First Person Account: How Amitabh Bachchan Floored Me

It isn’t every day that you wake up with your heart beating slightly faster than usual. You are in a hurry to get to the shoot, there are butterflies in your stomach, and you block the entire world out as you slip into a blissful limbo. Needless to say, it happens rarely. Like when a tennis fan knows he is about to meet Roger Federer, when a cricket fan knows he will soon be within touching distance of Sachin Tendulkar, or when a movie buff gets to meet the one and only superstar of Indian film industry -- Amitabh Bachchan. That's exactly how I felt on September 1, when I was asked to be a part of the SpotboyE.com team interviewing the cast of  Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Pink.

When you grow up idolising someone who you have only seen on the silver screen, you tend to paint huge expectations on the canvas of your imagination. And you know what they say -- great advertising kills. But Bachchan Sir is someone who doesn’t play by traditional rules.

Never have I seen an actor command so much respect -- a noisy, chaotic set suddenly goes pin-drop silent when he enters the room. It is an atmosphere filled with tension that just arises out of pure reverence. Suddenly, it isn't the actor who is trying to win over you ; it is you who try your level best to not let the man down. I wasn’t interviewing him, but my team and I still felt obliged to make the entire shoot as error-free as possible.

When you are not in the spotlight, you get to observe and suddenly, you start paying attention to the little gestures that Amitabh makes. They make you feel relaxed, almost like you are in the room with an old friend. Be it, always making sure you sit first before he himself takes a seat, or sticking to his roots and always asking for a script in Hindi, or be it the way he prevents you from sweating when something as simple as an audio problem arises with a joke (to the audio manager), “Arre kya karte ho Saab, aapne to inki aawaaz hi cheen li”, or the way he carries himself around (absolutely dapper in his formals with a touch of pink on his sleeves), it is a sight that increases your respect for the man.

When I used to watch him on screen, I always thought he will be an intimidating figure, but I was taken by surprise the moment he started cracking jokes. From talking about his experience on the sets of the film to sharing his favourite piece of poetry by his father, legendary poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, telling us how he loves Aaradhya’s mischiefs, Big B made his first ever Facebook Live chat a rather interesting one.

No wonder we got so many views because he was at his candid best. Joining him for this super fun chat was Tapsee Pannu, his co-star from Pink. The lady shines in the first teaser trailer of Pink that has sparked a great deal of interest and discussion on social media

As Bachchan Sir rightly pointed out, nowadays you have to act even for interviews -- such is the pace of innovation. As I stood there watching him patiently go through the entire ordeal of promo lines and Facebook live, I noticed there wasn't a shade of grimace on his face. When the Bakwaas Show started, a 74-year-old man was dancing and laughing on the set like a little kid. I was scared to approach him for a selfie -- I thought he will say ‘No’, but the moment he said ‘Yes sure, let’s do it’, I felt blessed because my dad after seeing my picture with him told me, “Log taraste hain inki ek jhalak ke liye. And it is said that if he blesses someone, uske vaare nyaare ho jaate hain.”

We thought we had a great time with him but it looks like he enjoyed our company too as SpotboyE.com got featured on his blog and on his Facebook account. This was an affair to remember for a lifetime. When the biggest superstar of Indian Cinema chose to do a Facebook Live chat for the very first time in his life, he chose SpotboyE.com with over 500K views in just 24 hours.

As I watched him I cemented my belief - The man who never lets you down on the screen wasn't going to do so off-screen either.


Thumbnail Image Source: SpotboyE Team