Bollywood’s who’s who, including Amitabh Bachchan and veterans such as Kamal Haasan and Rishi Kapoor, were present at a star-studded party hosted here by Indian business tycoon Anil Ambani and his wife Tina in Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s honour.
Spielberg is in India to celebrate the success of his film “Lincoln”, a co-production between his banner DreamWorks and Anil Ambani’s Reliance Entertainment.
After delivering a masterclass for as many as 61 Indian filmmakers in Mumbai on Monday, the maverick Oscar-winning director went for the party, held at the Ambanis’ residence in the upmarket Cuffe Parade area of Mumbai on Tuesday night.
Bachchan, who had anchored Spielberg’s interaction with filmmakers, was the first one to walk into the party with his wife Jaya, and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai in tow.
Among others who came were Karan Johar, Gauri Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Sridevi, Arjun Rampal, Kamal Haasan, Kajol, Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Subhash Ghai, Suzanne and Hrithik Roshan, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D’Souza, Rishi Kapoor, Suniel Shetty and Boman Irani.
“It was great interacting with Steven Spielberg. Most of the directors from Bollywood were present. He is a sort of an inspiration for the entire world,” Bhandarkar, a National award-winning director, said after the masterclass.
“Amit Ji [Bachchan] held a very nice conversation with him. People of the industry asked several questions. I always say Steven Spielberg is the God of cinema and today after meeting and talking to him, the entire industry is elated,” said Bhandarkar.
Director Ashutosh Gowariker, who was also present at the event, said: “I think it was brilliant to hear Mr Spielberg speak. I think he was very generous in his sharing of information. It was great to see the most prolific filmmaker of our time.”
