Remo finds a new admirer in Ashiesh Roy !

Meeting your idol face to face is always an unexpected pleasure, but when that idol has effected a significant change in your life, then meeting that person becomes an unforgettable experience. Actor Ashiesh Roy (Sasural Simar Ka) recently had the same experience while holidaying in Goa. “I met the one and only Remo Fernades at his house, and it was like a dream come true!” gushed the actor.

Ashiesh says that he has admired the maverick musician since childhood “because Remo’s music and his lifestyle was always so individualistic – he never ran with the pack, he never conformed.” Much like Roy himself has charted the course of his own career. And he has much to thank Remo for that too. “There was this song Remo had composed and sung in the ‘80s called Pack That Smack!  It was an appeal to the youth to give up drugs and fight back your addiction.”

Roy says that that one song changed his whole life. “I was a wild child in college – violent and angry, with a chip on my shoulder bigger than my head! Then, one night, I heard Remo’s Pack That Smack! on the radio. And it really shook me up! I felt inspired, I cleaned up my act, and I went back to college. Much of what I’m today is thanks to Remo and his song.”

So, when his musician friend Rahul set up a meeting with the legendary singer/composer/songwriter, “I just piled on shamelessly,” guffaws Ashiesh. “He is the most perfect gentleman there can be. Over tea and cake, when I told him my story, there was a hint of tears in his eyes. He was quiet for a long time after that.”