Big B's phoney prank on Dia!

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Posted: 18 years ago

Big B's phoney prank on Dia!
By: Vickey Lalwani
April 2, 2007

Mirza almost fainted with fright when her cell phone 'rang' in the middle of Bachchan's monologue sequence for a film

I Don't Hear A 'Sorry': Amitabh Bachchan

Film actors' penchant for pranks in not unknown in B-Town. And Dia Mirza has often been at the receiving end in the past, but she never dreamed that the usually stern Amitabh Bachchan would also get a few laughs at her expense.

Recently, while filming a long courtroom scene for Shootout at Lokhandwala, Dia almost fainted with fright when the Big B confronted her about a blunder that wasn't her doing.

The scene was being shot inside Elphinstone College in Central Mumbai and involved a monologue that Bachchan's character (a lawyer) had to deliver in court.

Dia, who plays a reporter in the film, was standing near him. Suddenly, when Bachchan was halfway through his monologue, a mobile phone rang.
Says a unit source, "When Mr Bachchan is in the middle of shooting a scene, nobody dares to disturb him.

And this wasn't even a short scene it was a three-page monologue, so all the actors required for the scene (including Sanjay Dutt, Amrita Singh, Sunil Shetty, Arbaaz Khan, Neha Dhupia and Aarti Chhabria) had been strictly instructed to put their cell phones off.

When we heard the phone ringing, there was pin-drop silence for at least 30 seconds as everybody was stunned."

Before anybody could speak, director Apoorva Lakhia shouted at Dia to put her phone off.

"Hearing this, Bachchan turned to Dia and said, "Is that your phone, Dia?" and the actress almost fainted in fright, thinking she had disturbed the Big B.

For a few moments, Dia didn't even realise that the ringtone was not from her phone, thinking that she had forgotten to switch it off," adds the source, laughing.

Masterminded by anna

It Wasn't Me! Dia Mirza

Looking at the stunned expression on her face, the entire unit burst out laughing, including the Big B.

Says Dia, "The shot had to be redone, but everyone had a hearty laugh at my expense. When the shot was finally over, Sunil and Arbaaz ragged me no end!"

So whose phone was it? Assistant director Shawn Arranha reveals that Sunil Shetty had masterminded the entire prank.

"Anna (Sunil) came up with this prank, and we all thought that it would be good fun to scare Dia.

Mr Bachchan knew about the prank and he was game to play along, even though he had a really long dialogue to say in the shot," says Shawn.

"We planted my phone close to where Dia was standing, and dialed the number in the middle of the shot.

When the phone rang and Mr Bachchan turned to Dia with a stern expression on her face, she got s*** scared! Of course, she took it sportingly, but considering the prank also involved Mr Bachchan, I'm sure she will not forget the incident for a long time."

Dia adds with a laugh, "I'm surprised Mr Bachchan took Apoorva's cue and joined the gag. Imagine, I was ragged by Mr Bachchan! Looking back, it was definitely fun but something that almost gave me a heart attack!"

Shootout At Lokhandwala, produced by White Feather Films and Balaji Telefilms, will hit theatres on May 25.

https://www.mid-day.com/hitlist/2007/april/154628.htm 😆

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