Toy Stories

B Town celebrities go back to the days when they had a favourite toy. And no, we're not referring to their latest gizmos. Think glowing goblins and dinky cars

Jessie, the yodeling cowgirl toy in Toy Story 2 rues, "You never forget kids like Emily, or Andy, but they forget you."

The celebrities we spoke to, however, hadn't forgotten their toys. In fact, they remembered how they wanted some of their toys to come alive!

Asin
Barbie

"I loved Barbie dolls and spent hours playing with them. I had loads of dolls including doctor Barbie, teacher Barbie and princess Barbie. Most of these dolls were presented to my by my parents. While playing with them, my imagination would run wild and I would conjure up a whole world peopled by these dolls. I would cook-up stories around them and make them move as if they were characters in different situations.

"I also had Barbie family sets. I would let my friends play with them; I was very generous, (laughs). We made a huge doll house to accommodate all my Barbie families; and this doll house was my pride and joy."

The one toy I wished would come alive:

"Barbie, so that I could have her as my friend."

Tusshar Kapoor
BMX bike

"My blue-and-white BMX bike. It was my most prized possession and my passion. I would cycle up and down Pali Hill road on this steed.

"I remember I had forced my mom to buy the bike from a shop in USA called Toys 'R' Us. On that trip, we were already overloaded with bags; but I didn't let my mom rest till she agreed to buy it. I was so young that I couldn't even lift it; so a guy from the store accompanied us till the hotel with the carton.

"I remember falling off the cycle into a gutter and even a manhole. I would race up and down the slopes. I attempted a wheelie too. I don't think I managed to do it but I gave it my best shot. I was very generous with my toys; my friends were allowed to use it. But the bike was so precious to me that I remember getting up in the middle of the night just to check if it was still there. I would eagerly wait for the morning so that I could cycle all over the place again."

The one toy I wished would come alive:

"I had a small helicopter which I wished would transform into a mini-sized real 'copter. I wanted to be able to travel in it and fly around the garden and maybe reach as high as the fifth floor."

Pooja Bedi
Teddy and squirrel

"There were two toys I was crazy about a stuffed teddy bear, Sheroo, and a squirrel whom we had named Koori. My brother Sidhharth and I were so attached to these two toys that they travelled with us everywhereu00a0 on flights, during camping, hiking and trekking.

"I know Sheroo sounds like a tiger, but the teddy had such lovely hair that we just felt like calling him Sheroo.

My father bought Sheroo from America and Koori came along with my mother from Switzerland. Koori was comparatively smaller but Sheroo was a big fat fellow. Sheroo fell into a well in Kulu-Manali once and we were in tears. A big tamasha ensued while Herculean endeavours were made to rescue Sheroo.

"Koori and Sheroo were our comfort mascots. We felt safe and connected to them. They were more like companions. We would talk to them and even hold parties over which Koori and Sheroo presided. They were central to our existence."

The one toy I wished would come alive:

"I wanted Superman to come alive so that he could fly up and save the planet from terrorism. Also, Barbie's boyfriend, Ken finally, we would have the perfect man."

Prachi Desai
Glowing goblin

"I had so many favourite toys. I clearly remember a small drum that made a lot of noise. My poor mother would be exasperated by the racket we would create and hand the drum to my sister and me for just 10 minutesu00a0but those were the best 10 minutes of our lives.

"Another favourite toy was a glowing goblin. We thought we could scare our cousins but unfortunately once the lights were off and the toy started glowing in the dark. My sister and I ended up feeling scared ourselves.

We had a cycle, which we two sisters shared and always squabble over. Since I was the older one, I would ride the cycle while my sister was made to sit behind. Since I was very young, I would have a tough time maintaining my balance.

The one toy I wished would come alive

"I had this three-inch tall doll, whom I had named Betty because I was very fond of Betty from the Archie comics. That doll was really cute and pretty, with long, golden hair and I wanted it to come alive."

Aftab Shivdasani
GI Joe

"As a child model, I had done three ads for GI Joe. I would love making these toy soldiers fight. I was a big fan of GI Joe and I told the ad agency guys to give me the toys as my remuneration. As a result, I had a large collection. I loved to make GI Joe fight with Black Cobra. They were enemies (laughs).

"I was very possessive about my toys and got very uncomfortable when anybody else played with them. I would keep a vigilant eye on my friends when they played with my toys. Unfortunately, I had to let go of my Joes when I grew up."

The one toy I wished would come alive

"I wanted GI Joe to come alive, no two ways about it. He was my hero, my protector. I sound a bit bizarre, na?"

Sharman Joshi

My favourite toy as a child:

"30 years back, toys were not as advanced as they are these days. I was crazy about dinky cars. We are talking about red, yellow and blue dinky cars. I had a whale of a time playing with them for hours together. I would zoom them around and crash them into each other, obviously inspired by Hindi films.

"I would have liked to take them to school to play on my bench but our school was very strict; and I was a very by-the-rule student. Which reminds me of another favourite toyu00a0 when I was in the seventh standard, a new compass box had come into the market. It had an inbuilt radio but since it was a compass box, we were allowed to bring it in school. In between classes, I would listen to the radio, secretly.

"I would take my dinky cars with me even when I went to the loo in the morning! On other days, I would spend 15 minutes in the bathroom but when I took my dinky car, I would take 30-45 minutes and be invariably late for school."

The one toy I wished would come alive:

"A car that not only ran on the roads but also became my small private jet plane. I also wanted shoes that would enable me to take 50-feet leaps."

Nina Manuel
Building blocks

"Lego (a set of building blocks) was my favourite toy. I could create so many things with themu00a0 monsters, robots, houses, mountains and animals. I would create a little countryside to place them. I loved the fact that the blocks were so colourful. My sister and I would play for hours and it was great fun.

"My Barbie dolls would sleep with me on my bed. I had 25-30 Barbie dolls with sets of clothes and shoes each. I loved dressing them up; and maybe that's what inspired me to be a model. I never had an Indian Barbie doll. I had a black Barbie, Red Indian Barbie, American Barbie."

The one toy I wish would come alive:

"I wished fairies such as Tinkerbell and pretty ponies with wings would come alive. It would make the world a pretty place to live in."