Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra recently said why his mother smacked him for giving Amitabh Bachchan a car for Rs 4.5 crore. The two collaborated on the 2007 film Eklavya.
New Delhi, 1 August 2024
Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who recently received critical accolades for his film 12th Fail, reportedly handed actor Amitabh Bachchan a luxury Rolls-Royce Phantom worth Rs 4 lakh. He gave the actor the car as a prize for “tolerating and not abandoning” his 2007 picture, Eklavya. Vidhu’s mother, on the other hand, dubbed him a “bewakoof (stupid)” for making the gesture.
During a prior interview with Siddharth Kannan, Vidhu Vinod Chopra revealed that Jaya Bachchan advised Amitabh that he would be unable to handle Vidhu’s temperament on the set of Eklavya. Jaya’s premonition came true, as Vidhu and Amitabh disagreed on set.
“Since he stayed and finished the entire film despite our differences, I decided to gift him a Rolls-Royce worth Rs 4.5 crore to thank him for his patience and excellent performance,” Vidhu told reporters during the interview. What followed was quite amusing.
“I’ll always remember this moment. I was accompanied by my mother when I handed over the car to Amitabh.
She handed him the keys, then came back and sat in my blue Maruti van. Referring to Big B as ‘Lamboo,’ she asked me, ‘Tu Lamboo nu gaadi dede?’ (You gave him the car?). When I confirmed, she replied, ‘Tu khud kyun nahi leta gaadi? “Why don’t you get yourself a car?”
He went on, “I promised her I’d buy a car; there’s still time. She replied, ’11 lakh ki toh hogi (It must be worth Rs 11 lakh).’ And I chuckled because she didn’t realise it was Rs 4.5 crore. When I informed her how much it would cost, she hit me and called me ‘bewakoof.’ I’ll never forget that, since what is money if it doesn’t bring you joy?”
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The 2007 film Eklavya: The Royal Guard, which starred Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, and Vidya Balan, was not a box office success but received critical acclaim. In that year’s Oscars race, the film was India’s official nomination.
