Amitabh Bachchan would be on set at 5 am even when his shoot would start hours later, recalls Mohabbatein co-actor: ‘He wasn’t the main character but…’

Amitabh Bachchan was going through a rater difficult time in his professional life when he requested Yash Chopra for work.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | August 26, 2025 05:18 PM IST

Amitabh Bachchan in a still from Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein.

It is famously known that Amitabh Bachchan was going through a severe financial crisis when he requested his longtime friend and collaborator, filmmaker Yash Chopra, for work in the late 1990s. Yash offered him a role in Mohabbatein and that, along with the TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati, changed Bachchan’s fortune. In a new interview, actor Preeti Jhangiani, who was one of the cast members of the film, recalled that when Amitabh came on board, Yash and director Aditya Chopra saw this as an opportunity, as previously they were going to cast a “character artiste” in the role of Narayan Shankar.

In a chat with Lallantop Cinema, Preeti shared, “To tell you the truth, this wasn’t the dynamic on the set that Amitabh ji went to ask Yash ji for work. In fact, I think Yash ji and Adi saw this as an opportunity. They said that the role that we were going to give to a character artiste, we can now have Amitabh Bachchan in it. I remember Adi said this once, ‘I felt that now I can take Mr Amitabh Bachchan in that role.’ The gravitas of that role increased.”

Preeti Jhangiani shared that despite whatever was happening in Amitabh Bachchan’s personal life, there was always immense respect for him on set. “There was always a certain respect for Amitabh on set. It was never like… He is not playing the main character, and Shah Rukh is the main guy… That wasn’t the thing on set. Shah Rukh was extremely respectful of Amitabh ji on set,” she said. Preeti then added that Amitabh would land on the set at 5 am every day, even when his scenes were supposed to be shot later so he could prepare. “Amit ji would be on the set at 5 am. Even when he did not have any scenes, he would come at 5 and wait in his trailer so he could prepare himself for the shot,” she shared.

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Recalling their time during the shoot, Preeti shared that while Amitabh’s character in the film was that of a strict disciplinarian, he was “exactly the opposite” on set. “He would always say, ‘Don’t make me sit with the oldies, I will sit with the young crowd.’ He was always very jovial, very cool, relaxed, friendly, easy and approachable. But we would get a little nervous around him anyway,” she shared.

Preeti Jhangiani recalled a particular day when Amitabh Bachchan offered her his shawl since she was shivering on set and though she kept refusing it for a while, she ultimately accepted it after Yash Chopra remarked, “If Amitabh offered me a shawl, I would have taken it and run away.” Preeti shared she took it but returned it soon after.

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