Amitabh Bachchan is one of the top actors in Bollywood, who, to this date, is considered one of the most influential figures in the Indian film industry. Amitabh Bachchan started starring as an 'Angry Young Man' in Bollywood, and then with time, forayed into more challenging roles in the film industry. One of them was the 2002 release, 'Aankhen', directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. Amitabh Bachchan played a negative role in this film.
'Aankhen' was a superhit that also starred Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Sushmita Sen, Paresh Rawal, and Aditya Pancholi. The budget of the film was Rs 17 crore and garnered Rs 33.8 crore at the box office worldwide. Amitabh Bachchan played a negative role in the film, stealing the spotlight from also all the lead actors. Now, Vipul Amritlal Shah released an interesting trivia about the film where he revealed that Amitabh Bachchan took only 15 minutes to say 'yes' to play the role.
Vipul Amrutlal Shah revealed how he waited outside Amitabh Bachchan's van, excited to meet the megastar. "I was waiting outside Amitabh sir’s van, wondering how I would introduce myself to him. When Amitabh sir came, he asked me, ‘Vipul what are you doing here?’ I was surprised to know that he remembered me even after a year."
Despite his busy schedule, Amitabh Bachchan agreed to hear the script of 'Aankhen'. "I thought it would be a long process, but he just listened to my script. I was a little scared that I might upset him because I was going to give him a villain’s role," Vipul said.
Vipul Amrutlal Shah said that Amitabh Bachchan heard the whole script for 15 minutes with full concentration and was shocked by his reply.
"Amitabh sir’s listening style was very deep and he had zero reaction. He listened to my script carefully, but it was difficult to understand his reaction. When I finished the script in 15 minutes, Amitabh sir said, ‘Vipul, I will do this.’ I could not believe it," he revealed.
'Aankhen' turned out to be the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2002.
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