So Lisa Ray goes into hospital tomorrow for the stem cell transplant. Long phone calls between her and Hanan, filled with vision and practicality in equal measure, and shorter bursts between Lisa and me discussing our future life eating steak and reading books in Argentina, which I think Lisa fell in love with on her recent trip. I wanted her to try Hanan’s stem cells, mix them with her own, just to see what a driven, over-achieving actor with curlier hair looked like. But she has plenty of her own so she needs no bodily parts from Hanan or anyone else. In fact, with typical generosity of spirit, she’s sending us a Fedex. ‘Don’t send anything,’ Hanan commanded. ‘What is it?’ I said, excited. ‘Chocolates? Christmas cake?’ ‘Hair,’ said Lisa. That shut me up. ‘Hair?’ I pondered. ‘Whose?’ ‘Mine.’ Yes, anyone can send a cake for Christmas. Not everyone couriers their own personal shag pile. Apparently, she has a big bag of her recently shaved hair hanging around. She’s been tweeting about it. No wonder she has 10 times the number of followers I have. We discussed the hair for a while. It will be strange to see it without Lisa underneath it, but more than that we have to decide what to do with it. We reckon that, since she has several months of non-working recovery still to come, we should use it to raise money towards Lisa’s medical costs. Since I never really left behind my love affair with Keats, the Brontes and all those true Romantics, my first thought was to come up with a necklace and locket, inside which a lock of Lisa’s hair would be curled. ‘Brilliant idea,’ said Hanan as I gave myself a mental gold star. ‘Lisa’s fans could buy it for their girlfriends or boyfriends for Valentine’s Day.’ I don’t know about you, but if my wife confronted me on Valentine’s with a piece of jewelry containing the hair of a stunningly gorgeous actress, I might start crying. And not in a good way. But then I thought she had a point, because I have a ton of emails from people who thought I Can’t Think Straight and The World Unseen were the most romantic movies ever, so a lock of hair from Tala/Miriam’s head might be just the thing. And what else can you do with a mane of a goddess? Knit a scarf? Make high-end dental floss? Sell sticky facial tufts so you can recreate Robert Pattinson in Twilight in the comfort of your own home? Lisa has a week of intense chemotherapy coming up, during which she will lose more hair (I asked her not to sweep that into a Fedex bag) followed by a couple of weeks in isolation while her immunity is at zero. Then it’s a few months at home for recovery. So let’s come up with some hairy ideas to warm her up in January. In the meantime, Lisa has sent a message to everyone, and asked us to post it. Here goes:
To all Fellow Yellow Diarists, Enlightened Friends and Supporters-
There has been such a constant outpouring of love and generosity since I began the Yellow Diaries. As I prepare for the final leg of my treatment for Multiple Myeloma, a lot of you have asked how you can continue to support this journey. First know that I am grateful for all your open hearted responses already. Second: please do not illegally download the films into which Shamim, Hanan, Sheetal and I have poured our creative energies. Purchase The World Unseen and I Can't Think Straight from the Enlightenment website and you will be supporting not just the films we created, but future film projects made with passion and integrity. Without this support, there will be no more. In addition, we the artists collectively cannot sustain ourselves financially if you are watching the fruit of our labour for free. Think about it- its difficult enough to remain true to your vision and passion. Working with Shamim and Hanan has been deeply inspiring and I would like to work with them again and again. I would like to continue to make my living as a actor committed to working on projects which illuminate and provoke. This can only happen if you express your support by buying the films.
Happy Holidays and a Yellow Wish for all- Love, Lisa
