Like it, love it, hate it or abuse it but I believe Bollywood is India's best soft power skill that can unite us with the rest of the world. Had an interesting experience today. Asha Bhosle was in town to celebrate her 86th birthday with a select audience. Among them was this girl in a niqab sounding very excited to meet her. Turned out she was a Saudi woman, working in a dialysis centre who had flown in from Riyadh only to meet Ashaji after reading her tweet that she'd be in Dubai. 

Naseeba told me she got hooked to Bollywood music in 2016. But she believed that stars sang their own songs until she heard about the concept of playback singing. 'I thought the Dilwale... song 'Zara sa...' was sung by Kajol', she said when I asked her about her favourite film. She hadn't heard of Asha Bhosle but once she did, she became a die-hard fan, watching her interviews even if she didn't understand the language. It was her dream to meet the legend so when she realised her idol was going to visit Dubai, she booked her flights pronto!

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Naseeba had also worked in Lulu supermarket in Riyadh but she was disappointed that the Malayalis there didn't know much about Mumbai, Bollywood or Asha Bhosle. So she educated herself using the net. The organizers of this event were kind enough to introduce her to Ashaji who looked surprised at the hijab-clad girl who professed to be her fan. She cheekily sang 'mere saamnewali khidki mein ek chand sa chehra chippa hai', giving a twist to the classic. But Naseeba didn't mind.

Finally, Ashaji asked her to remove her niqab. Which she gladly did after requesting the men in the room (photographers, videographers and organisers) to move away. I watched in amusement as she slowly removed her niqab, showed her face and blushed as she got a hug from her dreamboat. Throughout her conversation with Asha Bhosle, she kept saying how much she loved her voice, what a dream it was and how much she loved India. Her happiness was that of a real fan.

Well, there was a cute interaction. Asha asked where she was from and she said Riyadh. This girl told her she must come to Riyadh. And Ashaji said, 'but that is...'. To which this girl said, 'Conservative? Don't worry, things are changing now'. That's when Asha asked her for her number and address and promised to keep in touch.

(Source: Lekha Menon)