It was very difficult for me to run around for the treatment of my mother between two cities and rise up to the challenge of launching a newspaper in a market where the leader had already created firewalls to prevent entry of a new player. But we had a very determined, young team
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
Durga Puja was fast approaching and we decided to launch a special Puja edition with the perfect 'Bengali' face in Bollywood.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
Many editorial meetings later, Kolkata team decided to move over all Bengali actresses in Mumbai and voted overwhelmingly for a Tamil actress.
Vidya Balan pic.twitter.com/Qi6h550fGx
The next few days were a blur. My editors asked me not to worry about office anymore and told me that nobody from any of the offices will call me.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
My colleagues in Kolkata came to see me at home.
They were being supportive but the guilt of not completing my work kept pinching me.
I asked her not to think about it as it was too short a time to deliver a photoshoot. On top of that I wasn't in Mumbai.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
I sent her an apology text for not following up properly with her team and said that I understand why she won't be able to do it.
Vidya just sent a smiley back
Most of us who are aware of special shoots know the work that goes behind it.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
I again sent a message to Vidya again saying that I am not in Mumbai and I won't be able to arrange for the shoot. I was making sure she knows what she was agreeing to.
She sent me a smiley again.
How can that happen? How will they know what to shoot & the concept of the shot?
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
Her staff said that she will be arranging for everything on her own. Her personal staff will be roped in for the shoot.
I wanted to send her a saree from Kolkata. Vidya said she will arrange that too
In the middle of this, I started to feel better.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
Some demons had descended over me. It was like a heavy object that was constantly pressing against my chest.
Every time I looked at my mom's picture, dark thoughts would cloud my mind.
But thanks to Vidya, I started feeling better.
For the next three hours, her PR kept updating me about the progress of the shoot, even informing me about the exact time when the first shot was clicked.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
By late evening, I got a text message from Vidya saying that the shoot was done and that “the photographs are very nice”
That a leading Bollywood actress would go to such lengths to get a photoshoot done, was beyond me. I couldn't fathom why Vidya Balan cancelled her film's shooting and submitted the final pictures within five days when the deadline was of seven.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
I didn't know how to thank her
Those tears helped me recoup. I realised that Vidya Balan single-handedly helped pull me out of a very dark, depressive phase.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
Magazine cover shoots & concept shoots with privileged actors born into prominent Bollywood families are usually a nightmare. They drive you up the wall.
No other Bollywood actor has ever done for me what Vidya Balan did.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
I don't know if I could ever come back to the profession had it not been for the kindness of Vidya.
I had thought of retiring and leaving Mumbai forever. That kind act of Vidya Balan changed my life's course
After years, I had heard about another Bollywood actor who had a similar level of empathy like Vidya Balan.
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) July 3, 2020
He would go out of his way to help people, he would provide for his friends in need, he would donate money freely for the distressed.
He was Sushant Singh Rajput. pic.twitter.com/gYl3YENNkm