Filmistaan actors do a Shahenshah & Coolie for The Big B

In Nitin Kakkar’s highly-lauded cross-border satire Filmistaan actors Sharib Hashmi and Inaamulhaq play the Big B’s fans. It therefore comes as no surprise to know that the two actors paid Amitabh Bachchan a visit at his office last week dressed as the Big B in Shahenshah and Coolie. While the Big B, hugely impressed by the film and its message of cross-border amity, thought the two actors in their Shahenshah and Coolie togs to be “cute”, Sharib Hashmi says, “I’ve grown up watching Bachchan Saab’s films. Stood in serpentine queues for hours to buy tickets of his films when I was a child. I’ve seen Deewaar, Anand, Sholay, Kabhi Kabhie, Zanjeer and Amar Akbar Anthony so many times that I’ve lost count.” Sharib can’t believe the Big B has noticed Filmistaan and its actors. “Tell me I’m not dreaming! He actually took time out of his busy schedule to meet us. I can’t believe he’s tweeting about my film! The feeling is still to sink in. I consider myself very fortunate and blessed.” Inaamulhaq who went to meet the Big B dressed like the mega-star’s character in Coolie is equally ecstatic. “Bachchanji ke bare mein kuch bhi bolna sooraj ko diya dikhaana jaisa hai (to say anything about the Big B is to shine a lamp at the sun). That he took time out to watch our film is in itself a big thing for us. And then his tweet was like an icing on the cake.” Inaamulhaq can’t get over the time that he got to spend with the Big B. “I will always cherish the half an hour he spent with us. When I met him I thought I was dreaming. To get so much love and appreciation from Bachchan Saab is a dream come true.” The film’s director Nitin Kakkar who accompanied the two actors to their fancy-dress rendezvous with the Big B says, “It was an honour to meet Bachchan Saab. He found Sharib and Inaamulhaq’s Shahenshah and Coolie look cute. We are all quite kicked about it.”