JOIN USRIP Amar Singh: A look at veteran politician's chequered relationship with Amitabh Bachchan
Veteran politician and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh passed away on Saturday, leaving his well-wishers in a state of shock. The Rajya Sabha MP shared a chequered relationship with Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, which often grabbed attention for a variety of reasons.
Singh's association with the Bachchans started shortly after Big B launched his production house Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) and added a new dimension to his career. Several films produced by the banner, including the much-hyped Mrityudata (1997), failed to live up to expectations and this took a toll on the company's standing.
Things soon turned from bad to worse, forcing the matinee idol to request the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction to declare ABCL a 'sick company', It was then that Singh reportedly stepped in to help him clear his debt. The two remained family friends and often attended public functions together. In fact, Big B once called Singh his 'younger brother' and indicated that he was a part of the family.
The relationship, however, hit a rough patch shortly after Singh was arrested for allegedly trying to bribe three MPs to support the then UPA government during a trust vote in 2008. Big B did not visit him when he was in jail and this did not go down well with the political bigwig. The Pink actor did, however, pay him a visit when Singh was out on a bail but the damage had been done.
"When he came to meet me, I didn’t feel like talking to him because the feelings I had for him, the friendship, had gone. They had got filtered from my mind and the realisation had dawned that mostly people are weathercocks.” (sic) Singh was quoted as saying the popular book Behind Bars: Prison Tales of India’s Most Famous.
He later made a few harsh statements about actress-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan, which ruffled a few feathers.
Earlier this year, nearly a decade after the fallout, Singh apologised to the Bachchans for his 'overreaction' and requested them to let bygones be bygones.
"Today is my father’s death anniversary & I got a message for the same from @SrBachchan ji. At this stage of life when I am fighting a battle of life & death I regret my overreaction against Amit ji & family. God bless them all," (sic) he tweeted.
Singh's death is a loss for the political fraternity and his near and dear ones.