Special prayers for Big B's recovery

"When we heard about Mr. Bachchan's illness we thought we should do the pooja (prayers) for his speedy recovery," Sanjay Bharadwaj, Siddhivinayak Temple CEO, told us.

He said the temple was still receiving several calls for performing special prayers for Bachchan.

The prayers were held at 11.30 a.m. and part of the offering was sent for the Bachchan family at the Lilavati Hospital where the megastar was admitted.

Bachchan, 63, had complained of stomach ache and was first admitted to a hospital in Delhi. He was later flown in here by a chartered plane Monday night.

Hospital authorities said the actor was in a stable condition and undergoing tests, the results of which were awaited.

"I took the offerings to the hospital, but unfortunately could not meet the family members," said Kishore Joshi, a temple trustee.

According to temple officials, Amitabh's wife, actress and parlimentarian Jaya Bachchan, had visited the temple on four consecutive Tuesdays in the early 1980s when the actor had met with a life-threatening accident during the shooting of his movie "Coolie".