O SADI KE MAHANAYAK, TUMHARE KITNE NAAM

Shakespeare must have really been drunk when he asked that question, "What's in a name?" I am tired of telling him that there is so much in a name. A name has a story, has a history, has a geography and has a touch of religion to it - ALI PETER JOHN

Amitabh Bachan was shooting two shifts in in the late seventies, one starting at 7.30 in the morning and the second at 2 pm .

He used to leave his house at Pratiksha at 7 in the morning after praying at the temple within the house.

One morning, he was in a hurry and was rushing out in his car when his old parents, Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachan and Teji Bachan who were sitting outside for having tea shouted in one voice, " Munna".

Amitabh got the message and came back and went to the temple and after praying, he touched the feet of his parents and left.

That was the first time I came to know that Amitabh was called Munna by his parents even when he was a star.

Amitabh was born in Allahabad and his poet - father gave him the name Inqalaab and his Ser name was Shrivastav (His father took Bachan as his pen name).

It was his father's friend, the hindi poet Sumitranandan Panth who with the permission of his parents named him Amitabh (The annointed one) and that is how he was Amitabh Bachan.

When he came to Bombay and met K.A. Abbas, he didn't mention his original name, but only said that his name was Amitabh Bachan .

Bachan was the friend of Abbas and Abbas told Amitabh and his brother who were meeting him to get a role for Amitabh in 'Saat Hindustani'.

To that he told his brother that he would have to talk to his friend ( Bachan) and ask him if he had given permission to his son to act in films.

It was only after Bachan said he had no objection if Abbas was directing the film thay Amitabh was signed for five thousand rupees for the entire film. Abbas always called him Amitabh.

Amitabh first met Jaya bhaduri at the FTII and it was Jaya who made up her mind that if she would marry anyone it would be this tall man.

This meeting led to love , love led to marriage and Jaya always called him Amit and he called her Jaya. They still call each other by the same names.

When they were the parents of Shweta and Abhishek, they were trained to call their father Paa (Incidentally, this was to be the name of a very interesting film called Paa on which Amitabh and Abhishek played leading roles).

Prakash Mehra who had signed Amitabh for Zanjeer and knew his background called him 'Laale' or 'Lalla' and all the friends of Prakash Mehra also called him the same names.

It was on the recommendation of Mehra that Manmohan Desai signed Amitabh for Amar Akbar Anthony and never stopped working for him. Mannji called him 'Lambu' in private and union public.

Everyone in his house and even in his office called him 'Da' , from his secretary and his manager to his driver and his cooks.

A time came when he was only known as the 'Angry young man' , then it changed to 'the star among stars' and then 'the No. 1 to 10 star' and today he is 'the star of the millennium' and 'Sadi ka Mahanayak'.

A time came when every big filmmaker called him or referred to him as Sir. And there are strange but true stories about how producers were punished for not calling him Sir.

One of the victims of not calling him Sir was his one time best friend and the writer of many of his films, kaadar Khan .

People even say that the Mahanayak didn't do Kaadar Khan's film 'Jaahil' only because he had refused to call him Sir.

I don't know what other named Amitabh may be called in future , especially when he is going to be 80 years old in another one and a half year.

I have a book in the press about my relationship with Amitabh who I have always called Mr. Bachan. The book is called 'Munna'.

AB BOLIYE SARKAAR SHAKESPEARE SAHAB , KYA KEHNA HAI AAPKA NAAMON KE BAARE MEIN? KABHI FURSAT MILE TOH MERE NAAM KI KAHAANI SUNIYE, AAP ITNE HAIRAAN HO JAAENGE KI AAP PHIR JEEVIT HOKAR MUJHE MILNE AAENGE AUR MAIN AAPKO AMITABH BACHAN SE MILAAON.