Celebrating 25 years of Kaun Banega Crorepati, Amitabh Bachchan recounts his journey to stardom and breakthrough role in Zanjeer
Amitabh Bachchan
It has been 25 years; Amitabh Bachchan has been sitting across the hot seat, quizzing contestants while subtly giving them hints and keeping Kaun Banega Crorepati entertaining with anecdotes. Next week, the reality quiz show kicks off the celebration, Gyan Ka Rajat Mahotsav, on January 20. Contestant Vinay Gupta from Kathu takes the hot seat as a representative of his village, becoming the first-ever contestant from his hometown to feature on KBC. The cherry on the cake comes when he gets Bachchan to spout one of his iconic dialogues from Zanjeer (1973).
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A still from Zanjeer
Bachchan gets into action mode and recites the dialogue, “Jab tak baithne ko na kaha jaye, seedhi tarah khade raho. Ye police station hai, tumhare baap ka ghar nahi.” After the thunder of applause, he smiles and explains how he had to say this dialogue on the first day of shooting. “I was initially hesitant to say these lines to Pran sir, a man of extraordinary talent, but he was extremely supportive.”
Written by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, Zanjeer was the turning point of Bachchan’s career after his debut with Saat Hindustani (1969). The senior actor confesses that, at that time, the late actor Rajesh Khanna was the biggest superstar in India. “Kya aura tha, kya following thi… His presence was so powerful that women would take the dirt from his car’s tyres and apply it to their foreheads as a blessing. I was a nobody, but Salim-Javed came to meet me and offered me the story. Javed saab said he had seen me in a scene from Bombay to Goa [1972], where Shatrughan Sinha and I were sitting in a restaurant and he slapped me. When I stood up, I was still chewing the sandwich I had been eating. That moment made Javed saab believe that I could handle the role in Zanjeer.”
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