Life is great @40 and other lessons we've learnt from celebrities

Do you cruise along the Sheikh Zayed Road, humming your favourite Chris Martin track, your eyes are drawn up to the Burj Khalifa, and there is Tom Cruise scaling the iconic landmark in his Mission Impossible gear. 
You check to see if other motorists have noticed the incredulous act, and lock eyes with Justin Bieber attempting a wheelie in a Lamborgini Avendator in the next lane. 
At the traffic lights nearing Dubai Mall, there's Lewis Hamilton revving up, as the lights turn from red to green. You manage to squeeze your car in between two Ferraris and saunter into The Dubai Mall, to find yourself alongside Kim Kardashian who is here to sample 'Millions of Milkshakes'. You shake off the crowd and make your way to the Fashion Atrium, and you are caught up in Bella Hadid's posse.
You rush into a fashion brand's newly launched store to escape from it all, only to bump into Salman Khan treating his cast and crew to a shopping expedition. 
You decide to unwind in your favourite neighbourhood club, dancing away the mid-week stress to what you thought was Rihanna's music, but lo and behold, the singer is there in the flesh, post her F1 concert! Stopping by Nobu, on the way home, to grab a bite to eat, there's Jennifer Lopez and her beau Alex Rodriguez tucking into Chef Matsuhisa's delicacies.
Welcome to just another day in our lives, here in the UAE!
Whether it is Matthew McConaughey shaking his leg to Khaike Pan Banaras Wala at the second edition of the Global Teacher's Prize event in Dubai, or Gigi Hadid cruising down the Marina alongside local social media influencers, or Lionel Richie seducing us with the magic of Hello or Janet Jackson marking her 'comeback' at the Dubai World Cup, we at City Times have been witness to it all. 
We've been squeezed into the backseat of a car with the Badshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan (a heart-stopping moment admittedly), treated to the nostalgic sight of Govinda breaking into Kisi Disco Mein Jaye in our office, awe-struck by Amitabh Bachchan's thorough professionalism (despite being unwell and having just jetted into the country he was in great form when we met him during the promotion of Shamitabh); privy to confidential tete-a-tetes and witnessed first-hand the diva-esque behaviour of certain Bollywood starlets. We've spent countless hours impatiently waiting for celebrities to arrive at the Khaleej Times office, been pleasantly taken aback by a few of their early appearances, floored by some of the A-list celebs' natural humility, bored by some of the stars' obviously regurgitated statements and taken aback by the self-absorbed nature of a certain actor whose statuesque appearance is often compared to that of a Greek hero.
In the 16 years since City Times came into existence, the nature of tabloid journalism has changed. Nowadays we don't always have to wait for a carefully curated release to announce the arrival of a superstar to our shores. A Tweet or an Instagram story straight from the horse's mouth is enough to alert us. Whether it is Will Smith gamely facing up to his fears at Skydive Dubai or Olivia Culpo trying out the longest zipline in the world at RAK or the Fast and Furious team in Abu Dhabi, social media is where the stories often fly. 
It's a challenge to appeal to the social media gen, no doubt, but we at City Times aren't the ones to be fazed. And alongside our Mother Ship, Khaleej Times, we are happy to zoom into the future, armed with some amazing writers and a skillful team who have their ears to the ground and most importantly a pertinent voice that can be heard over and above others. 
On the occasion of Khaleej Times' 40^th anniversary, here are five life lessons we've learnt over the years from the celebs who have dropped by our office. Whether you are a 20 something millennial munching on the standard avocado on toast or an over-40 high-achiever, looking for the next big challenge, we are sure there are lessons here none of us are too young or old to incorporate into our own lives.
1: Stardom doesn't last. The quicker you come to terms with the ephemeral nature of life and fame, the better. To recalibrate for us non-starry folks, nothing is permanent - the power you wield over your subordinates, the signing authority you have in your company's account or the prime position you occupy on the career ladder. Enjoy it while it lasts of course, but don't behave as if you are the best thing to have happened to your company or family since they started making double-coated chocolate bars.
Among the many motley celebs who have passed through our portals over the years, a few have unfortunately been left behind in the rat race. Remember Harman Baweja? The Hrithik-lookalike who Priyanka Chopra was reportedly dating at the time? But unlike his debut, ironically titled Love Story 2050, a futuristic sci-fi movie starring him alongside PC, he's nowhere to be seen in the industry.
Ditto with Imran Khan, who was so garrulous, that within five minutes of stepping into our office back in 2012, we had reams of print material at our disposal courtesy his role as Guest Editor of the day. The actor who was last seen in Katti Batti (2015) opposite Kangana Ranaut, we hear, is awaiting a comeback in an ambitious project on the Mahabharata, helmed by uncle Aamir Khan. 
2: People might not remember what you said, or what you did, but they sure will remember how you made them feel. Though in Govinda's case we do remember the actor showing off his dance moves and making us go "Aww" as he spoke about how every single thing he did was to make his mother happy. In the case of Hrithik Roshan, while there is no getting away from his amazing physique and perfectly carved out face, what we recollect is his, "You want me to do what???," when asked to strike a different pose in front of the KT Wall, late one evening, when he dropped in to promote Agneepath. Bipasha Basu could always be counted on to be polite and enquire about us by name, while Vidya Balan's effervescent nature meant every time she came into Khaleej Times, it was as if we were seeing a long-lost friend! Priyanka Chopra, who has walked into KT for Barfi! as well as Teri Meri Kahaani (yes, look it up) has grown enormously since we last saw her. Her recent talk in Dubai on female empowerment and education, shows how she's risen from being just another pretty girl running around trees to using her voice to power global issues. 
3: The bigger they are, the humbler they get. Nobody drives home this lesson more than Amitabh Bachchan, who was the most polite, most well-mannered and most patient interviewee, who had no hassles sharing the stage with his much younger co-stars. We've had some amazing conversations with Pakistani stars Mahira Khan and Humayun Saeed who came in to promote the romantic drama Bin Roye or the Dobara Phir Se cast of Sanam Saeed, Adeel Hussain, Hareem Farooq and Ali Kazmi who have amazed us with their talent and their quest to find their space under the global spotlight. A.R. Rahman is another personality who seems reticent, but give him enough time to thaw and watch the words roll off his tongue even as his twinkling eyes and shy smile beguile you. Ranbir Kapoor, who was the picture of professionalism when we met him alongside the Rajneeti team of Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal and Prakash Jha in 2010 was subdued when he walked in with dad Rishi Kapoor to talk up Besharam in our offices in 2013. We remember how Kareena who came in with Saif to promote Kurbaan in 2009 couldn't stop praising her beau: 'Saif is the most honest man in the industry." Which brings us to.
4: Nothing compares to a man with a great sense of humour. Seriously! And there is only one man who has taught us that over the years he has visited Khaleej Times. Saif Ali Khan is, without doubt, the most erudite, funny and entertaining guy we have come across from the film industry. You can count on him for a few self-deprecatory comments and candid observations on the industry. We still remember his sardonic comment on how he did stage shows only for the money, when we caught up with him backstage at a 2006 Bollywood event. And his recent stopover at the KT office to promote Chef was nothing less than spectacular.
5: Finally, age is just a number. While the millennials have been made much of, there is no joy greater than being on the other side of 40 and realising that life is amazing the way it is. Tom Cruise, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, A.R. Rahman, Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukerji, Anil Kapoor, John Abraham - all show us that being on the other side of 40 doesn't mean the end of life. As long as you look after yourself, exercise well, eat right and lead a purposeful life, nothing or nobody can beat you. A little bit of social media of course helps, but even if you aren't a 12am Tweeter like SRK, or a prolific blogger like Big B, believe us, the earth is not going to stop revolving!