Soon after the premiere of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas (2002) at New Excelsior cinema, both Bhansali and the leading-lady Aishwarya Rai drove off together to meet the film's choreographer Saroj Khan. Khan had been unwell even during the shoot of Devdas. But her health had deteriorated considerably since, and she'd been admitted to the ICU.

Bhansali told her they'd come straight from the premiere. As a colleague, Bhansali found Saroj Khan to be "temperamental, expressive, wild, 100 watt!" That night, dazed under heavy medication, barely able to open her eyes, let alone say hello, she still excitedly mumbled from bed: "Gaane pe seeti baji ki nahin! Paise ude ki nahin? [Did the audiences whistle, throw money at the songs!]"

I'm referring to Devdas's Indian first night. The world premiere of course took place at a special/gala screening — celebrating Hindi cinema, peacocking in full splendour — at Cannes that year. Call it India's growing soft-power, if you will, this was unusual for the world's top film festival at the time.