Amitabh Bachchan, a favourite of Tuluvas

Udupi, Oct 11, 2021: On Monday the social media was abuzz with greetings to Big B ‘entering into the 80.’

It was a celebration moment for his fans right from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

Everybody had something special to remember or tell. While some of his fans greeted him with messages, some drew his caricature, some posted the autograph and a few even made their children sing.

Actors, not only from Hindi, but even South Indian languages like Akkineni Nagarjun, Mahesh Babu, Mohanlal wished Big B.

Kudla (a general term for Dakshina Kannada) and Udipi (a variant of Udupi) always have a close bond with Mumbai and Bollywood. Long before Konkan Railway connected the Coastal Karnataka with Mumbai and many years before Ghatge Patil or Canara Pinto buses helped the movement, two ships Krishna and Bhima used to ferry people between Mangaluru and Mumbai as the latter was the destiny for the job to the people from all walks of life.

So people of the region had a close bond with Hindi and Bollywood and Amitabh Bachchan was always the favorite actor for the people here. People of Udupi and Mangaluru always queued to watch his movie in the 70s and 80s.

“His movies were a hit here. We have seen most of his movies in the 70s. Sitting in the front row we would feel that we are sitting next to him,” Jayaram of Udupi, who is in his 70s recollects.

While Amitabh Bachchan has fans everywhere celebrating his 80th year, the Tuluvas have something extra.
At least on two occasions, the people of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi will always remember and felt Bachan Ji is closer to us than others.

The first was when he flew from Mumbai to Yennehole- a small village in the Udupi district. Bachchan had come to inaugurate the school built by Encounter specialist Daya Nayak.

Villagers still cherish the memory of seeing Bachchan Ji, their favorite hero, 20 years ago.

For Mangaloreans, Bachchan Ji also sounds like Samdi ji as Tuluva girl Aishwarya Rai is the Bahu (daughter in law) of Amitabh Bachan.