Chehre: The Big (B) Revelation, “Bachchan Saab Did Not Charge A Single Penny ”

Audiences  will be surprised to know that  Amitabh  Bachchan  is billed as  “friendly  appearance” in the opening credits of Chehre when in fact he is present in almost every frame  of  the  taut suspense  thriller.

There is  a special reason  for  acknowledging  the film’s leading actor in this atypical way.

 Reveals  the film’s director Rumi Jaffrey. “Bachchan Saab has not charged a single  penny for the film.When he heard  the  script he  was  so  happy that he insisted on  doing the  film for free.By billing him as “friendly  appearance” we are acknowledging his  exceptional  generosity in  an industry where  actors charge  for even a  sneeze.  Not only that,he also insisted on  paying for his entire expenses of shooting in Poland from his own pocket. He travelled with his  entourage on  his  own money to  Poland and paid for  all the hotel  expenses.”

Rumi  gets  emotional as he  speaks  about the  experience of working with  the Big  B. “Chehre  could not have happened without him. Ranjit Kapoor and I wrote the original script(contrary  to reports Chehre  is not a remake) keeping Bachchan Saab  in mind. If he had said no, we would have  dropped  the project. He  not  only came onboard immediately but also insisted on not taking any payment.”

Incidentally this is not the  first time that the Big B has forgone his fee. He did Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black for free.