Amitabh Bachchan stopped Smita Patil from eating on the floor with lightmen, said ‘it makes us look bad': ‘Aap jao van mein'

Indian Express

22-05-2025

Smita Patil was one of the most acclaimed actors of her generation but her untimely demise in 1986 left her fans shocked. Until then, Smita had appeared in films like Mirch Masala, Manthan, Bhoomika, Arth, and had also shared screen space with Amitabh Bachchan in films like Namak Halaal and Shakti. In a recent interview, Smita's son Prateik shared an anecdote from the set of Ramesh Sippy's Shakti when Amitabh called Smita to have a chat with her after he saw her having lunch with the lightmen on the set while sitting on the floor.
In a chat shared on Varinder Chawla's YouTube channel, Prateik shared that during Shakti, which also starred Dilip Kumar and Rakhee, Smita would carry a huge lunch box from her home. During the lunch hours, she would sit on the floor, sit with all the light men and have lunch with them. 'Such a big superstar… Smita Patil, she was sitting on the floor with all the lightmen,' he said.
During one of these lunch hours, Amitabh Bachchan happened to walk by and saw Smita sitting on the floor. He called her to the side and told her that her friendliness with everyone would make the others look bad, but she continued to do what she was doing. He shared, 'Amitabh Bachchan walked by and he called her to the side. He said 'listen, you are screwing it up for people like us. Tum baithte ho neeche aise sab ke sath toh hum kharab dikhte hain kyunki hum nahi karenge toh hum kharab dikhenge. Humko bhi karna padega abhi. Hum bure lag rahe hain aapki vajah se (You sit on the floor so it makes others look. Now we will also have to do it. We are looking bad because of you.)' And she was bindaas, she was like 'Aap jao van mein, main kha rahi hu (You go to your van, I'll eat like this.)''
ALSO READ | 'Don't dub Kannada movies in Hindi, don't release them pan-India': Sonu Nigam tells BJP MP Tejasvi Surya days after Bengaluru language row
Smita and Amitabh shared a great professional equation. A few years ago, Amitabh shared in his blog that Smita was very 'uncomfortable' during the shoot of Namak Halaal because 'she just could not understand why she was asked to do what she was asked to do in the film.' He added, 'But she did it with a lot of personal persuasion from me and it came out fine. She was gentle and frail but stronger than anything you could ever encounter in a woman…truly a gift we lost we never should have.'