Why Is Old Buddy Amitabh Bacchan So Silent on Mulayam Singh's Demise?

Mulayam Singh Yadav, Netaji to his followers, was a leader who had friends across the political spectrum. Besides many of his other notable qualities, one thing which actually stood out was his propensity to maintain friendships. For him, once a friend, always a friend, no matter what.

He would go out of his way to help friends in need. Amitabh bachchan, who celebrates his 80th birthday today, incidentally, was one such friend whom Mulayam Singh valued the most. Standing with him through thick and thin, Mulayam Singh Yadav always ensured that Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan were always part of his close group whether in celebrating political success, or personal occasions. He made sure that he was always by the Big B's side when the occasion demanded.

That is why it was heartbreaking to note that Amitabh Bachchan, who commands a following of millions on his Twitter account, had chosen to remain silent on the death of Netaji. Not that he was not active on twitter yesterday or today, when Netaji was being cremated. He tweeted thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his good wishes on his 80th birthday on October 11.

Bachchan also tweeted about one of his forthcoming films, but not a word for Netaji? The person who had extended a helping hand to pull him out of the financial crisis he had found himself in the 90s?

Mulayam Singh Yadav was the man who had pulled Bachchan out of his self imposed isolation too, during a phase when his films were hitting dust. Yadav, brought Bachchan out in the limelight to confer the Yash Bharati award in November 1994, the first ever state award to honour achievers from Uttar Pradesh from various fields of life.

Mulayam Singh Yadav had instituted this award after becoming Chief Minister in 1993. Big B was in self imposed isolation then, and was deliberately keeping himself away from the media arclights at that time as he was going through the worst phases of his life at that time. Thus it was a nice gesture for Mulayam Singh yadav to invite him and Jaya Bachchan over to Lucknow from where they would have gone to Saifai to receive the award with the chief minister. In deference to their wishes, the Bachchans were kept away from the media then. Nobody knew when they arrived in Lucknow to receive the award.

I was a reporter in the Lucknow edition of the Times of India then. As I got word of Big B staying at the Chief Minister's official residence at Kalidas Marg in Lucknow, I rushed there. Those were days when Kalidas Marg was not out of bounds for the media.

Since I was a familiar media face then, having covered the Samajwadi Party as my political beat, I could force my way through the obstructing security in the CM's residence, creating quite a commotion on the way. No matter how much the security men tried to stop me, I managed to enter the residence.

Word must have reached the Chief Minister about this, because after a few minutes of my arguing with officials, I spotted Mulayam Singh Yadav coming towards me, literally running. Seeing him, the security men relented. He came to me and with folded hands, asked politely to be excused because, he explained, the Bachchan couple had requested this privacy.

But he promised me that he would definitely ask them about talking to me and if they agreed, he would definitely call me later in the evening. I left with a heavy heart. But to my utter surprise, I received a call from the CM's residence that night. P L Punia, now Congress MP, who was then the principal secretary to the Chief Minister, asked me if I could come to the CM's residence immediately for an exclusive chat with Amitabh bachchan over dinner.

My initial reaction was euphoria, because ever since I remembered I had idolised Amitabh Bachchan. He was and still remained my only Bollywood crush . Oh, those deep eyes, that baritone voice. I could have given my life to meet my Bollywood heartthrob.

But the very next moment, I was jolted out of my euphoria as reality came crashing down on me. I was alone at home, with my two little boys, who were too young to be left alone. My husband, a bank officer, was posted outside Lucknow then. I had no option but to tearfully say no to Puniaji, explaining to him the reason.

For a reporter like me, it was nothing short of catastrophe to miss an exclusive tête-à-tête with THE Amitabh Bachchan. I remorsefully requested Puniaji to let me know if I could meet him the next morning, secretly knowing that this was impossible. After all, who says no to Amitabh Bahchchan and gets another chance to meet him.

But I suppose I was the chosen one that day, November 29, 1994. I got a call from the CM residence the next morning, this time Mulayam Singh Yadav himself on the other side, asking me if I could come for breakfast with Amitabh Bhachchan. I was on cloud nine and literally went flying to meet Big B.

Amitabh Bachchan was accompanied by Jayaji and journalist Vir Sanghvi, but I had eyes and ears only for the Big B. From a hardened, nosey reporter, I turned into a fangirl, swooning over my first and only Bollywood crush. I forgot about my list of questions and just listened on for the next hour or so.

I didn't realise how much time passed. The conversation ended only when somebody reminded Amitabh that Netaji was waiting for him to go to Saifai. He was taken to Saifai with full state honour and received the first Yash Bharati award.

The Lucknow Times of India was the only paper in the city that day, November 30, 1994, to have carried an exclusive piece on Amitabh Bachchan.

From then on Bachchan had become a prominent member of Yadav's close circle of friends. Even when he made Delhi his second home, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan used to be a regular feature at his place. Mulayam Singh Yadav's lavish roza iftar parties used to be much talked about affairs in those days and the Bachchan couple used to be a regular feature.

So it was heartbreaking to see Amitabh Bachchan, who never loses an opportunity to tweet about anything and everything, remaining completely silent on Netaji. True, Amitabh Bachchan had tried to keep a distance from Mulayam Singh Yadav following his differences with Amar Singh, but then death is something which brings even bitter enemies together.

With the end of an era with Mulayam Singh's death, another death has taken place: the death of a fangirl who had swooned over Amitabh Bachchan since she could remember. The fan girl is no more. Only the hard boiled reporter in that girl remains today. Good bye, Big B.