MUMBAI: Famous Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra shares his experience of first meeting with the most adorable and iconic star Amitabh Bachchan,whom he met with nothing but a recommendation from Hrishikesh Mukherjee and a National Award-winning film as the proof of his skills for impressing the star. He impressed him with his skills and convinced Amitabh to work with him,but with a different project as he felt that it would be a better choice to share a stage or a screen with him. He’d go on to work with the legendary star on Eklavya: The Royal Guard.
In a recent candid chat, the filmmaker revealed that his biggest goal was to use the toilet in Bachchan’s vanity. ‘Making a film with him wasn’t as important as peeing in his personal washroom,’he said with a laugh. ‘I went to meet him on a bus. At that time, the word around town was that Amitabh Bachchan has a toilet in his vanity van. I was very rude in that first meeting, I told him, ‘My name might not be very impressive, but my film is, can you see it?’ He saw that anger, and he agreed.’
The director told him that he should watch the film called Murder at Monkey Hill, any time before 5 pm, because that was till when they’d leased the theatre. He said, ‘Now, Amitabh, Hrishi da and Rekha are all busy working, and I notice there’s some argument happening. Around 4, I started to feel that he wouldn’t get the time to watch my film. A little while later, I left. I was sitting outside, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Amitabh Bachchan. He asked, ‘You have the booking till 5? Let’s go’. He asked if he could bring a friend along with him, and the friend was Rekha. He was angry because of the argument earlier, and we all got into the famous trailer…’
This was the time when Chopra decided to live his dream. He said, ‘I asked, ‘Can I use the toilet?’ My biggest ambition in life was to pee in Amitabh Bachchan’s trailer. Who knows if the film works out or not, but at least I got to pee in his trailer.’ Amitabh watched Chopra’s movie and said that they should work together. But when the director got the contract from the government that came with Rs 5000 and a chauffeured car, he decided to delay the Bachchan project. ‘I told him, ‘Amit, we’ll have to delay our project because I have something better’
These create confusion in Bachchan’s mind. He asked, ‘Kaka?’ Vinod had no idea what the actor was talking about but later he discoverd that Bachchan had assumed that he’d signed Rajesh Khanna for a project. I said, ‘No Kaka, DD has told me I can do anything’. He said, ‘But you can do anything with me.’ They fortunately worked together on Eklavya, which was selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars. Further the director famously gifted Rolls-Royce car to Bachchan for tolerating his tantrums during the making of the film.
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CREDIT:theindianexpress
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