Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 1, 2014)

The cast and crew of Shahid gathered at a suburban lounge to ring in director Hansal Mehta and actor Rajkummar Rao’s double triumph at the National awards. The celebration was well-timed as it also happened to be Hansal’s birthday and he came with wife Safeeba, daughters Kimaya and Rihana, son Jai and his dad who seemed awestruck. The writing on the cake was ‘Waqt lagta hai, par ho jaata hai,’ which resonated well with Mehta’s struggle, before making a breakthrough with Shahid.

 The party began at around 9 pm, but most of the guests walked in around 11 pm. They included filmmakers Sudhir Mishra, Bejoy Nambiar, Suparn Verma and Guneet Monga, the whole crew of Shahid and Rajkummar’s leading lady from Citylights, Patralekha. The cuisine was Italian, the music was Bollywood with London Thumakda and other tracks from Queen on the loop.

 Rajkummar Rao, in a stylish waistcoat, was the perfect host, greeting guests at the restaurant’s entrance and ensuring that no one had an empty glass. “It’s been an exciting year, I can’t wait for Citylights to release,” he said, biting into a piece of chocolate cake.

 The party wrapped up at 2.30 am with Rao ensuring that everybody had a gala time at the bash!