‘Amitabh Bachchan’s arrival ended drought in Jaisalmer, 50,000 people wanted to touch his feet because they thought god has come’: Apoorva Lakhia

Director Apoorva Lakhia said that the locals of Jaisalmer saw Amitabh Bachchan as god as his arrival seemingly ended a long spell of drought.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: February 15, 2025 11:19 AM IST

2 min read

Amitabh Bachchan's arrival ended a long spell of drought in Jaisalmer and the locals saw it as his magic. (Photo: Express Archives)

Amitabh Bachchan is perceived as a demigod by millions of Indians, but in the city of Jaisalmer, people actually see him as god. In a recent interview, director Apoorva Lakhia recalled the time when Bachchan’s arrival in the city seemingly ended a spell of drought. Aporova shared that this happened when he was shooting with Abhishek Bachchan for the film Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost, and Big B visited the set with his family in Jaisalmer.

In a chat with Friday Talkies, Apoorva shared, “We were shooting Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost in Jaisalmer, and there was a drought there at the time. Amitabh Bachchan was coming there for New Year’s, with Jaya ji, Shweta, Amar Singh, and we were shooting somewhere in the desert. You could tell from afar that his fleet was coming because no one in Jaisalmer had seen that many luxury cars at once.”

Apoorva said that as Bachchan’s fleet neared the set, dark clouds started forming in the sky, much like the scene from Lagaan. As he got out of the car and hugged Ahhishek, it started raining cats and dogs. “You wont believe it, I swear on my mother’s life, he came on to the set… you know how it happens in Lagaan with ‘Kaale Megha’, clouds started forming. He got out of the car, hugged Abhishek and there was a hailstorm,” he shared, and added, “It started raining so much that rivers were flooded and our entire village got ruined. After that, outside the hotel, there used to be 40,000-50,000 people wanting to touch his feet because they thought god has come. There was no water in Jaisalmer and then, the rivers were flooded. I saw that with my own eyes.”

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Apoorva said that such is the aura of the star that even though this was a co-incidence, the incident was jut fascinating. “The aura just keeps increasing,” he said. Apoorva later worked with Amitabh in the 2005 film Ek Ajnabee.

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