Filmmaker Apoorva Lakhia, who is known for directing Amitabh Bachchan in the action-thriller Ek Ajnabee, recently shared an unforgettable anecdote about the legendary actor. In an interview with Friday Talkies, Lakhia recalled a night out in Bangkok, where he accompanied Big B to a strip club and witnessed his unexpected reaction.
Lakhia revealed that Amitabh Bachchan is an insomniac and often stayed up late watching movies. One night, however, the superstar had a different request. “One day, Big B asked me to show him around Bangkok,” Lakhia said. He hesitated at first, considering the consequences. “I said, ‘Sir, this is Patpong, there are live shows here; if I take you, there will be riots.’ He said, ‘No, we will go.’ So, I said, ‘Let’s go.’”
Accompanying them on this unexpected adventure were actors Arjun Rampal, Vikram Chatwal, Perizaad Zorabian, and producer Bunty Walia. The group headed to Patpong, a well-known red-light district in Bangkok.
Describing the moment, Lakhia shared, “He was wearing a shirt which was buttoned down (almost the whole way) and a Thai dhoti-like garment. He is walking in Patpong, and we are going to this place called Exotic Pu**y, which was the name of the club where all these shows happen.”
Bachchan’s presence in the club stunned the Indian tourists in the area. “Amit ji had never seen such a show. So imagine, we went with Amit ji for the show, and the Indians there went crazy. He was walking as if he was in Juhu,” Lakhia recalled.
What left the filmmaker most amused was Bachchan’s reaction to the show. “He kept saying ‘Mind-blowing,’” Lakhia laughed. Despite the late-night outing, Big B remained professional. “We came back at around 2:30-3 in the morning, and the superstar reported on set the next day at 5:30 am sharp, just two and a half hours after we came back,” he added.
Ek Ajnabee, which was released in 2005, was a remake of Tony Scott’s Man on Fire and starred Arjun Rampal and Perizaad Zorabian alongside Bachchan. Lakhia went on to direct films like Shootout at Lokhandwala, Zanjeer, Mission Istanbul, and Haseena Parkar.
As for Big B, he was last seen in Vettaiyan, marking his Tamil film debut alongside Rajinikanth. He is currently hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati 16 and will next be seen in Section 84, a courtroom drama directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, also starring Diana Penty, Nimrat Kaur, and Abhishek Banerjee.
