MUMBAI: Singer Mika Singh recalled how Daler Mehndi once played a prank on him by making him believe he was speaking to megastar Amitabh Bachchan over the phone.
Recalling the hilarious incident, Mika, who was seen as a guest on the 18th edition of Kaun Banega Crorepati, shared how he had excitedly messaged the megastar with links to his songs, only to discover later that Daler had fooled him.
Reliving their very first meeting during the shoot of Daler Mehndi's iconic song Na Na Na Na Re, Mika shared a memorable memory filled with excitement and innocent pranks by saying, "Main uss gaane mein piche guitar baja raha tha aur lambe baal the mere, socha yeh tha ki best performance dena hain lekin ek hiran hota hain aur ek sher hota hain aur hue yeh ki bachchan sir aaye aur mere baaju mein baithe aur main guitar hath mein pakadkar bajarhaa tha aur maine muh dusre taraf kiya tha aur photo aaj bhi mere pass hain.”
(I was playing the guitar in the background of that song, and I had long hair. I thought I had to give my best performance, but there is a deer and there is a lion, and what happened was that Mr. Bachchan arrived and sat beside me. I was holding the guitar and playing it, and I had turned my face to the other side. I still have that photograph with me today.)
“Fir set pe dhabe bhar ke khaana aaya aur main punjab se aaya tha kisse kya bolna hain pata nahi tha. Toh daler paaji ne mujhe bola ki yeh khaan jaya bhabhi ne bheja hain aur fir main khush hokar khane laga. Fir mujhe kisine bola ki yeh jaya ji ne nahi yeh shoot ka khaana hain aur daler paaji ne prank kiya tha."
(Then, food arrived on the set in huge quantities, like an entire dhaba's worth, and I had come from Punjab and didn't know how to speak to people or what to say. So, Daler paaji told me that Jaya bhabhi had sent the food, and I happily started eating. Then someone told me that it wasn't sent by Jaya ji; it was the food for the shoot, and Daler paaji had played a prank on me)
Acknowledging the special connection that blossomed over the years, Big B responded by saying, "Lekin sachmein uske baad inke saath joh rishta ban gaya hain ki yeh humme sirf bata dete hain ki paaji main aaraha hoon aapse milne itna heen sirf bol dete hain."
(But truly, the bond that we have developed since then is such that he simply tells me, ‘Paaji, I am coming to meet you.’ That is all he needs to say)
Mika shared another hilarious incident about sending messages to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and getting pranked once again by Daler Mehndi by saying, "Fir bohot saalon baad mere gaane hit hone lage Falguniji aur mujhe kahi se toh Bachchan Sir ka number mila aur main inko message karta gaya aur gaane ke links bhejta gaya yeh sochke ki Bachchan Sir hain reply aaya toh aaya. 6 mahine baad inka reply aaya 'Good' aur main khushi se uchalne laga bed pe aur maine Daler paaji ko yeh baat batayi.”
(Then, many years later, my songs started becoming hits, Falguni ji, and somehow I got Mr. Bachchan's number. I kept messaging him and sending him links to my songs, thinking that he was Mr. Bachchan, and if he replied, he replied. After six months, he replied with ‘Good’, and I started jumping on my bed with happiness.)
“Daler paaji ne kaha, ki main teri baat sir se karata hoon phone pe aur meri baat karayi phone pe aur mujhe laga yeh joh phone pe hain voh asli Amitabh Bachchan hain aur maine fir message karna band kardiya. Mujhe paaji ne baadmein bola ki unhone prank kiya hain.
(I told Daler paaji about it. Daler paaji said that he would get me to speak to Sir over the phone, and he arranged a phone conversation for me. I thought that the person speaking to me on the phone was the real Amitabh Bachchan, so I stopped messaging him after that. Later, paaji told me that he had played a prank on me.)
“Fir main ek baar mere gaane ke premiere pe tha aur vaha Bachchan Sir aaye the aur main inse chupne laga lekin inhone mujhe dekha aur fir apne pass bulya aur pucha ki 'tum message nahi karte'.”
(Then, once, I was at the premiere of one of my songs, and Mr. Bachchan was there. I started hiding from him, but he spotted me, called me over to him, and asked, ‘You don't message me anymore?’)