Big B’s bicycle diaries
People in the eastern metropolis Thursday woke up to a very curious sight! Megastar Amitabh Bachchan cycled past a bronze statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on horseback in one of Kolkata’s busiest intersections while shooting for Shoojit Sircar’s “Piku”.
Clad in a pink kurta, half-sweater and hat, Big B deftly pedalled past buses and cycles early morning just as the traffic kicked-in around the landmark 45-year-old statue at the Shyambazar five-point crossing in north Kolkata.
The statue, sculpted by Nagesh Yoglekar, was unveiled by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (now Kolkata Municipal Corporation) in 1969.
Towering over the sea of humanity and maze of vehicles, it serves as a marker which points out the four cardinal directions, with the horse facing the north.
On Thursday, Bachchan went in the southern direction, in what seemed to be right beneath Netaji’s nose.
The cine icon was on a bicycle while the Indian nationalist leader’s replica rode a horse.
Both, however, had something in common – love and admiration from the city.
Onlookers and fans gathered at the spot. Some waved and cheered, while the majority indulged in a frenzy of clicking photographs.
Despite the presence of his fans, the 71-year-old actor was focused on his job.
Shyambazar is the busiest intersection in north Kolkata and is known to be the gateway to the northern suburban areas of the sprawling capital. Thursday being a public holiday, Guru Nanak Jayanti, the streets were relatively traffic-free.
This was Bachchan’s second outing on a cycle since Sunday when he was spotted making his way through the city’s nerve centre BBD Bagh that houses numerous heritage structures as also the Writers Buildings – the regular seat of the West Bengal government.
