Subhash K Jha (DNA; September 28, 2017)

This October, Amitabh Bachchan turns 75. For reasons he won’t spell out he has announced there will be no birthday celebrations this time. “Just not allowed. Nope. No bash. No party. No celebration,” Mr B told this writer.

A plan is afoot
So is that final? Well, no. The family never known to take his stubborn decisions too seriously, will go right ahead with a grand birthday bash. “They had a huge 60th birthday and 70th birthday bash. Seventy-five is an important age, too. For some reason, he (Mr B) has decided he won’t ‘allow’ any 75th birthday celebration.”

Two options
So, the family has come up with two celebration options. Either the Bachchans head out of Mumbai for a family get-together. Or else they have a get-together in Mumbai for close family and friends. Says a family friend, “Close family and friends means a guest list of at least 150 people, which the immediate family has already started planning.”

Family matters
Opinion on whether the 75th birthday bash should happen is divided within the Bachchan household. “While wife Jaya feels the family should comply with the patriarch’s wish to keep it low-key this year, his children, Shweta and Abhishek, are planning a relatively restrained birthday party for their dad,” concludes the family friend.