EXCLUSIVE: Sanjay Mishra reveals touching Amitabh Bachchan’s feet during their 90s collab; calls him a humble gentleman for THIS down-to-earth action

Avinash Pal

October 29, 2024
6:46 pm
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In a recent interview, Sanjay Mishra reveals touching Amitabh Bachchan's feet and shares an incident of BigB's down-to-earth nature.

Sanjay Mishra touches Amitabh Bachchan’s feet

Sanjay Mishra recalls shooting an AD with Amitabh Bachchan, and said, “Ek Mirinda ka ad aaya tha Amitabh Bachchan ke saath, bohot purana, tab tak toh koi izzat hi nahi thi, 97-98 ka time tha. Aur un dinon mein mobile phones bhi nahi the jaise ab hote hain. Mujhe yaad hai ki main Essel studio mein shoot kar raha tha, kisi ne kaha, ‘Arre, aapko Bachchan ji ke ghar se phone aaya hai.’ Maine kaha, ‘Arre yaar, koi dost mazak kar raha hoga’ (There was an AD of Miranda with Amitabh Bachchan. It’s an old AD, I didn’t have much respect back then. I remember I went to Essel studio for the shoot, back then we didn’t have mobiles like we do today. Someone told me, ‘You have got a call from Bachchan’s house’. I assumed it to be a prank and thought some friend was pranking me).”

He continued, “Phir thodi der baad dobara call aaya gate par. Unhone kaha, ‘Sanjay Mishra, aapke liye phone hai, Amitabh Bachchan ji ka.’ Phir bhi maine us call ko seriously nahi liya. Ghar aaya, tab kisi ne bataya ki ek call aayi thi aur waha aapko milna hai (Again after a while I got another call saying its from Amitabh Bachchan. But I didn’t take it seriously at all. When I came home someone told me about a call) Toh main unse milne gaya. Bachchan ji se mila aur unke pair chu ke kaha, ‘Marne ke pehle bohot khwahish thi aapke saath kaam karne ki.’ Bachchan ji ne turant kaha, ‘Kiske marne ke pehle?’ Main ekdum se hil gaya (I went to meet him, and when we met I touched his feet. I said ‘It has always been my dream to work with you before I die.’ He answered in an instant, ‘Before whose death’. That left me speechless).”

Sanjay Mishra describes the AD

The actor said, “Phir shooting chal rahi thi – woh jo ‘Jor Ka Jhatka Dheere Se Lage’ wala AD tha. Bachchan ji love letter pad rahe the, chitti haan, aur woh set bohot hi khoobsurat tha. Aur sabse khoobsurat cheez thi ki, Amitabh Bachchan ke saath kaam karne ka mauka mila. Tab STD booth bhi nahi the, nahi toh gharwalon ko zaroor phone karke batata ki abhi main Bachchan ji ke saath hoon (Then the shoot began of ‘Jor Ka Jhatka Dheere Se Lage’ AD. Bachchan ji had to read a love letter and it was a lovely scene. We didn’t have any STD booth then else I would have called my family and told I was with Bachchan).”

Amitabh Bachchan’s down-to-earth gesture

Mishra further added, “Hamare time mein toh Bachchan ka bada influence tha – hum log literally ‘Bachchan sanskar’ lekar bade hue the. Aaj bhi feke hue paise nahi uthata. Aur ab woh mere samne baithe hain – pet mein kuch gadbad ho rahi this. (During our time Bachchan was very influential, we grew up following Bachchan manners. I don’t pick up money even today).”

Continuing, “Main corner mein dekhta hoon, aur sochta hoon itna bada insaan, ab main waha kaise ja sakta hoon. Thodi der baad Bachchan ji aaye aur woh bhi wahi chale gaye fresh hone. Toh socha, ‘Jab Amitabh Bachchan ja sakte hain, toh main kis khet ki muli hoon’ (When he sat in front of me, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I saw a washroom in the corner and thought how could I go there? After a while Bachchan ji comes there and uses it to freshen himself. That is when I realised if someone as influential as Amitabh Bachchan could use it then I am nothing).”

The Bhool Bhulaiyaa actor continued, “Phir unhone poocha, ‘Dilli ke hain kya aap?’ Maine kaha, ‘Haan haan Dilli se.’ Bachchan ji ne itna ease kar diya, woh ek alag hi tareeka hota hai. Main kaun kuch nahi, woh kaun sab kuch – Shehanshah, sab kuch. Us din ki shooting ka din bohot hi khoobsurat tha. (He later asked me if I was from Delhi, and I answered yes. He eased me a lot to enact in the AD, that’s a different way to deal with it. I was nothing and he was a Shehanshah, everything. Shooting that day was beautiful). Phir Prahlad Kakkar ne woh ad banaya, aur jab woh ad ho gaya toh mujhe bulaaya gaya line dub karne ke liye. Famous studio, Mahalaxmi mein, waha Bachchan ji bhi shoot kar rahe the. Mujhe laga ki Bachchan ji ke sabse kareeb toh main hi hoon. Unhone kaha, ‘Bohot accha kaam kiya hai aapne.’ Main bola, ‘Sir, dekha nahi.’ Unhone kaha, ‘Jaa ke dekho, bohot accha kaam kiya’ (Prahlad Kakkar made that AD we shot and after shooting I was called to dub. There was a famous studio in Mahalkashmi, even Bachchan used to go shoot there. I felt I was the closest to Bachchan now. He told me ‘You did a great job’. I said ‘Sir I haven’t watched it yet’. He responded, ‘Go and watch it, you did a good job.’)”

Sanjay Mishra recalls his initial career days

Sanjay Mishra concluded, “Aur jab maine dekha toh khud hi bola, ‘Maine bohot accha kaam kiya hai.’ Kaise pata? Kyunki main aapke saamne hoon, ye bohot badi baat hai. Uske baad shuruaati daur mein aur kaafi ad kiye – in ads ne hi mera kiraya nikalvaaya (And when I saw I said, ‘I did a good job there.’ How did I know? Because I was in front of you, and that’s a huge thing. It was in my early days of working and I did a lot of ADs. Because of them, I was able to pay my rent).”

Watch the full interview