Amitabh Bachchan fans were ‘gobsmacked’ on Agneepath sets, reveals Vikram Bhatt: ‘Don’t see anyone who even comes close to that’

Amitabh Bachchan fans were ‘gobsmacked’ on Agneepath sets, reveals Vikram Bhatt: ‘Don’t see anyone who even comes close to that’

As an ardent fan of Bollywood and cinema history, I can’t help but feel nostalgic when I reminisce about the making of Agneepath. Working as a chief assistant under Mukul Anand on Amitabh Bachchan’s sets was nothing short of a dream come true for me. The day I overheard a group of fans casually discussing their plans to give advice to Big B, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.


Vikram Bhatt, who once served as Mukul Anand’s right-hand man on the Agneepath set featuring Amitabh Bachchan, reminisced about the past. In a recent conversation with News18 Showsha, the filmmaker recounted an engaging story from one of the filming sessions. During this time, all the assistants were positioned behind the scenes, listening to fans visiting to catch a glimpse of Big B.

As Bhatt and his team engaged in lively conversation, they casually listened to a group of fans joking, “Look, Amitabh Bachchan is here. We’ll just nudge him a bit on the left or right.” However, when Bachchan himself approached them and asked if they wanted a picture, as Vikram put it, they were taken aback. He said, “I believe the term is ‘stunned’. They replied, ‘Yes.'” All their planned jokes to tease him slipped away.

In the interview, Vikram acknowledged that Amitabh Bachchan rose to stardom due to his exceptional acting skills, not because he was already a star. At 55 years old, he expressed daily learning and referred to those involved in the film as exceptional talents. Bhatt further stated, “When I look around today, I don’t see anyone who can rival the talent of that era.”

As per the director of Raaz, making comparisons between then and now is unfair because we’re dealing with different eras, given that techniques have advanced and audiences’ preferences have changed. However, it’s important to note that during his time, it was the era of analog technology, not digital. Everything was done traditionally. Vikram Bhatt shared that he learned a lot from Waman Guru (Bhosle), who was his film editing mentor, and taught him the art of editing.

1990 saw the unleashing of an iconic masterpiece, Agneepath, that I’ve grown to love and admire as a devoted fan. Directed by Mukul Anand and penned jointly by Santosh Saroj and Kader Khan, it was a production by Yash Johar, echoing the life of notorious gangster Manya Surve. The film’s title is derived from a poem bearing the same name, authored by Big B’s esteemed father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan. This gripping crime-thriller actioner catapulted Bachchan to win his National Award for Best Actor.

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2024-08-17 21:22