Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s mother slapped him when he gifted Rolls Royce worth Rs 4 cr to Amitabh Bachchan while he drove a Maruti: ‘Bewakoof’

Vidhu Vinod Chopra recalled how he refused to book a Rs 65,000 room for Amitabh Bachchan during the shooting of Eklavya but later gifted him a Rolls Royce Phantom worth Rs 4 crore.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | Updated: August 3, 2024 04:42 PM IST

3 min read

Vidhu Vinod Chopra recalls gifting Rolls Royce Phantom worth Rs 4 crore to Amitabh Bachchan. (Pic: Express Archive)

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 2007 film Eklavya: The Royal Guard, starring Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, and Vidya Balan, might not have minted moolah at the box office, but was widely praised by critics and was also India’s official entry to the Oscars that year. In a recent interaction, the filmmaker recalled anecdotes from the film and how he refused to book a Rs 65,000 room for Amitabh Bachchan due to budget constraints.

Chopra recalled in an old interview, “The crisis there was that I could have booked the room for Amitabh, but then I couldn’t leave other stars Saif (Ali Khan) and Sanjay (Dutt) out. I would have to book rooms for them too, and that’s how films go over budget. Then I couldn’t have made the nuanced film like Eklavya. In that case, you could make a bad film that works everywhere.” He also explained how “money in arts is a very dangerous thing” as it limits creative ability.

However, Chopra also admitted that he did reward Big B when he later made money in his career. The filmmaker shared that he gifted him a Rolls Royce Phantom worth Rs 4 crore while he drove a Maruti van at the time.

Sharing his mother’s hilarious reaction to his extravagant gift to Amitabh Bachchan, he said, “I will never forget this incident. I took my mother with me when I was gifting the car to Amitabh. She handed him the keys. She came back, sat in my car, which was a blue Maruti van. She called Big B ‘Lamboo.’ I didn’t have a driver at the time, so I was driving. She told me, ‘Tu Lamboo nu gadi dede? (You gave the car to him?)’ I said, ‘Haan.’ She replied, ‘Tu khud kyun nahi leta gadi? (Why don’t you buy a car yourself?)’ I told her I will buy a car, there is time. She responded, saying, ‘11 lakh ki toh hogi (It must be worth Rs 11 lakh).’ And I laughed because she didn’t know that it was Rs 4 crore. I told her the cost, and she slapped me, calling me ‘bewakoof.’ I will never forget that because what is money if it can’t give you joy.”

Also read | ‘My biggest ambition was to pee in Amitabh Bachchan’s vanity van’: Vidhu Vinod Chopra admits he was ‘very rude’ to Big B during first meeting, says Rekha was present

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s last directorial, 12th Fail, which he also wrote and produced, garnered massive praise from the audience and critics. The film also turned out to be a sleeper hit, grossing over Rs 69 crore worldwide against a budget of Rs 20 crore.

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