Anirban Das (MID-DAY; September 4, 2015)

Hollywood actor-musician Elijah Wood’s tour of India has been greatly anticipated ever since the news broke out last month. There were reports about providing special security to the international celebrity as he stops by in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad to perform with his DJ group, Wooden Wisdom. Quite interestingly, Amitabh Bachchan’s personal security officer, Jitendra Shinde, was seen by Wood’s side throughout the day.

It is believed that Big B informed Jitendra’s security agency to make special arrangements for the Hollywood celeb’s visit to Mumbai. Says a source, “Jitendra is always with Mr Bachchan when he steps out of his home. But, the latter decided to part with him on Thursday so that he could provide security to Wood. The two stars know each other quite well. Early in the morning, Jitendra reached the five-star hotel in Bandra where Wood was staying. Later, he accompanied him to a Bengali food restaurant in the vicinity where he had lunch.”

Adds the source, “Jitendra was by Wood’s side when he went to Andheri for a media interaction and later, to a Juhu club for his performance.”

Elijah will be in Delhi today before flying off to Hyderabad. He will be back in Mumbai on Monday for a three-day stay during which he will meet Big B. “Wood knows only him from Bollywood and is a big fan. He has also informed us about mixing Bachchan’s popular old Hindi film songs during his performances at a city nightclub,” the source reveals.

Jitendra says, “There was tremendous buzz about his ( Wood’s) visit and so, I have taken a day off to personally guard him with the help of my team.”