It has been 55 years since Amitabh Bachchan has been ruling the Bollywood. The actor has earned the title of ‘superstar’ because of his talent and persistent hard work. In fact his superstardom knows no bounds, as highlighted once by author and former investigative journalist S Hussain Zaidi. A few years ago, the writer revealed that how Big B’s fame saved him from Iraqi militiamen.
How Amitabh Bachchan saved Journalist S Hussain Zaidi’s Life?
Once, crime reporter S Hussain Zaidi was taken hostage by Iraqi militiamen who claimed that his regime possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).He recalled the incident during a 2015 interview with Hindustan Times, “I wanted to talk to people close to Saddam and I was trying to get access to them when I got kidnapped in Baghdad.”
Mentioning that he was taken to a secret location blindfolded and was surrounded by a group of men who asked, ” if I was Pakistani. I said that I am Hindi, from India. Then he said something in Arabic which I didn’t understand. Later he asked: Do you know Ameesha Bakkan? I said that the only Ameesha I know is Ameesha Patel. He scolded me real bad that I didn’t know Ameesha Bakkan,” Zaidi said.
Later the irritated militiaman then left briefly and returned with a still from filmmaker Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti (1982). “Suddenly it fell upon me that this guy is copying Amitabh Bachchan from Shakti. That realisation made me scream with joy and that guy misunderstood that I am friends with Ameesha Bakkan (Amitabh Bachchan). He then made me write a note that if he will ever come to Mumbai, I will make him meet Amitabh Bachchan. I agreed immediately and saved my life.”
Shakti is one of Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic film that also starred Dilip Kumar, Rakhee Gulzar, Smita Patil, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and Amrish Puri. Helmed by Salim-Javed, it is the only film where the two superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar collaborated.
Meanwhile, author and reporter S Hussain Zaidi’s most notable works include Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia, Mafia Queens of Mumbai, Black Friday, My Name is Abu Salem and Mumbai Avengers.
