Last Thursday when Emraan Hashmi bid his director friend, Kunal Deshmukh, goodbye after a meeting, he had no premonition of the calamity which was to follow.

Kunal flew to Nepal for a school friend's wedding and two days later, an earthquake shook Nepal and Emraan recieved the first of many texts from Kunal, who with the rest of the baraatis, was at the Gorkhana Forest Resort, 10 kms from Kathmandu's city centre. He assured the actor that he was fine and the two have been in touch, intermittently, except for seven hours in between when the power went off. Once electricity was restored, Kunal started reporting from Ground Zero, all the while trying to conserve his cell phone battery.

“The hotel was evacuated following fears of after shocks and everyone spent Saturday night out on the 18-hole golf course,“ Emraan informed Mirror.

Early on Sunday, they reached the international airport hoping to catch the 2.20 pm Jet Airways flight back to Delhi. But after fresh tremors, the flight didn't get permission to land. And around 4 pm, Kunal whatsapped Mahesh Bhatt, “Waiting for Jet flight. Meanwhile, have made a queue behind a Royal Air Force plane evacuating people to Delhi.“ He had earlier reassured the frantic filmmaker that they were “lucky to be safe“. Three hours later, he texted Emraan that both the 2.20 pm and the 5.15 pm flights had been suspended and they were camping on the tarmac with no plans of returning to the resort even though the control tower had been evacuated. “It's crazy but at least my friends are together. I think rations are running low at the airport. Since all commercial flights have been cancelled, the Indian Air Force flight is the best bet,“ said Emraan.

Bhatt who was to meet Kunal on Monday to discuss their next film, added that he's been told that the small airport was crowded, information network poor and it was getting cold with a thunderstorm brewing. Around 8 pm he got a text from Kunal, “If Jet cancels its flight we either stay at the airport or leave and come back tomorrow.“

Forty minutes later there was better news: “One Jet flight just landed. Our flight is expected to get here at 10 pm. Fingers crossed.“ Bhatt sighed: “This is life imitating cinema. Kunal's Tum Mile was about lovers trapped in a natural calamity (floods in Mumbai). Now he and Sonali, sweethearts since school, are trapped in a similar situation.“


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Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; April 27, 2015)

When Kunal Deshmukh left for a friend’s wedding in Kathmandu four days ago, little would he have imagined about a fun trip turning into a nightmare of sorts. As Nepal’s worst earthquake in eight decades struck on Saturday — recording 7.9 on the Richter scale and claiming more than 1500 lives — the director was desperate to call up his loved ones and inform them of his well- being.

But thanks to jammed phone lines, his family spent a few anxious hours before they heard his voice in a five- second call. “We were extremely worried when news first trickled in about the earthquake,” said Kunal’s sister, Devika. “I am in Jakarta with my parents. After trying his number several times, I managed to speak to him through one of his friends, but the call lasted for only five seconds due to poor network. He was standing in the lawns (of Gokarna Forest Reserve) when the quake hit and he is safe. I spoke to him again when he was waiting at the Kathmandu airport,” she said with a hint of relief in her voice.

Concerned about his safety, Mahesh Bhatt tweeted soon after the incident, saying: “Can someone help us search Kunal Deshmukh (director of my film Jannat) in Kathmandu? He was living in the Gorkana Forest Resort (sic).” Mukesh Bhatt said he had spoken to Kunal before he left for Kathmandu. “After we heard the news about the tragedy in Nepal, we tried calling him up, but didn’t get through. Today, the airport has been closed down due to powerful aftershocks. We are trying to put him on the first flight back home,” he added.

Kunal’s stylist-friend Rick Roy is also relieved after speaking to him. “I called him many times, but the phone lines were busy. I sent him a few text messages and when I didn’t get a reply, I began to panic. But a few hours later, I spoke to a common friend who was with Kunal at that time. Thank god he is safe and sound,” he said.

A source close to the director says he is still in a state of shock. In a text message Kunal tells us, “The network is bad and I am at the Kathmandu airport. Trying to get home.”

The airport was shut down again at 1.15 pm yesterday following the strong aftershocks.
In a tweet, Mahesh Bhatt wrote, “Kunal says: Jet flt is suspended. Airforce has promised to get all of us out. They are setting up tables for chai, parathas & puri bhaji (sic).”