Bhojpuri superstar Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as Nirahua, recently opened up about his unforgettable experience working with Bollywood legends Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan on the 2012 film Ganga Devi during a chat with Siddharth Kannan on his podcast.
“I was blank when I heard I would be sharing the screen with them. For me, they are like god. The moment I saw them in front of me, I didn’t know how to react. But Amitabh Bachchan is such a great man. He instantly sensed my nervousness and started cracking jokes to make me feel comfortable. He would laugh, talk about my songs, and lighten up the atmosphere,” Nirahua recalled.
He also shared a memorable piece of advice from Big B: “Amit ji once told me, ‘The way you’re singing in your songs, you want to be a politician. I too told my father once that I wanted to enter politics. He advised me against it, but I didn’t listen. That turned out to be the biggest blunder of my life. Now, I am telling you — don’t do it!’ He would say such things to ease the environment. For me, it was truly a dream come true to work with him.”
Nirahua’s experience with Jaya Bachchan
But Nirahua’s experience with Jaya Bachchan was far more intense. Narrating the incident, he said, “There was a scene where I had to slap my on-screen wife, and Jaya ji, playing my mother, had to scold me and beat me with a stick. But instead of pretending, she actually hit me. And she hit me hard! She is very short-tempered.”
He laughed as he added, “She beat me up a couple of times, and I told her, ‘You’re hitting me for real!’ She replied, ‘Then why did you beat up my daughter-in-law?’ I said, ‘That was just acting, but you really hit me!’”
When asked if she had actually hurt him, Nirahua admitted, “Maybe it was accidental, but I was really hurt. Still, I considered it as prasad (a blessing). After all, how many people have received the opportunity of working with both Jaya Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan together?”
About Ganga Devi
The film Ganga Devi was made by Amitabh Bachchan’s make-up man Deepak Sawant, who had previously cast him in the 2006 film Ganga. Ganga Devi was Amitabh’s second film with wife Jaya after their 2001 collaboration in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
