Veteran actor Ram Sethi’s association with Indian cinema icon Amitabh Bachchan stretches far beyond the glitz of the silver screen, tracing back to the corridors of Kirori Mal College in Delhi. Long before they became cinematic fixtures, Sethi was the college drama director and actor, while Bachchan was a quiet junior who observed from a distance.
Reflecting on their early interactions, Sethi shared, “We were college mates; he was junior to me. I was the college drama director and actor. I used to make others act, and he used to watch me from far away. When we met on Zanjeer, I said, ‘Did you study at the Kirori Mal College?’ He said, ‘Yes, I know you very well, you were there.’”
Sethi recalled wishing Bachchan regularly on his birthdays before the latter became a superstar saying, “I used to send him birthday cards, and he always replied with a note by post. But as he grew busier, the replies stopped, so I stopped sending them. Though birthday wishes ended, he still warmly invited me over for Holi and Diwali.”
From Lanky Newcomer to Mega Star
Despite seeing him in college, Sethi admits he never predicted Bachchan’s meteoric rise. He recalled a lesser-known early audition where a recommendation brought Bachchan in for a prospective film on Mirza Ghalib.
“I remember he was such a lanky, young boy. How did he come for Mirza Ghalib’s role? The film was not made, and the matter stayed there, but that was the first time I saw him coming for an audition. Before that, I had no idea that he had a hobby of acting…”
When Bachchan entered the film industry, his early path was far from smooth. Sethi noted that after several initial films flopped, skeptics doubted his potential as a leading man. However, the historic success of Zanjeer (1973) changed everything overnight, turning public sentiment into mass adoration.
Even as a peer, Sethi confessed to feeling intimidated at times. “He is a very educated, intelligent, and cultured person. I always had an inferiority complex from him, that he speaks English very well and I didn’t know how to, I am from a Hindi medium background,” he shared.
A Missed Directorial Collaboration and the Coolie Accident
Sethi transitioned into an assistant director and occasional director, often stepping in for filmmaker Prakash Mehra. He was poised to make his feature directorial debut on a high-profile film titled Ghungroo (1983), starring Bachchan as a snake charmer alongside Shashi Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, and Smita Patil.
Excited to step out of his comedic shadow to helm an A-grade movie, Sethi’s plans came to a sudden halt following Bachchan’s near-fatal accident on the sets of Coolie (1983) in Bangalore.
“Every day, Prakash Mehra ji and I would just pray that there was not bad news,” Sethi recalled of the anxious days at Breach Candy Hospital.
Once Bachchan recovered enough to communicate, he urged Sethi to move forward without him. Displaying immense resolve, Sethi recast the role with Suresh Oberoi and also cast Manoj Kumar’s son Kunal Goswami to wrap up production swiftly.
Unknowing Hosts to Political Royalty
During Bachchan’s peak stardom and his entry into politics as a close friend of Rajiv Gandhi, Sethi found himself playing an unwitting host. When Rajiv Gandhi used to come to meet Bachchan at Prakash Mehra’s shooting, he used to give instructions to Sethi, ‘Please, whenever you have to call me, you must come yourself, don’t send any other assistant.’
“I didn’t know that he is Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s son,” Sethi chuckled recalling how he would casually escort the future Prime Minister into a room, switch on the air conditioning, and offer him tea or cold drinks, completely unaware of his high-profile identity at first.
A Close Call on the Set of Kaalia
Among the lighter moments of sharing studio floors, Sethi recounted a heart-stopping hazard during the filming of Kaalia. Playing a character with a disability, Sethi spent his time on set with one leg tied up in rope.
During a lunch break, while Bachchan casually peered through a camera viewfinder, chaos erupted. “There was a 7-8 feet long green snake wrapped around the camera, and I said, ‘Amitabh, don’t go near it, it will bite you!’ Everybody shouted, ‘Amitabh, get away, there’s a snake there!’”
As the crew scattered in panic, Sethi found himself scrambling for safety with a bound leg, desperately untying his rope just in case the reptile decided to head his way—a quintessential behind-the-scenes memory from a friendship forged across decades of Bollywood history.