Bollywood’s shahenshah Amitabh Bachchan’s 70th birthday could not have gotten any better. The actor, who ushered in his birthday with great pomp and show with friends and industry heavyweights on Wednesday night, also made it a point to step out for his fans, who thronged the iconic Jalsa bungalow in Juhu on Thursday morning.
While his fans cut a cake, and played the dhol amidst heavy police bandobast outside his bungalow, Bachchan made a brief appearance to thank them for their love and blessings.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Big B and his family hosted a glitzy party at Filmcity in Goregaon. The who’s who from the world of films, business, politics and fashion made their presence felt at the do. The star attraction of the party apart from the actor, was his youngest granddaughter Aaradhya. Although she didn’t pose for the media, she was there during the cake cutting ceremony. Big B’s grandchildren Agastya and Navya Naveli Nanda released a coffee-table book on his life and journey in the industry.
Younger brother Ajitabh recounted an incident from their childhood days where Amitabh sat in front of the window only to protect Ajitabh from the sunlight. Businessman and a dear friend of the Bachchans, Anil Ambani, compared Big B’s intelligence and persona with that of Lord Buddha’s. Lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar reminisced about a particular incident in the 1970s. “The popular filmstars from the Hindi film industry had flown to Kolkata…As Amitji ent-ered the grounds, the crowds jumped from the stands and ran to greet him. Later that evening, he didn’t mention about the hysteria and the hype surrounding him...I wondered about how he could remain so grounded. Such is his humility and greatness. Men like him are extremely rare,” Akhtar said.
Amitabh’s daughter-in-law Aishwarya spoke of how lucky she was to be a part of the Bachchan family. While his friends and family spoke about him, an emotional wife Jaya had tears in her eyes. The party went on till as late as 4 am in the morning.