It’s ‘yaarana’ time for Big B in Kolkata

KOLKATA: His baritone has dropped many jaws and the long-leg jives have made ‘Sara Zamana’ his ‘Dewana’. But did you know Amitabh Bachchan was a good squash player in his youth? Or that Rajiv Gandhi had to acknowledge good wish messages from his friends to “save his job”?
Most of us don’t. Those were the days when ‘Amit’ was still to be the ‘Big B’ of Bollywood. Those were the days when ‘Amit’ was a shy guy, working hard in 10-to-5 shifts for getting a foothold in the professional world.
Cut to 2014. ‘Amit’ is now THE Amitabh Bachchan. He’s back in a city from where he had started his professional career. He’s busy shooting for Shoojit Sircar’s film ‘Piku’. As always, he has a ‘tight schedule’. But still, the megastar has found out time to express his special feelings for the city of joy. Over the last three days, his blogs, Facebook updates and tweets are all about ‘Calcutta’ and Kolkata. He has also called up his old-time friends in city and promised to catch up with them. In 1960s, Big B had worked in Bird & Company and then at Blacker & Company. On Monday, he called Vijay Singh, his “senior” in office to re-live the bygone days.
Singh has fond memories of a young Amitabh. “He was an executive dedicated to work. He was very punctual, sincere and smartly dressed. Not many know, he was a good squash player,” said Singh. According to Singh, ‘Amit’ lent a helping hand to everybody. “He has improved with age. He is more expressive now,” he added.
In his blog, the 72-year-old actor wrote: “Days of inter-company games — Basketball, Golf, Squash, Cycle Polo introduced by my senior in office Vijay Singh, who I contacted today and shall meet up soon, and the times of the Wooden Spoon, an award for the worst team... I doubt if we ever earned that, but many known did, and it was done in the spirit of gamesman ship...”
Sudipta (Alo) Bhattacharya, a young executive at Shaw Wallace when Amitabh worked as a freight broker at Blackers, was ecstatic on Tuesday when he received a reply from the actor. “He promptly replied saying he has a tight schedule but would still meet up,” said Bhattacharya.
Bhattachrya remembered Amitabh as a shy young man who stood alone at a corner at a cocktail and dinner for his wedding at Regent Park. “I told my friends to attend to him, but they too were busy and didn’t quite take note of Amit. They must have regretted after Amit became a superstar,” said Bhattacharya.
He fondly reminisced Big B’s innocence. “One day Amit (he was then working at Blackers) came to my office and said he would be away for about a week for a friend’s wedding. I was surprised and asked who the friend was. When I kept insisting, he quietly said ‘Rajiv Gandhi’,” said Bhattacharya.
Bhattacharya obviously did not believe. “I told Amit I will believe you if Rajiv Gandhi acknowledges my telegram wishing him on his wedding by sending me a line ‘hand-written’ by him,” said Bhattacharya.
Amitabh actually conveyed Bhattacharya’s wish to Rajiv Gandhi. “Amit later said he had told Rajiv Gandhi that he must ask his staff to keep an eye for a message from me. Amit had told Gandhi that he must write me a line for the sake of his job. Can you imagine such innocence?” smiled Bhattacharya.
He was surprised when he did get an acknowledgment from Gandhi. “He must have received thousand of messages, but took time out to write me a line just because Amit asked him to,” Bhattacharya said.
About Oberoi Grand where he is staying, Amitabh blogged, “The Grand with its old-world charm is quite a contrast to many of the modern that exist in and around the city and the world outside... it too has its share of exciting times spent...”
He recalled shooting his films in Kolkata: “’Do Anjaane’ and ‘Yaarana’ are among the few… We stayed here and shot within too... It is rare to find hotels that maintain their charm of the old and not succumb to the travails of modernity...”
It was in Kolkata where he gave up his passion for horse racing. He wrote, “The Sundays spent in anticipation of a win at the Races... horse racing at one of the oldest race courses in the country... and coming out deprived of the little that we had...”
Bachchan used to write to his father, eminent poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, about his adventures at the Calcutta race course. His father one day “very subtly” indicated: “Beta, paisa haath mein vo hona chahiye jisme apne khoon paseene ki mehnat dikhai de (The money in your hand should reflect the blood and sweat you spent to earn them).” The words hit home. Immediately, Amitabh stopped going to the races.
Remembering the euphoria about ‘Zanjeer’ and ‘Deewar’ in ‘Calcutta’, Bachchan wrote, “It was indescribable!!! Never seen before and perhaps now shall never be seen for me or by me!! But there is nothing quite like the passion and the presence of the Kolkata crowd... it is beyond description...!!”