Amitabh Bachchan would deliberately make people climb three floors to meet him, Apoorva Lakhia reveals reason behind Big B’s psychological tactic

When he made his way to the third floor, he asked Amitabh what the matter with the lift was. “I said, ‘Sir, I thought the lift was broken?’ He said, ‘The thing is Apu, when a person is coming to offer me a film, I like them to walk up and see who they’re going to meet. Let them see Manmohan Desai, Yash Chopra, Prakash Mehra, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, all these people I’ve worked with. And by the time they go up, money is of no importance’.” Describing Amitabh as ‘special’, he said, “He asked me to work with him when he knew I had no work, because I’d worked with Abhishek before. None of Abhishek’s films were doing well and he was still working, but I wasn’t. Money wasn’t even discussed. He just wanted to give me a chance.”

Apoorva said that he was never one to splurge on expensive items, but was told by Abhishek that he should invest in an expensive car and a watch, just to project a certain image. “Usne bola, ‘Dekh, tereko gaadi pasand nahi hai, par jab tu kissi ko milne jaata hai, tu Mercedes mein jayega toh Mercedes ka price milega, Palio mein jayega toh Palio ka price milega. Ek kaam kar, ek expensive Rolex khareed le aur ek expensive gaadi lele (He told me, ‘Listen, you don’t like expensive cars, but when you meet people, that’s what they’re looking for. Buy an expensive car and a Rolex). This advice works.”

Apoorva’s biggest hit remains Shootout at Lokhandwala. His last feature film was the box office flop Haseena Parkar. He is currently promoting the second season of his web series, Crackdown.