Some moments snatched from the evening mr.bachchan celebrated his 60th birthday

Ali Peter John

It was a very tough time and also very happy times for him .He had overcome death  just a short while ago .He had launched his company , ABCL with all the energy , enthusiasm and excitement , but he proved to be a bad businessman and ABCL collapsed after it produced a number of films with him and without him.It was as he was getting over his problems and even going bankrupt that he also happened to turn sixty. And if there was one person who didn't want to let go an opportunity to celebrate his birthday which was the result of several seasons of ups and downs ,it was his wife , Jaya.

Jaya had planned to bring out a Coffee Table Book on the life and times of her husband . She got the well-known critic and writer Khalid Mohamed to write it and wanted to illustrate the book with some of the best photographs she had in her collection and from the collection of Amitabh , who she knew and anyone who knew Amitabh knew was aware of his fascination for good photographs of which he had rooms and albums full of and even had his personal photographer Alam who was so particular about the photographs of Amitabh he had taken that he would not part with a single photograph without the permission of Amitabh and who could even cry or kill for his prized possession  of Amitabh's photographs he had taken from his films and from his personal life .....

I had brought out an enitre issue of "Screen "on and about Amitabh and the issue was a "superhit "like the superstar himself . The issue which was priced at ten rupees was sold for fifty rupees , hundred rupees and even for several pounds and dollars and dinars in different countries .I considered and still consider the issue to be one of my big achievements and felt proud that the issue was my idea and I had worked days and nights over it for a man who had signed his first film , "Saat Hindustani "in the spartan office of my simple and great guru Abbas sahab.

I had collected as many photographs of Amitabh as possible . And when I knew that a young photographer , Indrajeet Aurangabadkar had shot hundreds of Amitabh's working stills ,I literally ran all over the place to find Indrajeet and told him about my need . He gave me a box full of photographs the next day with a bill for four thousand and five hundred rupees.He also had a condition that he would charge me  for every photographs even if it was not used .He had also warned me that the man who would bring out the issue technically (Peter Martis) would not used any of his photographs .I was so drunk about bringing out the issue that I agreed to all his conditions . Work on the issue started and I realised that it was not so difficult for me to collect and write the issue and but how very painful and difficult it was to see the issue take shape with a man who knew nothing about journalism and had no interest or inclination to bring out the issue .I spent sleepless nights thinking about what this man Mr.Martis would do to my dream of bringing out the best issue on Amitabh .I kept looking for the box in which I had kept the photographs sold to me by Indrajeet and I came home every evening disappointed when Mr.Martis made all efforts not to use any of Indrajeet's photographs . Finally , the issue came out , but without the box given to me by Indrajeet even opened .

One afternoon after the issue was out , Indrajeet came to my office and claimed the price he had asked for his photographs .I told him that none of his photographs were used .He said he had warned me that Mr.Martis would not use his photographs , but according to the conditions he had laid down ,he wanted his money whether the photographs were used or not .He created ugly scenes in my office and even threatened to sit in a dharna outside Express Towers and to avoid any such situation ,I paid him the four thousand five hundred rupees which was my monthly bill at The Express Canteen where I had my favourite lunch which was the" rice plate"and the story about the issue ended on a bitter notes for me .....

One afternoon ,I received a call from Jaya asking me if I had any photographs of "Amit "as she was bringing out her Coffee Table Book .I didn't know how I got the idea , but I took that same box of photographs and gave it to Jaya without any expectations . The book was released on "Amit's" sixtieth birthday celebrations at the J.W.Marriot where the who's who of Bombay and other places where present . The book was tilted "To B or Not to B".I was thrilled when I saw how Jaya had acknowledged my name in the credits for the book . And the next day Jaya sent me a cheque , the amount of which surprised me and her goodwill took away all the bitterness I had when my friend Mr.Martis had tried his worst to ruin my happiness

Jaya took all the care to give me a prominent seat at the celebrations and personally presented me with a copy of the book which was worth three thousand rupees and I could not have certainly afforded to buy it . There were speeches and speeches made about the greatness of Amitabh and he who was a master of words found it difficult to find words to express his feelings .

"Amit "is a seventy- eight year old grand- father and still the star of the millennium.

AMITABH HAI TOH BADI BADI  BAATEIN HOTI RAHEGI , KYUNKI  AMITABH HAI  TOH CHHOTI  SE  CHHOTI  BAAT BHI BADI HO JAATI HAI