A Life-Size Statue of ‘God’ Amitabh Bachchan Installed Outside an Indian American Home in Edison, N.J.
- Designed and made in Rajasthan and shipped to the U.S, the entire project cost Gopi and Rinku Seth more than $75,000.
There is no denying that Indian actors have a strong fan following all over the world. Die-hard fans collect memorabilia of their favorite stars, start clubs in their honor, ink tattoos and even build temples to worship them. One such iconic and beloved Bollywood thespian is Amitabh Bachchan.
This past weekend, Indian American fans of the superstar installed a life-size statue at their home. Gopi Sethi and his wife Rinku, who consider the actor “nothing less than a god,” unveiled the statue with much fanfare outside their home in Edison, New Jersey. The statue shows Bachchan seated in “Kaun Banega Crorepati” style and is placed inside a large glass box.
A large crowd of Bachchan fans, estimated by the Press Trust India as around 600, attended the event. “The ceremony was accompanied by the bursting of fire-crackers and an impromptu dance by a fan club of the Indian superstar,” the PTI report said. In a video shared on Twitter, Gopi Seth can be seen unveiling the statue to the famous song “Rang Barse” from “Silsila.”
Seth, an internet security engineer, immigrated to the U.S. from Dahod in Gujarat in 1990. He has been running www.BigBEFamily.com, a website for “Big B Extended Family,” for the past three decades. Seth told PTI that the website is “a repository of the global fans of Amitabh Bachchan.” He added that the database is shared with the superstar. Seth said he first met “his god” during Navaratri celebrations in New Jersey in 1991.
The entire project cost him more than $75,000 The statue was specially designed and made in Rajasthan and then shipped to the U.S. “Installing a statue in the U.S.comes with a lot of challenges and this was more difficult than others,” Seth told PTI.
After knowing about Seth’s intention, Bachchan dissuaded him from stalling the statue, Seth told PTI. The “Sholay” actor said he does not deserve this kind of treatment, Seth said. But that didn’t stop him. “The biggest thing that inspires me about him is not only his reel life, but also the real life … how he manages himself in public, how he conveys and communicates…everything you know,” Seth was quoted as saying. “He is very down to earth. He takes care of his fans. He is not like so many other stars. This is why I thought I should have his statue outside of my house.”
It is such a sad state of mind of many of Indians. Sad Sad Sad !