'Feud' with Gandhi's a closed chapter: Amitabh
- IndiaGlitz, [Saturday,October 16 2004]
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has declared as a "closed chapter" an apparent feud with the Gandhi family on the manner in which he was treated during his brief stint in politics.
"I've nothing more to say on the matter. I wouldn't have said anything if the media hadn't suddenly descended with its volley of leading questions," Bachchan told IANS from Varanasi, where he shot with son Abhishek for Shaad Ali's "Bunty Aur Bubbly", which also stars Rani Mukherjee.
"I said what I had to. Having said what I did, the chapter is closed, for now and for the future.
"What I share with the Gandhis isn't meant for public consumption. Some of the media may enjoy this kind of thing. I certainly don't. Peace of mind is far too important for me to get into media-manufactured controversies," he declared.
Jaya Bachchan had fired the first salvo when she charged that the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had unfairly treated her husband. Gandhi's son Rahul, a first time MP from Amethi expressed displeasure at this and this triggered off a proxy war in the print media.
It's a well-known fact that the Gandhi family chose to distance itself from the Bachchans after Rajiv Gandhi's tragic and sudden death in 1991. Whatever the reason for their differences, Bachchan has never publicly spoken about the fall-out. Rajiv Gandhi was a dear friend, and the issue was left at that, until this sudden inexplicable flare-up.
An off-the-cuff remark was used by a section of the media to try and instigate Bachchan to speak up against the Gandhis.
"It was a very dangerous game and one that could have easily snowballed into a major conflict. Fortunately, Bachchan didn't rise to the bait," said a close associate of the star.