My own personal rockstar: Wardha and Sajid Nadiadwala
On Friday, a security guard put a gun to the head of Wardha, producer Sajid Nadiadwala's wife and decamped with jewellery and cash worth over Rs 50 lakh. There has been a constant stream of concerned friends and relatives and the presence of local cops at the Nadiad-wala residence since.The ordeal...Wardha and Sajid had returned from Farah's (Khan) birthday party around 2.30 am when the nightmare began. Wardha recalls, "The children (Subhaan and Sufiyan) were sleeping in the adjoining flat. I checked on them and came out. The guard who was standing outside the door grabbed me from behind and held his arm over my neck. He had been with us for two months and SN (Sajid's pet name) and I were on friendly terms with him. Initially, I thought he was fooling but when he took out his gun and forced me to enter my bedroom in the next flat, I realised it was serious."
The next 45 minutes proved to be the most harrowing ones of the Nadiadwala's lives. "The guard told us he wanted money — around 1 crore — and had orders from above to kill us. While I kept praying, Sajid kept his cool and kept trying to calm the guard by saying, 'Beta, no problem. Take whatever you want but calm down.' When we gave him everything from one safe, he demanded money from the other safe. It felt strange… this was the same guard whom we'd given leave to when he was unwell, given him money for food to eat, and never treated him as staff."
The Nadiadwala couple's ordeal didn't end there. Narrates Wardha, "He tied our hands and feet with Sajid's shoelaces and wanted to gag us with scarves he found in my bedroom. SN requested him not to, as it made me claustrophobic. When the guard asked us to lie down on the mattress, we realised he planned to shoot us, and wanted to muffle the resultant sound. Sajid cajoled and coaxed him into taking more money from our safe and sparing our lives. We wanted him to leave after taking the money but he sat down and started counting the bundles. We convinced him into leaving and hid in the bathroom, but he came back."
Wardha says her husband was like a rock throughout the crisis. "When the guard returned, SN promised to give him more money later as there was nothing left to give. He finally left us at around 4 am."
Wardha says that the last few days have been one of the most traumatising days of her life. "Had it not been for my strong belief in God and my rock-star husband Sajid, I would have broken down… I was scared for my children too. After the guard left us, I thought he'd take them hostage. Fortunately, he didn't. It was a nail-biting 20 minutes before he left. By that time, I was going hysterical with fear wondering why he was taking so long to leave. We saw him leaving from the bathroom window which overlooks the gate. I immediately ran across to the children to check if they were okay."
Adds Wardha, "Through-out the entire ordeal, not once did Sajid get nervous. It was extremely traumatic but my strong faith and SN's nerves of steel helped me pull through the trauma. Throughout the ordeal though I was scared but I never lost my faith in God. I know he saved us. I am also very lucky to have a husband like SN. If God asked me what I wanted the most today I would ask Him to give me Sajid as my husband in every birth…"
