MUMBAI: Baghban, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini, was premiered in theatres 20 years ago and quickly became a big blockbuster since it seemed to appeal to many Indian families. Amitabh and Hema played parents to four boys in the movie, and when their parents decide to move in with them after the father retires, the sons avoid their responsibilities.
Samir Soni, who played one of the sons in the film, spoke on his recollections of working with Amitabh and Hema and how he was awestruck by them when he first met them in a recent interview. Samir's character spent a lot of time on screen with Amitabh, and he claimed that after all that time with the famous actor, he now saw him as his father.
Samir described how he first met Big B and shared what broke the ice between them. He revealed, “I introduced myself and told him that I was playing one of the sons. He mockingly gave me a dirty look saying, ‘Hmmm…you are the one.’ I said, ‘Yes. I am sorry’ (laughs)! That broke the ice.” The actor shared that in between shots, Amitabh would share anecdotes from his films like Sholay with the cast. “I feel like he’s my father. Whenever I meet him, I touch his feet. He always invites us to the Diwali party at his residence.”
Samir said that if he sees Amitabh Bachchan at a party, he always makes it a point to stand next to him. He mentioned, “If I see him alone in a party, I’ll always stand next to him. Sometimes, he would say, ‘Samir, go. I am okay’. I would reply, ‘Nahin sir. Main yahan se hilne waala nahin hoon jab tak aap nahin jaate’ (No sir, I won’t move till the time you are here). That is the respect he commands.”
When describing a particularly touching scene between their characters that occurred during the film's production, Samir Soni said, “Then there was a scene where I say ‘Aapne hamare liye kiya hi kya hai.’ The moment I finish my dialogue, Amit ji would throw a pillow at me.”
Samir also mentioned how Hema Malini utterly awed him when he first met her. He claimed that the scene in which he was seeing his mother after a few months was the first one he had to shoot with her. He requested her permission to hug his mother at the moment.
“In the first rehearsal, I tentatively hugged Amit ji but I hesitated to hug Hema ji. I asked Hema ji, ‘If you don’t mind, instinctively I feel I should hug you as well as you are playing my mother. Do you mind?’ She replied, ‘Yes, no problem.’ I also told myself, ‘If I keep thinking that they are Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini, I’ll never be able to act’,” he remembered.
Along with Salman Khan, Baghban featured Paresh Rawal, Lillete Dubey, Divya Dutta, and others.
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Credit- Indian Express
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