Shaamat aur qayamat ?matlab Rakesh and Vimmy, alias Bunty and Babli?aka Abhishek and Rani. The film got one of the best openings seen in recent times. Long queues and clamouring crowds gathered together in cinema halls across the nation. The mood inside was festive, boisterous and aggressive. At a theatre in Mumbai when the two Bachchans’ item song with Aishwarya Rai came on, a little boy (approximate age, 7) jumped up in his seat and screamed, “Haye, haye, aa gayi chhammak chhallo!”

Chhammak chhallo Aishwarya Rai was shooting in far-off London when Bunty Aur Babli erupted on the screen. But she kept track of the impact that her qawwali was making across the country. “The response to my qawwali with Amitji and Abhishek is unbelievable?absolutely faaaab! I’ve been so engrossed in the shooting of my film Provoked here, I didn’t even realise Bunty Aur Babli was released. The SMS from people in the film industry and fans have just been streaming in. I must confess it’s a truly wonderful feeling. And all for a song!”

A week ago during a conversation with AB I had expressed misgivings about the qawwali, Kajrare, opining that it was a little cold on the CD. “You mark my words,” the senior Bachchan had prophesied. “People are going to go wild watching this qawwali. And they won’t be looking at me or Aishwarya. They’ll be looking only at Abhishek.” Sure enough, I heard cries of ‘Reverse reverse’ after the rumbustious qawwali was over. Yup, it’s the magic of the Bachchans plus Rai at work here. Abhishek, the balle-balle of the ball, was busy visiting theatres in Mumbai.

Subhash K. Jha