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Megastar Amitabh Bachchan turned 80 on September 11. To celebrate the milestone, his wife and son - actors Jaya Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan - joined him for a special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati that aired on Tuesday. The legendary actor got emotional as he recalled his journey in the film industry. For a segment, Abhishek donned the role of the host and started quizzing his father on the hotseat. He asked him, “What exactly was running in your mind as a young boy in Allahabad?”. To which, Amitabh promptly responded, “To cross the river and savour some hot jalebi and doodh”.
Big B’s success in the Hindi film industry is truly unprecedented. With a career spanning more than 50 years, Amitabh has won fans across the globe. But as an eight-year-old, all he had in his mind was to sneak in a plate of jalebi (or ‘jaleba’), as it was referred to in Allahabad back in the day. This crispy sweet treat would be paired with a hot glass of milk. Abhishek added that he would go for the jalebis after a bath in the Ganges. Amitabh was visibly moved.
Later in the episode, when Jaya joins Amitabh, she feeds him Lapsi. Lapsi is a Gujarati porridge made of broken wheat jaggery and milk. Why so? Because in an old video, Amitabh’s father, renowned poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, remarked that one should celebrate their 80th birthday Lapsi. Indicating that it is a dish that requires no chewing, so it is inconsequential if you are with or without teeth. Both Jaya and Amitabh chuckled looking at the old video and going down the memory lane.
Jaya also confessed that the Bachchan household is very traditional when it comes to celebrating birthdays. Harivansh won’t even wish ‘happy birthday’ in English, and to date, Amitabh doesn’t quite like cutting cakes on his birthday at home. Rather, he would celebrate the day with mithai. On the Tuesday episode of KBC, he cut a piece of milk cake and fed it to his wife and son.
We know, we know, you are not the only one drooling right now. While not all of us can book a ticket to Allahabad for the delish jalebis, here’s a fool-proof recipe you can try at home.
