Five years ago, little Agastya's father was summoned to school because of his 'unusual' behaviour ¡ª the child, unlike his classmates, would talk obsessively about Amitabh Bachchan.
A psychiatrist too was called. Agastya's father, Sanjay Patodia, simply laughed away the teachers' concerns. For someone who had converted his apartment's garage into an Amitabh Bachchan temple 16 years ago, and now wears a 17gm gold pendant of the 'Lord' specially designed from stones sourced from Thailand, obsessing over the Big B is a way of life.
So it's no surprise that Patodia, as secretary of the All Bengal Amitabh Bachchan Fans' Association (ABABF), has organised a sit-and-draw competition on the Bachchan theme on October 11. Children between five and 13 years from Dum Dum's Happy New Home have been invited to participate. They will be given Bachchan T-shirts. ABABF treasurer and Sanjay's brother Vijay Kumar Patodia says: "We heard on Kaun Banega Crorepati that Da (brother in Bengali) will donate his own clothes to an NGO called Goonj. On his 75th birthday this Wednesday, we will also be donating clothes to Goonj. These will be used to make sanitary napkins that will be distributed among women in rural India."
This is only the third time in almost two decades (earlier being during the shooting of 'Kante' in 2001 and in 2008 when he was hospitalised) that Sanjay Patodia and the other 'devotees' from Kolkata will not be making their annual pilgrimage to Jalsa on October 11. "We met Da in September and I suppose he won't be there in Mumbai on his birthday," says Patodia. His outstretched arms flaunt two tattoos of the actor's profile and his signature. "The word Amitabh has been tattooed in the style he writes in. The word Bachchan has been written in the style used by his father," he explains.
On Wednesday, a purohit will conduct special prayers. An Amitabh chalisa ¡ª a new-age Hanuman Chalisa beginning with the lines 'Hey Harivansh Gyan Gun Sagar/Apse Hue Ek Avtar Ujagar/ Hariputra Atulit Baldhama/ Tejiputra Amitabh Hai Nama' ¡ª will be recited.
The chalisa, printed on a simple notebook, rests on a puja thali in the temple. Family members conduct aarti twice daily to the ringing of a ghanti. There are no flowers, and no prasad. A poster pasted alongside Bachchan's lifesize photograph states brazenly: 'Sorry God, we worship Amitji more than You'. A 'Bachchan shloka' penned in Bengali says: 'Hindus worship Radha-Krishna, Christians worship Jesus Christ, we are different and for us Amitabh is the Lord (Hindura jope radhe keshto/Christian Probhu Jishu Krishto/Moder dhara Onnyorokom/ Amitabhi-ishto)'.
Till last year, the aarti was performed in front of a pair of beige-coloured shoes worn by Bachchan in 'Toofan' and 'Agneepath'. Now, there is an idol in the form of the actor's Subhash Nagre look from 'Sarkar'. It sits on an ornate green throne that was actually used in his supernatural thriller 'Aks'. Specially printed wallpapers with the words 'Jai Shree Amitabh' are plastered on the walls inside the sanctum sanctorum. During the aarti, cries of 'Jai Shree Amitabh' and 'Har Har Amitabh' rent the air.
Just outside the sanctum sanctorum is a seating area with two plastic sofas and a rack with four glass boxes to display Bachchan memorabilia ¡ª two pairs of shoes, a pair of sunglasses and a pair of power glasses. Also displayed are four blazers worn by him during KBC. There montages of his photos from various films and events, with some rare black-and-white family photographs tucked here and there.
Patodia claims that visitors from distant countries drop by to offer obeisance. No one is refused entry even if they come after midnight. But he admits that the temple situated in the narrow bylanes of Tiljala isn't a favourite with Kolkatans. "I suppose 99% in Kolkata don't even know about it," he says. Classmates of Patodia's sons ¡ª Agastya and Abhishek ¡ª visit the temple sometimes. "Some of them are curious. Others think we are mad. Some are even jealous of our proximity to God," say the youngsters.
What about the legend himself? "No, we haven't asked him to come here. But he has seen videos," says Patodia, apparently content in the belief that the 'Lord' is omnipresent.