The boy who rose to become CM

THE 1970s and 1980s were dominated by golden jubilee Hindi movies. It was a time when ‘first day, first show’ was the passion of cinemagoers. The tickets used to be booked well in advance and latecomers were left at the mercy of goons selling tickets at inflated rates. Huge film posters used to be displayed at prominent places to attract the public.

School and college students frequently bunked classes to watch the latest movie; they later narrated the story to all those who hadn’t watched it till then. Evening bonfire in the mohalla was the best place to flaunt the ‘achievement’ of having seen the movie on the very first day of its release.

It was 1976. Kalicharan, which was tipped to have a golden jubilee run, was released on Friday. Rivoli cinema in Shimla got the rights to screen the movie in the town. There was a huge rush. One of my cousins had already planned to watch the movie. After the first class, he left the school and hurried towards the town. The cinema hall was some

4 km from the school.

While he was about to take a shortcut, he saw an oncoming bus. He signalled with his hand and it stopped. From the back door, he boarded the bus, which was already full to its capacity. The bus moved at a slow pace. Fearing that he would miss the movie, he shouted, ‘Ustad ji, tez chalo.’ The driver saw the boy in the rear mirror and was astonished to see his own son yelling at him. He kept his cool and drove the bus to reach the destination.

The tickets were already purchased by other schoolmates and the boy entered the hall. All through, he enjoyed the movie with friends without knowing what trouble lay ahead. Reciting the film’s songs and dialogues, he reached home well in time.

In the evening, the father came home and the interrogation started. The boy denied the allegations of having bunked school to watch a movie; rather, he argued that he had attended school. He got a good thrashing. Realising that there was no escape, he surrendered and accepted his mistake. He was forgiven, but the episode was not forgotten, especially the boy’s line, ‘Ustad ji, tez chalo.’

That boy and my cousin is the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.