On the eve of Valentine's Day, we set up Saqib Saleem on a rendezvous with newbie Manasvi Mamgai. Turn over to know if Cupid struck them...
Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; February 14, 2015)

Blind dates can be tricky. But when hitlist approached Saqib Saleem and Manasvi Mamgai separately to be part of a Valentine’s Day feature, they took the proposal sportingly. As the date for their rendezvous inched closer, both of them seemed impatient to know who their blind date was, but we managed to keep it a secret till they met at a suburban restaurant on the eve of V-Day.

Saqib arrived a few minutes after Manasvi reached the venue. When they saw each other, the actor did a subtle fist pump while the beauty queen-turned-actress went ‘yay’ — after all, they have been friends for quite some time now. The look test done, they embarked on their first ever blind date. Excerpts from their conversation:

Saqib Saleem: Hi Manasvi, how have you been?

Manasvi Mamgai: Great. What have you been up to?

Saqib: Chilling, till I start shooting for my next film with Huma (Qureshi, sister) in April. Then I am doing a
sequel to one of my earlier films. You are going down South, I hear?

Manasvi: I may, but I have two films lined up here. So, are you a Valentine’s Day person?

Saqib: Totally. What’s wrong with that?

Manasvi: Nothing! What do you like to do?

Saqib: Find a date, go out with her and have a good time.



Manasvi: What are you doing this February 14?

Saqib: I haven’t decided. I will probably go out for dinner.

Manasvi: You have to find a date first!

Saqib: That I will. Your plans?

Manasvi: I have to make an appearance in Kanpur.

Saqib: So fly your date to Kanpur and have fun. You know, I was so curious about my blind date. I thought I will escape quietly if it was someone I didn’t want to meet.

Manasvi: Same here! What has been your most disastrous date till now?

Saqib: I have had many. Once, I forgot to carry my wallet. It was so embarrassing.

Manasvi: Once I dropped my drink on the guy’s crotch and never met him again.

Saqib: How was Valentine’s Day while growing up?

Manasvi: Not great. I was dark and a national level skater. My knees were always bruised. Did you do a lot of V-Day stuff?



Saqib: Of course. It may sound very cheesy but there was this senior in college I was besotted with. She knew I liked her. I went to my friend’s place, decorated it and recorded a video of mine reminiscing about time spent with her.

Manasvi: Did she say yes?

Saqib: As a matter of fact, she did. We dated for two years. If there was a Valentine’s Day when we weren’t in the same city, I would sing some lines that I wrote, record it and send it to her. 

Manasvi: You should sing now.

Saqib: I can’t!

Manasvi: You should, you are on a date!

Saqib: Now you will regret coming here. ‘I am a gangster baby, am a gangster baby…’ (sings Manasvi’s song from her debut film Action Jackson). Your turn now.

Manasvi: Why? I never said I sing.

Saqib: Tell me what is the craziest thing that you have done?

Manasvi: See, Valentine’s Day is a man’s day. But I have done some stuff, like successfully making pasta and pizza for this guy. The flip side was that I had to cook it again and again because he liked it. Which actress would you like to go on a Valentine date with?

Saqib: I am with one now.

Manasvi: I meant a dream date.

Saqib: None from Bollywood. Even if I had someone on my mind, I wouldn’t tell you.

Manasvi: So, then Hollywood?

Saqib: Jennifer Lawrence. Who will your date be from the fraternity? Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Ryan Gosling?

Manasvi: Ryan Gosling, of course. From Bollywood, it has to be Hrithik Roshan.

Saqib: I have had the biggest crush on Kareena Kapoor since I saw her. I know she is married and happy…

Manasvi: But you can go on a friendly date with her.

Saqib: I know I can’t date her, but it’s okay. Who would you not want to date?

Manasvi: Tusshar Kapoor.

Saqib: Can you say that again? A little louder, please!

Manasvi: No! (laughs) Your turn.

Saqib: Rakhi Sawant, Poonam Pandey, Sambhavna Seth… everyone I know from Bigg Boss.

Manasvi: I have one more name. Kamaal R Khan!

Saqib: Hasn’t he tweeted anything to you? Like, ‘A big kiss to Manasvi Mamgai’!

Manasvi: He has strangely been nice to me. Tell me, what is the craziest thing that you have done to woo a girl?

Saqib: I have already told you about that — cleaning up my friend’s house and recording my messages.
Imagine cleaning a guy’s house! I mopped his room which was really dirty.

Manasvi: Which has been your best date so far?

Saqib: I don’t want to sound preachy but for me it doesn’t matter where I am or what I do on a date. I can be at Juhu Chowpatty and have a great conversation over pav bhaji. You?

Manasvi: I was dating this guy and we went to Rishikesh, did a bit of rafting and lit up a bonfire on a full moon night.

(And their conversation continued for another hour before they realised it was time for other meetings.)

Pics/Nimesh Dave
Location courtesy: Trikaya