USS DIN SANGAM THEATRE ANDHERI MEIN MAINE PAAGAL HOKAR CHILLAAYA THA, " AMITABH STAR HOGAYA , AMITABH STAR HOGAYA " , AAJ ITNE SAALON BAAD MERI CHHOTISI BHAANJI "JHUND" DEKH KAR JAISE WAHI BAAT DOURAATI HAI ..... BY ALI PETER JOHN

Little did I know I was destined to be a witness to one of the greatest stars of India when I saw an unknown Amitabh Bachchan sign his first film , " Saat Hindustani " for my guru , K A Abbas - Ali Peter John

That film didn't do at all and so did many other films made with Amitabh . Films like Bombay To Goa , Anand and Namak Haram did some good to him but he was still known as a struggler .....

And it was in sheer frustration and against the wishes of his parents that he signed Zanjeer in a role which as the world of Hindi films now knows was rejected by big stars like Dev Anand , Raaj Kumar and Dharmendra .

His parents were so much against his doing a B grade action film that they even refused to attend a special trial of the film arranged by the maker , Prakash Mehra and instead sent Nitin Mukesh ,the singer to see the film and give them his reaction.

Nitin found the film to be a sure commercial hit , but Amitabh's old parents were not willing to accept his opinion . The film opened to a lukewarm response all over India at twelve noon , but at the 3 pm show , there was pandemonium and chaos around every theatre and this atmosphere didn't change for the next twenty five weeks .

I always had tremendous faith in Amitabh's talent and saw every film that was released after "Saat Hindustani " . I had no money to buy poison for my dinner , but I was prepared to take a bet with Sanjeewa , the son of the canteen owner in the Andheri court that Amitabh would be a very big star after his performance in Zanjeer .

He knew that I took some foolish bets and took me on the issue of Amitabh and we decided to see Zanjeer at the 3 pm show at the Sangam theatre near our house . He was kind enough to buy the tickets as I used to write his love letters for his lady love , Gracy .

The house was full and there was one hell of an excitement and the name Amitabh and lambu hero were everywhere in the air .

I was tense and couldn't enjoy the film which was packed with excitement and action . And then came the scene when inspector Vijay in his smart uniform kicks the chair on which Sher Khan , the Pathan played by Pran tries to sit and Amitabh in his baritone voice says , " Jab tab ko baitne ke liye kaha na jaay sharafat se khade raho , ye police station hai tumhara baap ka ghar nahi ".; There was so much power in that scene and in Amitabh's voice that I stood in my seat and shouted , " woh dekho, naya super star paida huva ,ab use koi nahi rokh sakta " .

The audience must have certainly felt that I had lost my head , but I hadn't I was completely in my senses and had faith in what I had said and I don't know whether it was because of my reaction but Amitabh was the next superstar after Rajesh Khanna after that scene and there was no stopping him for the next forty five years , axcept for that near fatal accident in 1982 ....

And now more than four decades later , Amitabh is being seen as a retired football coach who trains football hopefuls in the slums . He plays Vijay Barse , a character from real life who inspired director Nagraj Manjule to make the film only with Amitabh .

There is nothing very novel about the subject , but it is the treatment of Nagraj and the amazing performance of Amitabh at seventy nine that makes Jhund one of the most memorable and to be watched films .

I have heard of several success stories , but I have yet to come across or listen to a story like the story of the man who was shown the door by several known filmmakers and who is now the ideal source of inspiration for all those young and not so young men who are looking for bright new windows of opportunities to open up for them .

AUR AGAR AAPKO LAGTA HAI KI BACHCHAN SAHAB KA KHEL AB AAKHRI MOD PAR HAI TOH AAP BILKUL GALAT SOCH RAHE HAI . WOH AANE WAALE PANCH SAAL TAK VYAST HAI AUR HO SAKTA HAI USKE BAAD BHI VYAST RAHENGE KYOONKI WOH AMITABH HAI AUR AMITABH HAZAARO SAAL MEIN EK BAAR HI PAIDA HOTE HAI AUR RAH KARTE HAI