Bollywood icon Dev Anand had to wait outside Amitabh Bachchan’s residence for almost half an hour before he was allowed to enter. The incident did not go down well with the ‘Jewel Thief’ actor’s fans who termed the disturbing situation humiliating.
Deva Ananda’s close friend and associate Mohan Churiwala revealed the details of this incident that happened almost two decades ago in a recent interview with Vicky Lalwani.
In the interview, we learn about an incident in which a close friend of the Bachchan family, Amar Singh, had earlier mentioned that Dev Ananad had met him. The episode dates back to 2007 when Dev Anand and his close friend and associate Mohan Churiwala visited Bachchan’s Jalsa residence.
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Narrating the events of that time, Mohan Churiwala said that this incident was from the time Dev Anand’s book “Romancing with Life” was launched. Mohan Churiwala said, “Amar Singh has promised to bring Amitabh Bachchan to the book launch event.” He further noted that it had already been decided that one of Deva Anand’s colleagues would reveal the book. However, the plan was called off.
Mohan stated, “Amar Singh was a close acquaintance who met Dev Anand regularly when he visited Mumbai and even played the role of the Home Minister in Dev’s last film ‘Chargesheet’. Hinting that Amar had volunteered to ensure Big B’s presence, he recalled, “Amar Singh called and said he would be arriving with Amitabh Bachchan, Tina Ambani and Anil Ambani.” Dev Anand had an autograph book for all four.
Mohan Churiwala detailed that they were all affiliated with the Samajwadi Party and did not mind the presence of the Congress party at the event. Since it was an “open-house” event, they couldn’t turn anyone away from the launch. During this period, the Congress Party led by Vilasrao Deshmukh was in power in Maharashtra and there was tension between the two rival parties.
Initially, Amar Singh indicated that the group would have dinner with Dev Anand after the book launch, but all four left before the end of the program without even taking the book. Despite repeated phone calls, Amar Singh did not respond and finally called back late at night and confronted the presence of the Congress party. It was then decided that Mohan Churiwala would deliver the books the next morning.
To settle the matter, one of the most revered film icons of the 1950s and 1960s decided to accompany Mohan Churiwala to personally deliver copies of the book to the Bachchan residence. The duo was kept waiting for more than half an hour before Amar Singh appeared in his night suit. The wait got longer for Amitabh Bachchan to join them after another delay.
Years later, after Dev Anand’s death in 2011, Amar Singh revealed to journalist Vir Sanghvi that the veteran actor had to wait for so long that entry into the Jalsa was restricted and allowed only with the consent of the Bachchan family.
