Mumbai, Nov 18 (IANS) Bollywood actor Jaideep Ahlawat was recently seen revealing how the legendary Amitabh Bachchan played an integral part of not just his childhood, but also of the childhood days of the babies born in Ahlawat’s village.
Resurfacing a memory that goes back decades, Jaideep, who appeared on the quiz reality game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, revealed, “Growing up, whenever a baby was born in my village, the celebrations always included screening your films: Deewar, Zanjeer, and Don. Because of this tradition, I must have seen each of those movies well over a hundred times.”
He added, “Separately, the audio cassette of Sholay was an integral part of our festivities. Every major holiday—Holi, Diwali, and others—we would gather, and the entire village would listen keenly to the movie’s soundtrack and dialogue, playing the full cassette from start to finish.” An overwhelmed Amitabh Bachchan was seen expressing his gratitude to Jaideep and all his fans for loving him so much.
In the upcoming episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati, viewers will also see actors Manoj Bajpayee and Sharib Hashmi, along with Jaideep Ahlawat, promoting their upcoming series The Family Man 3. Manoj too opened up about his first meeting with the legendary superstar during the screening of ‘Satya’ 28 years ago. Bajpayee recalled it as a moment so overwhelming that he had initially tried to avoid facing Amitabh Bachchan altogether, but destiny had other plans. The Family Man star revealed how he was tricked into overcoming his nervousness of meeting Big B and was tricked into meeting him further.
Reflecting on that unforgettable encounter, Manoj said, “A well-known film journalist tricked me into stepping out of the car and locked it from inside, forcing me to stay out and meet Amitabh Bachchan instead of hiding.” He elaborated, “I panicked. I knew that if I stood there longer, Amitabh Sir would see me. So, I ran straight into the washroom and locked myself inside. After some time, thinking Bachchan might have left, I stepped out only to find Abhishek Bachchan waiting outside.”
Manoj Vajpayee added, “Abhishek told me he had seen him run in and had waited to say hello. And then, this tall, towering figure appeared right in front of me: Amitabh Bachchan himself. Time just stopped. I couldn’t hear anything. My mind went blank. The man who inspired me all the way back in fifth grade was standing right in front of me. Amitabh sir was holding my hand and was talking to me, and I had gone deaf; I could not process the whole scene. Overwhelmed, I mustered the courage to ask , “Sir… can I… may I hug you?”
Bajpayee added, “Seeing all of this, Amitabh Sir warmly hugged me.” Manoj revisited that unforgettable memory on the stage of Kaun Banega Crorepati with the same humility and admiration and asked Amitabh Bachchan once again for a hug, creating a beautiful full-circle moment.
–IANS
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