Big B over the moon with a royal present

Mumbai, Feb 7 (UNI) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan is over the moon after bring gifted with a 'Rolls Royce' car by film-maker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who directed the Bollywood icon for the first time in the forthcoming movie 'Eklavya'.

''I am over the moon, though the choice of a Rolls Royce car was entirely Vinod's decision,''Amitabh said, after getting the keys of the stunning 'Silver Phantom Rolls Royce' from Vinod's mother at his office'Janak' in Juhu, North West Mumbai this afternoon.

''Mr Bachchan's performance has been simply stunning in Eklavya and I felt such an accomplished performance deserves an extra special acknowledgement and what better than a Rolls Royce for a person who has a passion for cars, said Chopra of his gesture.

The actor said he always wanted to work with Vinod. ''I have worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 'Black' and I now know why Sanjay is such a perfectionist. He has had his grooming as a filmmaker under Vinod for eight years,''he added.

Amitabh, who plays the protagonist in Eklavya, said the film, releasing on February 16 was a contemporary dramatic thriller and not a period film though there are references to the Mahabharat character by the same name. Meanwhile, Mr Chopra said 'Eklavya-the royal guard' was a film about Eklavya, the loyal guardian of a royal dynasty whose duty is to protect the erstwhile royal family in Devigarh, Rajasthan.

To a question on why he was returning to direction after seven years, he said it took him five years to write a film to match Mr Bachchan's stature.

The filmmaker said all the other actors in the film had performed brilliantly. ''But, I cannot afford to gift Rolls Rocye to everybody. The cast includes Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Jimmy Shergill and Vidya Balan. Set in the present day India, the film has a special resonance for today's world, beleaguered by hate and violence born from fanatic beliefs,''he said.

Replying to a question on gifting son Abhishek with an expensive car worth Rs two crore on his birthday earlier this week, Amitabh denied having done so. ''who told you that I gifted him a car,''he asked.

UNI