ready), “Desi Beat” (Body Guard), “Subah Hone Na De” (Desi Boys), “Pungi” (Agent Vinod), “Ganpat” (Shootout at Lokhandwala), Gabru (album), “Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita” (Rowdy Rathore), “Main tere agal bagal hun” (Phata Poster Nikla Hero) and Sawan Mein Lag Haye Aag (album), to name a few. It was good to meet him in Dallas.

15. Sridhar Phadke (Singer and composer)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shridhar_Phadke

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I met Sridhar Phadke on his visit to Dallas. My mother is a big fan of his father Sudhir Phadke. Sridhar was having this concert in memory of his late father. Hence, My mother was very interested in going to this concert. After concert, we did take a photo with Sridhar Phadke and my mother was happy to communicate with him.

16. Praveen Kumar (Bheem from Mahabharat)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praveen_Kumar_(actor)

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I met Bheem as I was having my lunch at Pattaya, Thailand. I enjoyed watching him play the Macho-man in Childhood.

17. Rich Thawley

WhatsApp Image 2019-10-16 at 10.28.31 AM WhatsApp Image 2019-10-16 at 10.28.02 AM

More than 20 years ago World Financial Group’s Rich Thawley took a chance with his future, leaving his job as an assistant university athletic director to join the financial services industry. Throughout his career, Thawley has been most admired for his enthusiasm and passion for bringing critical financial concepts to everyday people who are looking to build a strong financial future. Today, he continues to inspire and motivate associates throughout WFG to help families achieve financial independence. He became a billionaire and created several millionaire in U.S. Financial Services Industry.

Here are some mannerisms which I would agree when meeting not just celebrities but for any human being.

  • This isn¢‚¬„¢t a photo opportunity. Remember that celebrities are also human beings and like others they have worked hard to get to where they are and showing your appreciation is the major part. There could be thousands that want to be in your position.
  • Be yourself. Celebs hate it when people act phony around them.
  • Don’t be rude in front of them.
  • Never go crazy. Stay calm and you’ll be fine. Just greet them like you would greet any respected friend of yours. That has been my approach.
  • Go to a concert with any artist you enjoy and try to sit near or stand near the stage. At the concerts try to be loud so they can hear you!
  • ‚ Never tell a celebrity your address of any kind.‚ 

Good luck with your next meet with a celebrity!!!!

18. Vishnu Manohar Joshi

Vishnu Manohar is the most admired chef of Central India. He is popular for his finger licking fusion dishes. His specialized Maharashtrian Tadka (Flavor) that he adds to his signature dishes is highly appreciated amongst food lover in Central India.

Vishnu Manohar’s story is a real inspiration for the young aspirants who wish to thrive in Food & Hotel industry as a career. What made Vishnu Manohar to choose this Sizzling career as a Chef over his embellishing career of Fine Arts?? His aspiration to tickle the taste buds of Indians made him to craft a niche in Hotel Industry. .Vishnu Manohar is an executive chef in Manohar Groups, Manohar Group are undeniable leader in professional catering services in Pune, Nagpur & AurangabadThane from past years.Seasonal food festivals & events are regular activities of these restaurants, PARATHA Festival & BARISH Hungama are the most awaited events.

He is pleasing the viewers of doordarshan as a host of a cookery show. He has privilege to host shows like “Sidhe Tawa Se” on Radio Mirchi & “Chulha Chouka” on Vividbharti. His recently launched cd & video cassettes on Basic Indian Gravy gets an overwhelming response in India & UAE with an unforgettable voice of “Ameen Sayni”. A dedicated website displaying best of his recipes & cooking expertise namely www.cookeryshow.com has been launched for Indian Food Lovers across the globe, while a book on Indian gravy by him is about to release.Books namely “Secrets of Indian Gravy” & “Let’s Tofu & B-Baby-Corny” by him sold like hot cakes & yet in demand by food lovers, whereas many of his creations are under process.

Completed 900 episodes with E TV Marathi, title ” Mezwani”

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