With the onset of Toronto International Film Festival, I got the rare opportunity to sit in the audience of a panel discussion about Bollywood. Its one thing to see these stars perform at a Live Show and another to see them engaged in casual conversation about Bollywood and its impact to the South Asian communities and the whole film feternity. The discussion was titled as "The Making of a Bollywood Blockbuster" and was conducted around the festival premier of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

To be honest, I was quite surprised to see Shahrukh Khan who looked very small and 'regular' without makeup and flashy costumes. Amitabh Bachan was dressed in his 'Sexy Sam' character with a fur coat, ripped jeans and shiny sneakers. Something tells me that he is going through some sort of post-mid-life crisis. However, among all the participants he actually had few deep and thoughtful things to say. The discussion was moderated by Suketu Mehta, Pulitzer Prize nominated author of "Maximum City." Suketu conducted the proceedings in quite a professional manner while Karan Johar seemed to be the most talkative person. He really loves to talk and really tells his stories in complete details.

Oh yeah, I even got to ask Amitabh Bahcan and Shahrukh an interesting question which to my surprise they answered very honestly. I simply inquired if they had any upcoming Hollywood projects and both of them simply said that they haven't received any offers. Shahrukh also added that "we are happy where we are and if Johnny Depp wants to come to Bollywood, he should get in touch with us:." I was actually quite surprised with their honest responses, since you see every 2-movie hit proclaiming that Hollywood directors are after them.

Here are some of the pictures I took while sitting right across from them: