The story of the Amitabh Bachchan phenomenon has been told and retold time and again over the last couple of decades. But it’s still delightful to see the ramifications of an Indian sensation emerge from lands far beyond – a different culture, a different language.
If you follow Bachchan on Twitter, chances are you would have come across the name Moses Sapir. Both Bachchan Sr and Jr (Abhishek) regularly retweet rare photographs posted online by Moses.
Moses Named His Son - Amit
This 37-year-old Israeli is one of Big B’s biggest fans and perhaps the earliest too – I learnt that Moses has been a certified Amitabh Bachchan fan since the tender age of 3!
Today, Moses is a dad to Amit – his 10-year-old’s name is obviously inspired by the megastar.
Growing Up On Bachchan Movies in Israel
So how did this strapping young Israeli lad who has served 8 years in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) get bitten by the Bachchan bug? “My love for Hindi cinema comes from my parents,” says Moses, “They were born in Georgia, they had seen many Hindi films during their childhood and loved films of Raj Kapoor, Dharmendra, Dilip Kumar. When they immigrated to Israel, they brought their love for Indian cinema with them,” he adds.
Luckily for Moses, in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, Hindi films were screened in theatres in Israel, especially films featuring the angry young Amitabh Bachchan. And there began Moses’ relationship with the lanky, intense demi-god of Bollywood.
“My parents really loved Amitabh Bachchan, my father was always buying me movies of Amitabhji. I preferred it to toys,” recalls Moses, “I remember moments of myself as a little boy watching with my parents movies like Amar Akbar Anthony, Naseeb, Shaan, Satte Pe Satta, Deewar, Sholay and many more.”
Moses wasn’t drawn to cartoons as a kid. He preferred to watch this Indian cinestar fight, sing, dance and thus Bachchan became his ultimate hero. “He was handsome, tall with lots of charm. I was sitting and watching his movies and I felt like I am seeing the most amazing man in the world,” he says.
Moses Owns Every Bachchan Film and Soundtrack
Over the years, Moses has collected each and every film that Bachchan has starred in starting from Saat Hindustani. He also owns several DVDs of the same Bachchan film if they come with different covers.
And it’s not just the movies, this Big B fan also owns every single original soundtrack of every film featuring the star. This collection includes films in which Bachchan may have just made a special appearance.
Amitji has a charm and charisma that no other actor in the world has. With due respect to Pacino and De Niro, they are really not Amitabh Bachchan, and I have seen their films too.Moses Sapir
Bachchan’s Israeli fan also has what he calls “a museum” of photographs of the Bollywood star, like this one.
On Meeting Amitabh Bachchan
Moses was so enamoured by Bachchan that a good part of his dreams as a child and teenager was about meeting with the Indian superstar. And then it was just a matter of making those dreams come true. “Some people dream of being rich, having luxury cars, big houses, I had a dream to meet Amitabhji in real,” admits Moses.
“While I was in the army, I asked a couple of days off so that I could fly to India and try to see Amitabhji in real,” he recalls.
Finally Moses’ dream did come true on 20 May, 2005 – thanks to a few journalists who helped him get a meeting with the star on the sets of Family at Kamalistan Studio. “When I met him, at that time Amitabhji did not have a blog, there was no Twitter or any other platform that we could have a contact with Amitabhji,” the Israeli fan says.
“I was 25 when I met Amitabh Bachchan for the first time. It took me more than 22 years to realise my dream,” Moses confesses. About the meeting, Moses reveals, “I remember I did not believe he was standing over me and talking to me. I started to stutter, I did not know where to start and what to talk. But Amitabhji was so nice to me, it was just a wonderful thing. One of the happiest days of my life.”
Right now, Moses is waiting for the release of the DVD of Pink. Since the film did not release in Israel, he hasn’t been able to see Bachchan’s latest critically and commercially acclaimed film yet.
Moses says his wife is supportive of his love for the Big B, in fact his entire family including his kids now look forward to each and every release. It’s almost like a tradition among the Sapirs – he remembers his father telling him about Bachchan’s near-fatal injury on the sets of Coolie. Moses was around 8-years-old and big enough to watch the film, “It was very painful, bahut dukh hua,” he says, breaking into Hindi.
It’s perhaps thanks to the Sapirs and similar fans that Bachchan celebrates being ‘reborn’ on 2 August, the day his surgery took place following the Coolie accident in 1982.
For now, it’s time time to wish the legend a simple Happy Birthday, and hope that Moses comes up with a spectacular rare picture of the star, which makes this day a truly memorable one.
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