Space Star to Rock Star!

Yuri rocks! That’s what my daughter said after hearing his interview and I fully agree. How else can you describe a fighter pilot cum astronaut who retired from the Air Force to become a radio jockey and a Bollywood actor, and aspires to become a rock star when he grows up! It was the 12th of April 1962 and Yuri Gagarin had just gone up in space. During a dinner with his joint family, the elders wanted to know if anybody from their family could ever match such a feat. "They pointed at everybody but they didn’t point at me. They thought all the others could go except me so… I specifically remember that incident and this is what led me to join the Air Force", says Yuri. An alumnus of DPS Mathura road, New Delhi, he left school after 11th to join the National Defence Academy and took commission in the Indian Air Force; becoming the first in his business family to join the forces. In the Air Force he trained as a fighter pilot and was eventually selected as an astronaut also. He remembers, "I came real close to going up in space!" But he was disappointed when Rakesh Sharma went up instead. He left the Air Force because his mission to go up in space had not materialised. "I had enjoyed my stint as a fighter pilot, flew for 20 long years and after that I said let me seek another career and I became a radio jockey!" His daughter was in college when Yuri started charming ‘Delhi-ites’ with his suave voice, an hour everyday on the 6’o’clock FM channel. The initial qualms which his daughter had about her dad becoming a radio jock, soon metamorphosed into pride when every one in college started recognising her as ‘Yuri’s daughter’! During his days as a radio jockey, he also started imparting training as a communication expert and was also on the panel of the team preparing the Miss India contestants for the beauty contest. Today he is considered a guru in the world of pageant oratory and has trained many a young face to handle the questions of the judges in a pageant, confidently and sensibly. He was the first to notice Sushmita Sen, an Air Force officer’s daughter and recognise her as star material! This was while he was choreographing a fashion show for the Air Force Jubilee celebrations and wanted a few girls from the Air Force crowd to walk the ramp. He noticed a tall, lithe, beautiful girl and wanted her to participate in the show. Though Sushmita could not participate in the fashion show as she was appearing for her boards that year, he encouraged her parents to allow her to try her luck in this field. As anticipated by Yuri, she won the coveted Miss India and the Miss Universe crowns, creating history! During his RJ stint Lilette Dubey approached him; "You’ve got a nice voice, would you like to do theatre with us?" An important role in the play ‘Me and My Girl’ introduced him to the interesting world of theatre, where he worked with many popular directors. His acting prowess earned him a role in the movie ‘Chai, Paani etc.’, where Ashutosh Gowarikar noticed him and offered him the role of Bairam Khan in ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, thus marking his foray into the tinsel world of Bollywood. Presently, Yuri is shooting for a television serial and a few movies. He has six movies lined up for release in the next six to eight months, including ‘Kites’, with Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Morey, ‘Lamha’ with Salman Khan and Bipasha Basu and an untitled movie with Arjun Bagga. Recalling his life in the Air Force he says, "We felt a lack of money, houses were smaller and more austere, but the people who surrounded me were such a bunch of fine guys that you wouldn’t ever want to loose them which is why all my good friends are from the Air Force." "When was the last time you did something for the first time?" Yuri relies on this quote to define his actions in life. He believes in the novelty of deeds; trudging down untrodden paths following the diktats of his heart, thus setting his own rules. He defines himself as "somebody who loves life, doing whatever he loves doing best". "Acting is one of my passions, training is one of my passions and I am doing both," he says. Never letting age catch up, he outlines his future plans…"I played guitar in college so I want to form a band…. I want to grow up and become a Rock Star"!

By Poonam Talwar Sayal