When Chhaya Kadam Told Amitabh Bachchan Her Mother (Suffering From Dementia) Remembers Him

A still from Jhund. (courtesy: x)

New Delhi:

Chhaya Kadam is currently riding high on the success of All We Imagine As Light. The film, directed by Payal Kapadia, won the Grand Prix Internationale award at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Recently, Chhaya opened up about her experience of sharing screen space with legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan in the 2022 film Jhund. In an interview with Filmfare, she said, “It was so amazing working with Amit ji. He is so punctual. If the shoot was to start at 5 am he would be on set 15 minutes before only. However, I didn’t get much of a chance to interact with him because of the respect I have for him in my heart.”

Chhaya Kadam continued, “Once we (Chhaya Kadam and Amitabh Bachchan) spoke briefly when I told him about my mother who is suffering from dementia and does not recognise anything including me. I told him she just remembers three people, Sai Baba, Balasaheb Thackeray and Amitabh Bachchan.” Directed by Nagraj Manjule, Jhund was released in 2022. The film also featured Ankush Gedam, Akash Thosar, and Rinku Rajguru. 

During the same interaction, Chhaya Kadam also shared an incident highlighting Amitabh Bachchan’s chivalrous behaviour. She said, “I did get one opportunity to interact with him on the sets when we were shooting for a scene and we had to sit on a bullock cart. I was very happy that I got a seat next to him but soon disappointed because someone called him to the front of the cart. After the shoot was over, I was trying to get off the cart and saw a hand appear to help me get down. It was Amit ji. For us he’s still the macho man he was in Don, we don’t realise that he is ageing too, which is sad.”

In All We Imagine As Light, Chhaya Kadam played the role of Parvathy. The movie also featured Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Hridhu Haroon, and Azees Nedumangad in pivotal roles. At the end of its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 2024, All We Imagine As Light received an eight-minute standing ovation. Click here to read all about it.