Actor Shreyas Talpade has worked with some of the biggest stars around, and in his journeyman career, has accumulated several stories about them. In a new interview, Shreyas recalled anecdotes about working with Amitabh Bachchan and Naseeruddin Shah, both legends in their own right. Shreyas worked with Amitabh on the 2002 film Aankhen, directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. He appeared as a tea-seller at a railway station, and said in an interview with Bollywood Hungama that he has vivid memories about the short time that he spent working on the movie. He said in Hindi, "I met the director, and he said there are two scenes with Mr Bachchan, and asked if I'd want to do it. I said of course; this was a no-brainer. I went on the shoot, my call time was 8 am. And the first thing I asked Vipul bhai was, 'When is Mr Bachchan coming?' He told me that he would come at noon. And the entire day, I was on that platform at Mahalaxmi station, and the entire day, I was just observing Mr Bachchan." He continued, "It's been 21 years, but I still remember every little detail of that day. I remember Mr Bachchan coming to the platform. Those days, we didn't have camera phones. And KBC had just started; it took Mr Bachchan nearly an hour to walk from one point to another. There was such a large crowd on the platforms, and on the bridges. The press was there, the cops were pushing people away, it was crazy." Shreyas also mimicked Bachchan, as he acted out a memory of him answering a call on his phone. The one-scene appearance brought Shreyas to the industry's attention. And he ultimately got the opportunity to star in Nagesh Kukunoor's sports drama Iqbal, alongside Naseer. The journey wasn't easy, and at one point Shreyas was contemplating quitting the profession, but Iqbal really put him on the map. It also left him with fun stories, one of which he recalled in the interview. He said that Naseer joined the crew a few days after they'd started shooting. On the eve of the actor's arrival, the director pulled Shreyas to the side and offered some advice. Shreyas said, "He told me, 'Look, Naseer sir will join in a couple of days, but he's a little temperamental. If you ever feel uncomfortable, or if you ever feel he's getting angry at you, don't say anything, come to me, and we'll handle it'." After nervously getting through his first day with Naseer, Shreyas said, the veteran actor called him to the side and asked him if he'd done theatre, because it showed in his performance. Then, he told him another thing. He said, "Listen, Nagesh can be a little temperamental, so if you ever feel things are getting uncomfortable, come to me, and we'll handle it." Shreyas laughed as he recalled the story, and said that he told neither of them this the whole time they were working on the movie. Released in 2005, Iqbal won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues. Shreyas was recently seen in another cricket-themed film, the biopic Kaun Pravin Tambe?
