When Amitabh Bachchan used to wait for Master Raju, priority used to change on the set

New Delhi . In the 70s and 80s, Master Raju alias Raju Shrestha was a big name in the industry as a child artist. Raju, who had worked in the films of veteran directors like Yash Chopra and Basu Chatterjee, was so busy at that time that he was seen in almost every third film. Recently, in an interview, while remembering the golden days of his career, he shared an interesting story related to Amitabh Bachchan.

While talking to Siddharth Kanan, Master Raju told that during the shooting of the film ‘Farar’, the circumstances were such that Amitabh Bachchan had to wait for him. He laughingly said, Amit ji is very punctual, but at that time he had less work than me. I feel strange even saying this, but this is the truth. He would reach the set on time and his close-up shots would be taken first. But as soon as I reached the set, the priority changed.

Raju told that his schedule was very tight and he had to leave for another set within a few hours. In such a situation, the production team used to shoot his scenes first. He said, when I used to come, Amit ji was asked to sit aside, because my shots had to be completed first. The rest of his close-ups were taken only after I was done.

Master Raju also narrated another interesting incident related to the same film. He told that ‘his mother had scolded Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of Farar. In one scene, Amitabh Bachchan had to show a wound on his hand, on which flies were buzzing. At the same time lunch break was going on. Raju told, we were eating food and my mother said to Amit ji please cover it, flies are flying everywhere and we are eating food. Hearing this, the people present on the set smiled.

However, Master Raju also made it clear that Amitabh Bachchan was one of the most disciplined artists of that era. He said, at that time it was common for stars to arrive late. Vinod Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and even Dharmendra ji often came late. I think almost everyone except Amitabh ji used to come late. In those times, being late was a kind of fashion.

These revelations of Master Raju give a glimpse of the working style of the film industry of that era. It also comes to light that there was a time when the popularity and busyness of a child artist was so much that even superstar Amitabh Bachchan had to work according to his schedule.