Amitabh Bachchan was offered AB Aani CD on KBC sets, says director Milind Lele

In Milind Lele’s Marathi movie AB Aani CD, the initials ‘AB’ represent Amitabh Bachchan while ‘CD’ stands for the name of Vikram Gokhale’s character Chandrakant Deshpande. During an exclusive chat with us, Lele recalls how the makers succeeded in getting Bachchan on board.  

Lele tells us that Gokhale played a big role in getting Bachchan for the project. “He agreed because of Vikram ji’s efforts and his friendship with Amitabh Bachchan. His casting added a new depth to the film,” he said. 

Interestingly, Lele visited the sets of Bachchan’s game show, Kaun Banega Crorepati to narrate the film, along with Gokhale and writer Hemant Edlabadkar. Recalling the experience, Lele said, “He read the one-liner. He asked a few questions and generally chatted with us. We learnt that he had liked it, but would let us know. Then we heard from Vikram Sir that he would do it. He was convinced about it.” 

According to Lele, the film would have been shelved if Bachchan hadn’t agreed to be a part of it. “This film wouldn’t have happened without Amitabh Bachchan. There are some films which just can’t happen without proper casting. This is one such movie. The story is such that it could not have worked without him,” he said. 

There was some pressure on Lele, especially since he was directing someone like Bachchan. Speaking about the experience, he said, “Once he understood the scene, you just needed to tell him what to do, and that’s it. He also gave some retakes. But sometimes, you are required to give a retake for some technical reasons.” 

When asked about the subject of AB Aani CD, the director smiled and said, “Generally everyone in Marathi cinema says that their film’s topic has not been tried before, but it is actually true in our case. The story is strong and different.” 

Also starring Sayali Sanjeev and Akshay Tanksale, AB Aani CD will be released on 13 March.