Vaaz Ka Raaz: When I first met Shahenshah, Amitabh Bachchan!

I used to visit Anand studio, owned by the legendary Dev Anand, at Bandra quite often to get various stories for my magazine. At that time I was very close to Manoj Desai, the producer of Khuda Gawah. I conducted an interview of his at that time as well. A few days later when I met him at the studio, he told me that Amit Ji liked my interview. This obviously came as a surprise to me. Amitabh Bachchan was an icon, and like everyone else, I was also a huge fan. So to hear that someone of his caliber liked my interview was special.

Instinctually, I asked Manoj ji when he will have me meet Amitabh Bachchan. I said it without really expecting anything. The words just came flowing out of my mouth. Suddenly Manoj ji got up and walked out of the room. I remained seated, clueless. Suddenly Manoj Desai returned, he told me to come with him. Confused, I followed him. I didn’t know what was happening. As we exited and walked for a few seconds, a large vanity van appeared in the distance. This is when I slowly recollected how Amitabh Bachchan is the only actor with a vanity van.

When I reached the van, Manoj ji told me to enter the vanity van. I entered and there he was. The icon, Amitabh Bachchan!  While I started realizing what to expect as I got closer to the vanity van, I was still taken aback by this. In his usual, deep voice, he told me to have a seat. I sat. He then smiles and said, “I always thought that Johnny Vaz was an old fellow. But you are young.” The fact that he knew my name was the first thing that came to my mind. He then said, “Go ahead.” I had no idea what he meant by “Go ahead.”, but it just took a few seconds to realize that he was expecting an interview. I obviously wasn’t prepared.

Luckily, by chance, it clicked to me that at that time there was a strong rumor going across the film industry that Amitabh Bachchan will be retiring after Khuda Gawah. Immediately, without any hesitation, I asked him if this was true. Amitabh Bachchan told me “I’m thinking about it, but I still haven’t finalized anything.” As I was thinking of another question to ask, a spot boy suddenly arrived informing Amitabh Ji that he is required for the dubbing. I was relieved since I didn’t have any more questions to ask him. Before leaving, Amitabh Ji tells me that he needs to go, however if I ever want to ask him any questions, I can take his number from Manoj Ji.

While this may have been an unpredictable encounter, to meet the legend is something that only a few people are lucky to experience. I may have not been prepared, and I was quite intimidated, but ultimately this is the job of a journalist. From then on I was always prepared!

Stay tuned for my next ‘Vaaz Ka Raaz!’