Amitabh Bachchan is one of the top actors in Bollywood from 1970s to 1990s. He is considered one of the influential figures in elevating the action genre in the Hindi film industry. From Zanjeer to Deewar and Sholay, the actor established himself as an angry young ma in Bollywood. As the years went by the actor started adopting challenging roles in the film industry. One of them was the 2002 release, Aankhen. The actor played the negative role in the film. It was directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, the film starred Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Paresh Rawal and Sushmita in the lead roles. Aankhen was a massive hit at the box office. The budget of the film was Rs 17 crore and garnered Rs 33.8 crore at the box office worldwide. The performance of Amitabh Bachchan was appreciated globally. Even after playing the negative role, Big B of Bollywood reportedly stole the spotlight from the lead actors in the film. Donning a negative role amid his rising popularity at that time was a hard decision by the actor but you will shocked to know that the actor took a mere 15 minutes to say ‘Yes’ to the role. The film director Vipul Amritlal Shah recalled his encounter with Amitabh Bachchan before the making of Aankhein.
Vipul was waiting for Amitabh Bachchan’s van with nervousness and excitement bubbling as he looked forward to meeting the actor. He wanted to pitch his script of Aankhein. “I was waiting outside Amitabh sir’s van, wondering how I would introduce myself to him. When Amitabh sir came, he asked me, ‘Vipul what are you doing here?’ I was surprised to know that he remembered me even after a year.” said Vipul Shah.
Surprisingly, amid his busy schedule, Amitabh Bachchan agreed to hear the script of Aankhein during his 45-minute break between shoots, giving Shah a brief window of 10-15 minutes to present his pitch. Vipul said, ‘I thought it would be a long process, but he just listened to my script. I was a little scared that I might upset him because I was going to give him a villain’s role.’
Admiring the pitching session, Vipul said that Amitabh Bachchan listened to the whole script for 15 minutes with zer reactions and full concentration. He was shocked by his reply.
“Amitabh sir’s listening style was very deep and he had zero reaction. He listened to my script carefully, but it was difficult to understand his reaction. When I finished the script in 15 minutes, Amitabh sir said, ‘Vipul, I will do this.’ I could not believe it.”
Amitabh Bachchan’s interest in the film did not end there. He asked Vipul to present the entire script in three days. Vipul and his team were not fully prepared. He told his writer Akash to prepare the script in 48 hours and present it to Amitabh Bachchan in 72 hours.
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