Greetings from an old friend

“I wish him (Bachchan) a long and healthy life and pray that he continues to serve the country and his fans with his films for many more years,” said Sinha. The two stars were the leading duo in Bollywood, ruling the box-office during the 70s with hits like Kala Pathar, Shaan, Naseeb and Dostana, but had a public fall-out later on.

Sinha had reacted strongly when Bachchan did not invite him to son Abhishek’s wedding and had refused to accept the post-marriage tokens sent out to the film fraternity.

Sinha had also on occasions taken digs at Big B for bagging awards for himself and his family through his personal connections.

But Sinha says that the hatchet has been buried.

“Despite ups and down in our relations, I hold Bachchan in high regard and always wished him well as a old time friend,” said Sinha.

“Performance, character and consistency of Bachchan are remarkable and unmatched in terms of cinema, art and culture,” he added.

Sinha said he would be happy if Bachchan comes to the premier of Ramgopal Verma's Rakta Charitra.

The film made in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil will see Sinha play the role of a politician modelled on Telugu Desam leader and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N T Rama Rao.