Guess Which Bollywood Film Atal Bihari Vajpayee Watched 25 Times!

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one of the most widely loved an respected leaders of all time courtesy his diligence, and his unassuming nature. As the nation mourns the loss of the BJP stalwart, condolences poured in from all quarters, including Bollywood. A number of celebrities took to social media to pay tributes to Vajpayee. However, while it is a well-known fact that former PM Vajpayee was a master of words and a skilled poet, the former Indian Prime minister was also a Bollywood fanatic. 

Those who were close to Atal Bihari Vajpayee knew that he had a deep insight into films and theatre. And as per reports, Vajpayee was a fan of veteran actress and BJP MP Hema Malini's films. In fact, the former Indian Prime Minister even watched Malini's 1972 film 'Seeta Aur Geeta' 25 times! The film featured Hema Malini in a double role as she played twin sisters in the Ramesh Sippy directorial. 'Seeta Aur Geeta' also starred Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar among others. 

As per reports, in an interview last year, Hema Malini had revealed that Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a bit hesitant when she met him for the first time. She reportedly said that she told the office-bearers that although he has mentioned Atal Bihari Vajpayee in her speeches, she is yet to meet him personally. Hema Malini went on to reveal that when she was taken to meet him, she noticed a sense of hesitancy in former PM Vajpayee. The actress then confronted a woman present there about Atal Bihari Vajpayee's behaviour. It was at that moment she got to know about former PM Vajpayee's fondness for her films and that he had in fact watched 'Seeta Aur Geeta' 25 times. 

The former Indian Prime Minister was also known for his impeccable ability to put thoughts into words in the form of poetry. A number of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s poems were published and in fact, one of them titled ‘Kya Khoya Kya Paaya’ was converted into a ghazal, the music video for which was directed by Yash Chopra. Jagdish Singh lent his soulful voice to the song and the video featured none other than Shah Rukh Khan. The ghazal was a part of Jagjit Singh's 2002 album ‘Samvedna’. In addition to this, the first verses of the song were penned by lyricist Javed Akhtar and voiced by Amitabh Bachchan.

Thousands bid a teary-eyed farewell to Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was cremated in a state funeral at Smriti Sthal on August 17.