Bollywood’s angry young man might’ve turned grey but his temper is still intact. Recently, an agitated motorist blamed the actor for holding up traffic outside his Juhu residence for his Sunday ritual, via Facebook. The motorist in fact called Bachchan a third rate actor and suggested that he should take his weekend meetings (where he shows up and waves to the crowd from a raised platform) to Juhu beach instead.
The motorist’s concern was a rather genuine one, but he probably shouldn’t have made such a personal remark. It angered Big B enough to respond via his blog, calling the complainant ‘Mr Suffering Motorist’.
What sparked it all was the actor’s tweets where he’s seen thanking a sea of fans and well wishers outside his residence.
Amitabh Bachchan has followed the ritual of stepping out to meet his fans at 5:30 PM every Sunday for the last 33 years! Considering his stature, one can imagine the kind of traffic his fans can cause when they pay him a visit.
Mr Bachchan too was a bit hot headed about the whole incident and lashed out at the motorist in his blog. He said in his defence that his fans are his extended family and he has no intention of changing anything about the ritual of greeting them every weekend. Here’s an excerpt from Amitabh Bachchan’s blog post-
...one sees the faces of elation and joy, of the keen vantage positions taken, of the poor little children riding piggy back on parent’s shoulders wondering why they are being subjected to this ordeal, of traffic snarls and irritated motorists who honk for space and desire to move on…of traffic sufferers, who write in as a response on FB, their disgust at this fake appreciation for a celebrity, and how the celebrity should care about the traffic, of how he should not hold these travellers to discomfort by coming out of his home, of how he should prevent this by hiring a ground near by and meet his fans or “whatever they are called” ( his words, not mine ), instead of causing this trouble for those that do not wish to see this old aged actor, of suggesting that the actor go to Juhu beach every Sunday and hold his “ meetings “ there since there is a “lot of space” and avoid the delays that he has to go through waiting for the crowds to clear so he can pass by on the road, for he has ‘no intention of seeing or meeting this third rate actor’…
Senior Bachchan told the motorist in clear terms that his advice is not solicited.
I would entirely agree with this responder on FB. This celebrity actor is indeed an old aged man and most certainly a third rate actor..BUT..Mr Suffering Motorist .. I am in no way going to leave my house to locations that you so generously suggest, to meet my well wishers..they are like family to me, and I shall meet my family at home not on the beach..!!! GOT IT … !!
– Amitabh Bachchan (as the actor wrote in his blog- srbachchan.tumblr.com)
Well stardom can be tricky. AB fans do cause quite the headache for motorists. But shouldn’t the authorities regulate traffic to avoid such chaos? Or better still, not allow people to gather in the middle of the road in the first place? Is it really the star who’s at fault here? And can one blame the motorist’s frustration?
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