Grand Masti with Kainaat Arora at Shikara

Check the slideshow above Kainaat Arora, who is debuting in Bollywood Indra Kumar’s Grand Masti, stepped out of the car in her stilettos to enter Shikara restaurant in Hotel Highway View, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai. Clad in a short verdant green dress, the marble complexion, cleft in her chin and the lustrous hairline reminded me of Dimple Kapadia of Bobby days. Vijay Dhiman and Ashok Mehra, MD of Shikara, welcome the gorgeous actor with bouquets. Warm, friendly and observant, Kainaat comes across as an intelligent, smart, enterprising and confident girl. We first had Shikara’s famous Kebab Platter consisting of Paneer Tikka, Seekh, Mushroom, Pahadi, Galouti and Hara Bara kebabs with piquant chutneys and sipped on delicious Strawberry Cooler in one of the Shikaras while she admired the cackling geese and the beautiful ambience of the restaurant. By now we had many visitors requesting her for pictures as I waited watching her pose effortlessly and even give proper angle and lighting suggestions. Later we shifted to all-day dining Shamiana of Hotel Highway View, an equally sophisticated, classy restaurant serving mouth-watering multi-cuisine menu. When I expressed surprise at her doing films after a course in NIFT, she said, “I believe that you don’t choose your career, que sera sera.” Wasn’t she apprehensive of debuting in an adult comedy? How about future offers? “Not at all. Coming from an established film maker like Indra Kumar, it has got its brand of humour and bold dialogues. Besides, with exposure, Indian audience is mature enough to take it in the right spirit and enjoy,” she opines, adding further, “I will be doing a song in Hate Story.” From her conversations I gauged Kainaat Arora as a capable, motivated and enterprising young girl but with a kind soul whose heart goes out to the discarded and abandoned old people. In the Raksha Bandhan that went by, she tied rakhi to cancer patients, she celebrates her birthday in an old age home offering presents to the aged inmates, sitting by each one’s bedside and listening to his/her stories and by playing simple games with them. Well, how many of us, especially from the glamour industry, would be as dedicated and caring as to adopt an old lady and look after her like her own grandparent. She rues the fact that, “Old people are like children. They have to be taken care of like a baby. It’s really sad to find them being deserted by their own kith and kin.” This strikingly beautiful girl with a golden heart is fond of seafood and Chinese. So, we order Oriental Prawns and she loves it with the gentle flavor of celery…in fact she even suggests the chef to serve this dish always with celery…point noted, says F & B Manager Charles. A few morsels of Veg Biryani (on my insistence) and a single piece of syrupy Gulab Jamun (again on my persistence) and she is done with her lunch. She is very sure about getting married and it has to be a Punjabi groom. She wishes to continue with her good work of helping downtrodden people and bringing a smile to the lips of the desolate and forsaken. There was nothing Masti about our meeting but whatever I got to know about Kainaat was excellent and Grand! There are more offers coming her way and I wish her loads of success so that the deprived may benefit too, for here's one actor with a genuinely kind heart! Rapid Fire Qs with Kainaat Arora: You started your career as…. A model, after completing a course in NIFT. Then I did some films down South. How did the item song in Khatta Meetha happen? Priyadarshan offered me the song as it had a ‘Jooth Bole Kauva Katte’ kinda look and thought I suited it best (because of her resemblance to Dimple). Why debut in an adult comedy film? Going by Indra Kumar’s highly successful graph, it is better to debut in such a huge brand rather than do a goody-goody role in a mediocre film. Your fave Hindi film actor Shah Rukh Khan…. I adore him for his wit, intellect and respect for women. Are you particular about sporting only brands? I mix and match Gucci and other international brands. Not particular about brands but definitely don’t do street shopping. Will you do television? No. Will you be doing more south films? Not as of now 5 years down the line… A successful star. Your views on marriage… It is a sacred institution and I respect it. Yes I will definitely get married. You are touched by… The condition of old people abandoned by their children. One thing that nobody knows about you… I am selfish. How and why? I have adopted an 84-year old homeless lady who stays with me and I do everything to keep her happy just because I get happiness out of seeing her happy. Am I not selfish?