MUMBAI: When Divya Bharti recalled first meeting with Amitabh Bachchan

MUMBAI: On her 48th birth anniversary, we revisit an old interview of Divya Bharti from the sets of her 1992 film Geet. She opened up about meeting Amitabh Bachchan for the first time.

 Divya Bharti had once said that she would often joke with her fans, asking them to not wash hands after they greeted her. The Bollywood star rose to fame soon after making her entry in Hindi films. On her 48th birth anniversary. Divya Bharti started working in movies when she was a teenager.

Divya Bharti’s first film was Tamil movie Nila Pennae. The same year, she also starred in Telugu movie Bobbili Raju, in which she featured opposite Venkatesh (Rana Daggubati’s uncle) and it proved to be a huge hit. She then worked with top Telugu stars such as Chiranjeevi, Mohan Babu and Nandamuri Balakrishna.

In an old interview on the sets of her 1992 film Geet, aired on Sony, Divya talked about meeting Amitabh Bachchan for the first time. Asked to share her experience of meeting a star, Divya said, “I had gone to see a rally. My dad knew Amitabh Bachchan, kind of ‘Hello, Hi’.

So dad just introduced me (to him). He shook hands with me. By the time I could come back, I just did this (gestured touching her hands) and mummy said ‘Don’t touch it. He shook hands. Don’t wash your hands for 10 days’. Coincidentally, I had to wash my hands, so I did.”

Divya then added, “Now when somebody shakes a hand, just to fool around, I tell them ‘dekho mere saath haath milaya (look, you just shook hands with me), haath dhona nahi ja ke (do not wash your hands when you leave), keep on kissing it.”

Divya made her Hindi debut with the 1991 film Vishwatma. One of her songs from the film, Saat Samundar Paar, continues to be a popular party track. In 1992, she also worked with Govinda in Shola Aur Shabnam. She co-starred with Rishi Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan in Deewana.

1993 movie Kshatriya was the last release that Divya starred in before her untimely death. Rang and Shatranj released the same year, after Divya’s death in April 1993.