Some of The Greatest And Devoted Fans of Amitabh Bachchan I Know And Have Met….

Ali Peter John

It was the year 1994, it must have been- the very first time I met Amitabh Bachchan. It was at an event of the World Chess Championship in Hyderabad, he had come there to inaugurate it and apparently, this was the time. He had taken a sabbatical from movies, I managed to get passes to this event thanks to my uncle's influence with the Police Commissioner....and me along with a couple of my friends reached the destination but were in for a shock when we saw Amitabh Bachchan with tight security around him....no way we could have met him ever...but we wanted to....so we bribed our way to meet Amitabh Bachchan...we hatched a plan...we went to the entrance of the place and spotted the car in which Amitabh Bachchan had come...we met the driver there and gave him some amount as “chai-pani” and told him ...all we want is to meet Amitabh Bachchan...he said don’t worry...he won’t drive till we meet him...in a few minutes out came Amitabh along with the hosts and his bodyguards armed...we stood by the car...and just as he was about to enter the car...we popped in front...he could hardly do a thing but to greet and meet us...we just told him how lucky we are to have met him and got his autograph....there was a photographer as well who took many pictures and that was out prized moment!....my first meeting lasted a few seconds but will remain etched in my memory forever!

Other meetings I will just explain briefly On the sets of “Aks” - Juhu : Amitabh was shooting for “Aks” and I got my appointment through Rosy Singh....he was shooting in a house near Juhu...we went there and were received by Rakeysh Mehra's assistant who guided us to a room and told us to wait there....Amitabh arrived within a few minutes, me and my cousin who lived in Mumbai kept waiting and were hearing all the great dialogues being shot on a floor below us...as soon as it was pack up...in walked Amitabh with his gracious smile...in the same “Aks” get up...I was just so thrilled ...we spoke to him for a long time and he was very happy to know about me, I showed him my room pictures and he just loved them....the meeting lasted almost 10-15 minutes but each minute was so beautiful!

My other meetings were then on other sets of his movies ...a few which I recall were “Aankhen”, “Family”, “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham”, “Ek Rishta”...and a few others...all were wonderful...then a few personal meetings at “Jalsa” and in various hotels in Dubai whenever he would come, all these meetings lasted 5-10 minutes.

The longest meeting was at the set of an unreleased movie called “Johnny Mastana”, it was being shot in Hyderabad and I got a chance to make an appointment....this meeting was special because Amitji gave me 30 minutes...it was the longest meeting...and another meeting to remember....it was a very personal Amitabh Bachchan whom I discovered in this meeting, he spoke about his health, about his father “Babuji”, about his mom, about his children, about his future projects and he also enquired about me....it was wonderful because Amitji gave us all the time to be with him, to know him, to ask him whatever I wanted...he looked after me too, he also offered me his meals in his vanity van....oh god how can I forget eating his dal-phulka and steamed bhindi cooked by one of his travelling chefs using the Ramoji Film City hotel kitchen, it was followed by a Swiss chocolate...a whole bar for me and my friend...while he ate just a piece...it was a special evening...I  guess the year was 2011, I suppose.. The time when AR Rahman won the Oscar along with Resul Kutty...because I recall talking about these two as well.... anyways this was a meeting where I discovered the real Amitabh Bachchan.

I am fortunate to have met Amitji at least 10-15 times....and I feel so honoured that he at least remembers me...or tries to when he sees me...he has the highest regards for me ever since I told him that my grandmother and his mother were friends from Panditji's era.. He was all years when I told him about how my grandmother innocently asked Tejiji...as to a new actor named Amitabh Bachchan is acting in movies and whether if in any way he is related to her...to which Tejiji replied...."I am glad for once someone is asking me about him....otherwise it was only through him that I am known"....Amitji laughed at this....and he told me about his devotion to fitness, how he prefers home cooked meals, how he tries hard to be with times on his daily blog and twitter....and about how he feels he gets offered more better roles...the ones they have in Hollywood for his age actors.

As Mr. Bachchan turns 77 years this October 11th....I would quietly send my message to Kishore his able assistant or Rosy Singh as usual but it will be in the zillions of messages that he would receive on this day....alas I am just one of his zillionth fans...but just fortunate to have met him in my life...Amitabh will always know me as yet another fan,,, ,and I guess I will be happy with this recognition alone...in my years of reading Ali Peter John's articles on devoted fans like Charu...I feel just so small...yet feel mighty big coz I also did my kind of justice to this legend in my own way...by dedicating a whole room to him and having some of his most prized pictures....as always...I keep longing to meet him at any given opportunity!

May God bless him with good health always for he has kept us entertained all these decades and it just goes on and on.... that’s the power and enigma of a Superstar named Amitabh Bachchan!

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