Tuesday 29 April 2014

How I met Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman in Bhaktapur

Thursday, April 29, 1982 

I had been traveling in India by myself for already 6 months before entering to Nepal.
On a visit to Bhaktapur, an ancient Newar town located eight miles from Kathmandu, I encountered a huge crowd gathered on Durbar Square.
A movie team from Bollywood was there, with directors, assistants, lightings and a camera dolly on rails.
I easily recognized the famous Amitabh Bachchan, dressed in a black leather jacket and wearing white trousers.
He was performing a dance scene with a beautiful actress clothed in a yellow robe.
Step by step, they played the script of the whole scene while music was playing loudly...
Click here if you want to see on a map the accurate location where it took place.


April 2014

It took me a while to identify the filming that I had attended.
I searched in Amitabh's filmography and last Saturday, I finally found it.
32 years later, thanks to Internet, I could see the clip for the very first time.

It is named "Pyar Mein Dil Pe Maar De Goli", from the film "Mahaan".
The actress is Zeenat Aman, a famous and glamourous Bollywood star.
A good quality clip may be seen on Youtube.
I like the song and the acting, it's quite fun and kitch.

I'm pleased to publish some previously unreleased pictures of this event. Feel free to share and to mention this article...
> Read the full story (in french)


Namaste


Amitabh Bachchan on Durbar Square, with Nyatapola Pagoda, Bhaktapur, Nepal 
Actors in action : Zeenat Aman and Amitabh Bachchan, Durbar Square, Bhaktapur, Nepal
A litte rest for Zeenat Aman and Amitabh Bachchan, in the shade of the Stone Lions, Durbar Square, Bhaktapur, Nepal
A litte rest for Zeenat Aman and Amitabh Bachchan, in the shade of the Stone Lions, Durbar Square, Bhaktapur, Nepal



Update: April 2015

On April 25, 2015, around noon local time, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal just before noon local time: 4 000 people were killed and more than 7 500 were hurt.
Dozens of temples and historical buildings in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur have collapsed or damaged (> see details here).

Some media have reported the fact that Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman had been acting on Durbar Square 33 years ago:

But the shooting for the film "Mahaan" happened in Bakhtapur Durbar Square and not in Kathmandu Durbar Square.














1 comment:

  1. Thank you for this going back in Amitabh Bachchan’s carrer, a few hours only before the beginning of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Amitabh Bachchan will inaugurate the Festival on May 1.

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