How Piyush Pandey and Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘angry old man’ helped India beat polio

Piyush Pandey, the advertising genius behind some of India’s most memorable campaigns, passed away on Thursday at 70. Among his many collaborations, none were more impactful than his work with Amitabh Bachchan on the polio vaccination drive—a campaign widely credited with helping India eradicate the disease.

In his book Pandeymonium: Piyush Pandey on Advertising, Pandey recalled the spark behind the campaign’s twist. He approached Bachchan with a playful idea: “I rushed to Mr Bachchan and said, ‘Sir, everyone calls you the symbol of the Angry Young Man… How about you playing the Angry Old Man in this campaign?’ He loved the idea,” Pandey wrote. Bachchan also helped “fine-tune” the script, giving the campaign its punch.

The government officials, however, weren’t immediately sold. “‘How can Mr Bachchan shout at people?’ they asked,” Pandey remembered. His response? “‘Of course, he can and should. He is going to do it like a dad who is upset with his child. There is love behind the anger.’ Mr Bachchan said it would be impactful,” and that was all it took for the green light.

The campaign’s execution was equally inventive. With a tiny budget, the team often shot at locations from Bachchan’s other films or ad shoots, capturing each scene in just 20-25 minutes. The messaging was direct: Bachchan scolded parents for missing vaccination days—“Dhikkar hai ki tum kal polio ke booth pe nahi aaye. Bachche ki jaan se khel rahe ho”—and praised them when they did the right thing: “Shabash, come on.” Many parents have said they went to the booths, fearing they might disappoint the legendary actor.

On 27 March 2014, India was officially declared polio-free, and Bachchan famously didn’t take a single rupee for the campaign. The partnership between Pandey and Bachchan not only saved countless lives but also redefined the power of advertising for social change.