Meenakshi Seshadri recalls Amitabh Bachchan’s reaction to her constant ‘chattering’ on Shahenshah set: ‘These newcomers are lost in their own world’

From soaring success to the depths of failure, Amitabh Bachchan has experienced it all in his 55-year career. Widely regarded as one of Indian cinema’s greatest actors and biggest superstars, his journey has been anything but smooth. Besides films that became massive blockbusters, he’s also been part of movies which emerged as significant box-office disappointments and others that were harshly criticised. At the same time, he also had to step away from acting due to health concerns. In his repertoire, director Tinnu Anand’s vigilante action film Shahenshah (1988) holds a special place. Not only did it become a major hit and earn him a powerful sobriquet, but it also marked his triumphant return to the big screen after a hiatus due to his brief political stint and diagnosis with myasthenia gravis.

Also starring Meenakshi Sheshadri, Pran, Amrish Puri, Prem Chopra and Sharat Saxena, Shahenshah features Bachchan as Inspector Vijay Kumar Srivastava, who leads a double life as the vigilante Shahenshah. His portrayal, along with his iconic dialogues and costume became legendary. Recently, Meenakshi Sheshadri took a trip down memory lane and recalled working with Bachchan on the film and shared a comment he made about her youthful exuberance. Mentioning that it was Dimple Kapadia whom Tinnu initially cast as the female lead in the film, Meenakshi said that the makers recast the heroine and decided to give “this new girl Meenakshi” a try. “They had already recorded the songs ‘Jane Do Mujhe Jana Hai’ and ‘Hey You,’ which became popular by then. They re-recorded ‘Hey You,’ the song featuring my solo item dance. The original track was slower. Then (after casting her), they redid it since I am a dancer too,” she recalled during a chat with Friday Talkies.

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“On the first day of shoot, we were in Ooty, and I was filled with the confidence of young age. I wasn’t even a tad bit nervous. It didn’t even hit me that Amitabh Bachchan was on set and that I should behave in a certain way with respect. I was just chattering away. In one of the scenes, I had to wear a pair of shorts and top, even then I was very relaxed. Seeing this, Amit ji commented, ‘These newcomers are lost in their own world,’ and he’s right. Now, when I work with young people, I remember his words, like kalachakra (wheel of time),” she added.

While Shahenshah marked their first film together, Bachchan and Meenakshi Sheshadri collaborated in movies such as Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswati (1988), Toofan (1989) and Akayla (1991) as well. Meenakshi was last seen in director Rajkumar Santoshi’s action thriller Ghatak: Lethal (1996), in which she shared the screen with Sunny Deol. She subsequently moved to the United States after her marriage.