Gratitude of a gentleman: When Amitabh Bachchan bowed down to a fan

The date August 2 holds a special significance in megastar Amitabh Bachchan‘s life. This is the same day when the actor was reborn after he had faced a near-fatal accident while shooting for an action sequence, for his film ‘Coolie’ (1983). He was admitted at Breach Candy Hospital, where many of his fans and admirers were praying to God for his good health. Among them, there was a fan named Arvind Pandya from Vadodara who had taken a vow for Big B’s recovery. However, not many would be aware that the power and belief of this vow made Amitabh Bachchan bent to touch his feet. Surprised or shocked?

Amitabh Bachchan’s fan Arvind Pandya had taken a vow that he would run backwards from Siddhivinayak Temple in Vadodara till he would reach Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai. As Amitabh’s health started becoming better, Arvind started running backwards from Vadodara to complete his vow. After having completed it in the next 13 days, and on reaching Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai, Arvind Pandya then directly made his way to Amitabh’s bungalow Prateeksha. The news of this Arvind’s vow had made headlines in middle of those 13 days. Amitabh Bachchan and his family waited for Arvind to arrive. As he reached there, Amitabh felt very numbed and this was the time when he moved forward to touch Arvind’s feet, but he stopped him from doing so. (Also Read: When Smita Patil had got an intuition about Amitabh Bachchan’s accident on ‘Coolie’ sets)

Reports suggest, since then they have kept in touch through letters and phone calls.

Reminiscing this incident, few years ago, Arvind Pandya had given an interview to a leading daily saying, “I prayed for him and vowed to run backwards from Siddhi Vinayak temple in Vadodara to Siddhi Vinayak in Mumbai for his well being. When doctors declared him out of danger, I completed the run in 13 days. The reception at the Bachchan’s house was overwhelming. It was a special moment when Harivansh Rai Bachchan was in tears when he came to know of my efforts.” [sic]

“I am on cloud nine ever since Bachchanji appreciated my efforts. He has posted my photo on his Facebook account and appreciated my gesture. It’s touching moment. I celebrated the big day with my family. It’s like Diwali knocked on door early,” added Arvind Pandya. [sic]

Have a look at Amitabh Bachchan’s post (on Facebook) mentioning Arvind Pandya here:

Well, we could only say that this proves that why Amitabh Bachchan is referred to as the superstar of the millennium.

More than three decades have passed since this incident, but the megastar still has immense respect for the man, who almost put his own health at stake, only so that his prayers work and Amitabh Bachchan lives.

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.