Fan Mail

Fan Mail

In my childhood and youth I used to be great fan of Jaya Bhaduri(Bachchan) and Amitabh Bachchan. Jaya ji was attractive and bubbly. Always smiling and very innocent. So was I. Amitabh Bachchan was so intense in his acting. His voice of superb quality.

Although I was their fan but never did I think of marrying Amitabh ji (which usually the girls of our time thought of doing). I simply loved their acting and was happy with wherever they were. I had an album( which still is with my parents) with all his pictures clippings from various film magazines pasted on it. When I was 12, with my mother’s help, I had sent a letter to him asking for Jaya ji’s and his photos and had got them within a fortnight. That is still a treasured memory for me. Being a fan I never missed any movie of theirs. I was still not crazy about watching the movies first day first show but of course I was ever ready to buy black tickets in case of non-availability of tickets.

Then both my favorites married each other. It came as a pleasant news to me. The movies that they worked together were hits. Later Jaya ji left acting and Rekha came in. Watching movies of Amitabh ji and Rekha was a feast to my eyes. Rekha too became my favorite. I always used to pray for their success.

That time having a TV was a luxury. Mobiles were not invented. We used to gather in our neighbor’s house to watch feature films on Doordarshan on Sundays, neighbors used to welcome us with all smiles and it used to be party time for us, all sitting together and enjoying.

In the due course even I got married. I also acquired a TV at my home then. I still remember, I never used to let my husband come in front of TV when Amitabh ji’s films were showing. Yearn to meet him and see him flesh and blood was always there. I knew that though the fans make a star a star and they are “one” for us, we always remain a face in the crowd for them… always unrecognized. So no emotions I attached to my liking.

When KBC started for the first time, my TV crashed the same day. My crazy fan-heart went to the TV shop immediately to buy a TV so that I do not miss the show. The condition that I put forth was that I would be paying the money for the TV only if it was installed in time so that I could watch the show from the beginning and do not miss even the slightest part of it. And I did not; as TV was installed within two hours and as soon as I switched it on I could hear the opening music of KBC.

In the year 2004, I visited Mumbai for the first time as I had a flight to Singapore from Mumbai. Then I visited his place in Juhu and got myself clicked in front of his house. That pic was like an award to me. Still, meeting him was what I ultimately wanted.

I did not curse God because I knew that he must have thought something better for me. Yes, of course he had. I got 3 chances to meet Jaya Bachchan ji and I also got photographed with her and I got so many chances to meet other actors when I met and played Antakshari with Annu Kapoor and Pallavi Joshi, I met Mr. Sunil Dutt, Rajeev Verma, Derek Obrien, Tisca Chopra, Sharad Saxena, I had tea with and interacted with Juhi Chawla, I dined with and went on Safari with Waheeda Rehman ji and this was not all. I even met Mr. Amitabh Bachchan when he was felicitated in Bhopal in early 2000. That was my dream come true. He was well in time and was standing tall in front of me, just 4 feet away, as I was sitting in the first row. I kept watching him spell bound throughout his speech.

This added to my thirst of seeing him more and talking to him.

My younger daughter went to Symbiosis in 2009 for her Bachelor’s degree in Media studies. Her specialization was Audio Visual production. Most of her friends are making films now and are in Mumbai working with big directors under big banners  as assistant directors and casting directors. I had hopes that my daughter will also join them and may cast Mr. Bachchan and I will then get a chance to meet him but she did not. She joined Teach for India. After that she was much inclined towards environmental activities and made wildlife documentaries but was not at all interested in making feature films.

लेकिन वो कहते हैं ना कि अगर किसी चीज़ को दिल से चाहो तो पूरी कायनात उसे तुमसे मिलाने की कोशिश में लग जाती है

God still found ways for me and finally the big day arrived. By God’s grace I got a chance to work with Amitabh ji in “Aarakshan”. When I came to know about this I had goose bumps. When I saw him entering the sets for the first time, I was shivering with joy. My eyes could not move beyond him. It was a boon for me. I was on the sets with him for 15 days, watching him act, watching him playing pranks and cracking jokes and admiring and imbibing his dedication. I even got all the tatkal tickets of all my family members, including me, cancelled just to watch his live performance of “Bachchan Recites Bachchan” in the same campus after the film shoots were over.

Luckily I was given many scenes where I was in frame with him. I did not have any dialogue, but who wanted a dialogue? Even if I would have been given, I would have never been able to deliver it in front of him. Unfortunately, due to ban on film and its release getting delayed, many of the scenes were cut out of which mostly had me with him. But so what, I would fondly like to narrate to you few incidents from the shots.

1. I had a shot with him in one of the scenes where I had to stand just at his back. This transitory shot is still in the movie.
2. I was asked to greet him, receive him and usher him to his office when he arrived his college office as principal. I was in full frame with him walking side by side with him for a distance.
3. In another scene, students start protesting and all of a sudden there is a big noise and commotion. First we professors had to come out to see what is happening and then the Principal (Mr. Bachchan) comes down from his office, emerges out from among the professors and directly proceeds towards the gate. Mr. Prakash Jha warned us not to take any selfie or autograph with the actors nor to greet any one and smile at anyone. He said we all belonged to the same platform so no such movements of making any other feel great. He was a very hard task master and used to scold like anything. So we stood still. I was asked to stand in the front row in the middle after coming out of my class to see what was happening. Amitabh Bachchan ji had to pass out from in between me and the one standing next to me. A golden chance indeed!! It was “lights, camera, action”- we came out, Mr. Bachchan came out, he passed by me went straight to the gate. Shot was okay. But somehow, Mr. Bachchan did not like the idea. He suggested, “why not I come out, stand in between these two ladies (one was me), watch the students for a while from here and then proceed towards the gate. Wow what an idea of his it was for me!! “नेकी और पूछ पूछ”?? I was thrilled. Mr. Prakash Jha agreed. Again there was “lights, camera and action”. Big B came, stood beside me for some time and then proceeded towards the gate. But there was a “cut”. I wondered what happened.  I had not even moved or had looked towards the great actor, even when he was standing beside me and could only smell the fragrance of his perfume. I was totally following Prakash Jha’s instructions. Then who was at fault? My thought process was broken by the harsh voice of Mr. Prakash Jha. He was addressing me with the words,”मैडम आप क्या कर रही हैं? आपके कॉलेज का प्रिंसिपल आपके बगल में आकर खड़ा हो रहा है और आप सीधी देख रही हैं जैसे कुछ हुआ ही नहीं हो और जैसे आपको उनकी कोई कदर ही ना हो. Be natural. वो जब आपके पास आकर खड़े होते हैं तो उनकी ओर घूमिये, उन्हें थोड़ी देर देखिये, आँखों में विस्मय का भाव लाइये”. God promise, never ever I had felt any scolding so rewarding and sweet. It was a life time opportunity for me, sharing the frame with Big B, turning towards him, looking into his eyes, standing for a few seconds together for a scene. अँधा क्या चाहे, दो आँखें.अपनी मुराद तो पूरी हो गयी.
4. I had shot with him in vishram ghaat where again I was made to stand just at the back of him. There I got a chance to even talk to him… not much but atleast a direct interaction. 

This movie fulfilled all my desires to meet film stars. I had a scene in the movie with Saif Ali Khan where I am standing beside him sharing the same frame. I also shared frame with Manoj Bajpai, Chetan pandit, Darshan Jariwala  and Hema Malini ji. I met Tanvi Azmi ji, Deepika Padukone, and Prateik Babbar too.

A fan met her longtime favorite star. What else I would have longed for.