Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor recently shared several anecdotes about his memorable encounter with megastar Amitabh Bachchan. In a candid conversation with Mashable India, Sanjeev recalled his first interaction with Amitabh during an ad shoot and the humility he exuded.
When asked if he has ever been mistaken at the airport for another celebrity, Sanjeev replied, “This has happened several times. People are confused about my name because they know as my face looks familiar, but are not able to say who I am. When anyone asks, ‘Sir, aapka naam?’, my standard answer is, ‘I am Amitabh Bachchan.’”
The chef also shared this anecdote with Amitabh Bachchan himself during an ad shoot. He said, “We were shooting a commercial together. I told him that I do this at airports. We had gotten comfortable by then as filming was already going on for half a day. The good part was that he was reacting to things the same way that I would have. I thought that either he is thinking like me or vice versa. We were similar.”
Sanjeev Kapoor shared another anecdote with Amitabh Bachchan, recalling how fans often refer to him as the ‘Amitabh Bachchan of the culinary world.’ “I told him that there’s a problem. Whenever fans meet me, they say, ‘Aap khaane ki duniya ke Amitabh Bachchan ho.’ This happens with me almost everyday. I said that the problem is that I tell them something, which I am saying to you as well. ‘Yeh mazza nahi hai ki main khaane ki duniya ka Amitabh Bachchan hu, mazza uss din aayega jab vo aapko kahenge ki aap acting ke Sanjeev Kapoor hain (It will be fun when people come and tell you that you are the Sanjeev Kapoor of acting).’ I told him to tell me if something like this happens. No such luck yet.”
Sanjeev recalled their conversation before the ad shoot, highlighting how humble Amitabh is. “I can’t begin to tell you how humble he is. When I was waiting for him for the shot, he came and I went to greet him. I thought I will touch his feet and meet him. When I was going towards him, he stood up and as soon as I bent to touch his feet, he held my hand and before I could say anything, he said, ‘What an honour to be with you, sir.’ It is an another level of learning from him,” he revealed.
Sanjeev Kapoor also said that Amitabh Bachchan was apologetic for arriving late on the sets. The celebrity chef said, “Everyone knows about his punctuality. On that day, the call for everyone was 10 am. The crew said that Bachchan sahab is never late, please come on time. I reached at 9:30 am. He got late and didn’t arrive till 11:30 am. We were shooting my stills till then.”
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He added, “So after greeting me, he instantly apologised and shared that the team hadn’t informed him about his hairstyle, which took some extra time, causing a delay. He doesn’t need to do any of that, but he did. Unki kahanaaiyan toh anginat inspiration hain.”
