As a kid had heard stories of temples built for superstars down south; like the one made for Rajnikanth (Rajni Sir), Chiranjeevi and Khushboo and always wondered ‘Amitabh Bachchan ka mandir kahan hai… mujhe dekhna hai”…am sure he too has some shrines dedicated to him but still looking for directions. What I concluded was “mandir” only happen to superstars from the south Indian film industry. The Hindi film industry doesn’t believe in such monumental tributes but of course there are people who still line up outside Mr Bachchan’s bunglow year after year every Sunday to just catch a glimpse of him and I believe he dutifully obliges his fans till date! Also, how the SRK, Badshah of Bollywood too has people queuing up outside his bungalow, Mannat. But I think this reverence is reserved only for film stars their lesser-known TV cousins would never manage this kinda fan following till Kyunki…Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi happened to Indian television and changed the face of how TV was viewed and perceived. I have to narrate this amazing incident, once was shooting for a TV commercial and one of the models happened to be part of Kyunki… so every day when he would go home he would meet this 80-something lady who asked him, one day, ‘Karte kya ho?’. ‘Acting karta hoon’, ‘Kis me?’ ‘Kyunki…’ and the expression changed on her face as she gleefully asked him, ‘Tulsiji ko milte ho? Agar agli baar mile toh unke pair choona meri taraf se.’ That’s the idol worship, ‘Tulsi’ saw. And that made me think how fortunate are these actors who played Ram, Sita, Tulsi, Parvati or Jassi and made them immortal in the history of Indian television! Now, the question is when will it happen next? But that was that. Cut to a friend’s birthday party last Saturday. I made an entry in a backless dress and stilettos and the works in place suddenly all eyes turn to me and am like ‘OMG, has the wrap dress given way? IS something peeping out? What’s wrong?’ when a girl serving drinks comes to me and says, ‘Ek baat bolun. Aap Uttaran mein ho na? Hum sab ghar mein roz dekhte hain. Aap kitne alag ho…’ and before I could comprehend what was happening she fell at my feet and said, ‘Hamare kahan bhagya aap jaise logon se mile.’ Humbled and overwhelmed I smiled but don’t want people and audience to fall at my feet but would accept their love and appreciation with open arms and realizing all the while it’s the character of Divya Thakur that is loved and it’s incidental I portray it on screen. Maybe was at the right place at the right time! Disclaimer: the views expressed in this column are those of the author and TellyChakkar does not necessarily subscribe to the same.