Who was Amitabh Bachchan's godfather? Director who worked without script, once cancelled shoot on superstar when he...

Amitabh Bachchan has often been called one of the true-blue success stories of Bollywood. Even though he was from a noted family, the actor was the proverbial outsider in cinema. And he still managed to become the country’s biggest superstar. While Big B did not have friends in the industry when he began, over the years, he found several well-wishers and even one ‘godfather’. Yes, there was a filmmaker whom Amitabh himself christened his godfather, crediting him for building his career.

Who was Amitabh Bachchan’s godfather?

Filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee made a name for himself with his realistic, slice-of-life films that mirrored the society of the 60s and 70s. The director, who blended drama with gentle comedy, was one of the first big names in Bollywood to bank on a young Amitabh Bachchan before he became a star. He first cast Amitabh in Anand in 1971, which was the actor’s first hit. The two further collaborated in Abhimaan, Namak Haram, Chupke Chupke, Mili, Alaap, and Bemisaal. In interviews, the superstar called the filmmaker his mentor and said he was like his godfather. Of the seven films they did together, four released before Bachchan was a star and at a time when other filmmakers hesitated to cast him.

Why Hrishikesh Mukherjee worked without a script

Between 1957 and 98, Hrishikesh Mukherjee directed 42 films, more than half of which were successful at the box office. His directorial style was unique in that he hardly ever relied on bound scripts. Writing in his blog last year, Amitabh Bachchan recalled, “He was a master editor and had the ability to see an edited version of the film even while shooting it. Which is why when he would direct us and we would want to know why we were doing what we were doing he would simply say just do as I tell you. And as always the final product was awe inspiring... With Hrishi Da, when we would report on set and he would narrate the scene to us, we would ask him what we were supposed to be wearing. ‘ What you are wearing now is fine’ , he would say to us dismissively, without looking up from the chess game in process. And we would land up in the film wearing whatever casual wear we had come to the studio in.”

When Hrishikesh Mukherjee cancelled a shoot with a superstar

An old report from the 80s mentions just how stickler of a man Mukherjee was for punctuality. The director was making a film with a big star, who was not named in the report. One day, the call time was 9am but the star arrived well past noon on the set. The director did not say anything then and allowed the star to spend time on his makeup and prep. But once he arrived to take the shot, Mukherjee announced packup and cancelled the shoot. It is said that the star was never late again.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s career and legacy

Mukherjee began his career as a director in 1957 with Musafir, starring Dilip Kumar and Kishore Kumar. He first tasted success the following year with Raj Kapoor and Nutan’s Anari. In the 60s and 70s, he directed several hits including Asli-Naqli, Anupama, Aashirwad, Anand, Guddi, Chupke Chupke, and Gol Maal. Even as he became less prolific in the 80s, Hrishikesh Mukherjee managed to conjure up gems like Khoobsurat and Naram Garam. In 1988, he took a hiatus from filmmaking, only to return 10 years later with his final film – Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate. The filmmaker died in 2006 at the age of 83. He is widely regarded as the doyen of ‘middle cinema’ of India, which represented the ethos of India’s middle class.

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