Friendship Day: Telly stars recall fond memories
Mumbai, Aug 4: As the world gears up to celebrate Friendship Day on Sunday, small screen actors like Pearl Puri, Aashka Goradia and Sneha Wagh share their best moments with their friends.
For Aashka, visiting Thousand Islands with her best friend is the high point. "(It's) my most favourite memory... girls can be princess in a castle between a thousand islands. Best friends are those who spend a day at a castle," she said in a statement.
Actor Mishal Raheja said Rohan Tiwari is the only one who has been with him through thick and thin. "When it comes to fond memories, the one I can remember is when I shared his secret of an outdoor location where his girlfriend was hiding and staying in his room. He was late and I joked saying he is late because his girlfriend doesn't leave him and he was angry for the longest time. But bros are bros," he added.
Actor Adnan Khan believes that people don't need a specific day to celebrate friendship. "We should not need a reminder to tell our friends that they are special to us and we are blessed to have such great friends. Coincidently, my off-screen and on-screen best friend is Aashutosh Semwal. He knows me very well," said the "Ishq Subhan Allah" actor.
Shantanu Maheshwari, the host of "India's Best Dramebaaz", also feels it is "unfair" to celebrate friendship on one specific day. "It is something to cherish every day. I still remember during my school days, Friendship Day used to be a rage and kids used to take friendship bands very seriously. "
"Back then, I used to make my own friendship band for my close friends because I could not afford to buy fancy ones. I plan to spend Friendship Day with my close friends. The stupid little things we do is what makes our bond so special," he said.
Actress Yogita Bihani is generally busy shooting for her show. "But if given a chance, I would love to go out with my friends and do all the fun activities. Like going to some gaming parlour or some refreshing place and just chill with my friends," she said.
She considers her "Dil Hi Toh Hai" co-star Karan Kundra a "really good friend".
"He is someone who teases me and you can tease him too and have fun. We have so much fun on the set. Also, he is a friend who teaches you and someone you want in your life."
"Mere Sai" actress Sneha Wagh believes it is an important to stay in touch with old friends and on Friendship Day, she usually meets them for lunch or coffee to rejoice "this beautiful day".
Actor Vijayendra Kumeria, seen in "Udann", has three close friends -- Raj Iyer, Rohit Ahuja and Siddharth Dabhi -- from school.
"We are always available for each other at any given time. One memory that I will always cherish with them is the time when we all had gone for a school trip to Udaipur. All the students had to report for sightseeing at a specific time. Siddharth and I reached on time whereas Raj and Rohit were late and the coach left.
"When we returned, these two were so angry that they decided to 'unfriend' us. But they remained angry only for two hours. We still laugh whenever we think of this incident," he shared.
"Naagin 3" actor Pearl Puri recalled having lots of football friends with whom he used to play every evening after tution.
"Vikas Parashar is my one friend who's always had my back. Gymming becomes double fun when Vikas comes along. I think friendship is a really beautiful bond which is above all the insecurities and egos and that's what I like the most."
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
