Preeti Jhangiani calls Amitabh Bachchan ‘a child at heart’ who didn’t like sitting with ‘oldies’; reveals her regret of refusing a shawl from him

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Recently, Preeti Jhangiani took a trip down memory lane and shared her experience working with Bollywood’s Shahenshah Amitabh Bachchan in the musical romantic drama. Admitting to being initially intimidated by him, she recounted how, in a moment of spontaneity, she declined an offering from Bachchan — something she still regrets.

“On camera, I was always very confident. Even during my modelling days, it was something that came naturally to me. But off-camera, I was very shy and introverted; it was difficult for me. When we were shooting Mohabbatein, it was very cold in Film City. One day, Amitabh Bachchan came and gave me a shawl to wear. I was like, ‘No no, I can’t take it.’ Then Yash ji (Yash Chopra) came up to me and said, ‘Listen, if Amitabh Bachchan gave me that shawl, I would take it, run home and never give it back to him.’ I regret it to this day (that I didn’t take it),” she said during a chat with Zoom.

Describing Big B as “a child at heart,” Preeti recalled him telling the younger cast members, “Don’t make me sit with the oldies. I want to sit with you guys. What are you all gossiping about?” The highest-grossing Indian film of 2000, Mohabbatein also marked Big B’s resurgence after a difficult patch in the ’90s.

Although Preeti Jhangiani reduced her film appearances following her marriage in 2008 and took a break from the industry in 2013, she made a significant return in 2023 with an impactful role in the streaming series Kafas. In 2017, she also played the lead role in the Rajasthani film Taawdo the Sunlight.