Amitabh Bachchan meets cerebral palsy-afflicted youth Ayush Kundal, after cancelling a previous meeting and even apologises for it.
Ayush Kundal meets Amitabh Bachchan. Also seen are Kundal's mother Saroj and Suresh Jumani (orange shirt) who helped arrange the meeting
After years of watching Kaun Banega Crorepati at his neighbours' houses, a 22-year-old Indore man finally met his idol, Amitabh Bachchan, on Monday. The youth, Ayush Kundal, who is afflicted by cerebral palsy, was supposed to meet the veteran actor on Sunday, but Bachchan could not meet him then owing to some health issues. Disappointed, Kundal and his mother were about to board a train to go back home, when they were called back by the actor.
Kundal, who is differently-abled, paints with the toes of his left leg. He cannot speak, but is a huge fan of the actor and had made some paintings of him which he had brought along. Kundal's mother, Saroj, is a housewife and his father, Piyush, is a labourer. They live in Badwa village in Indore. As the family doesn't have a television at home, Kundal has watched KBC and Bachchan's movies at their neighbours' houses.
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'A huge fan of Mr Bachchan'
Saroj said, "Ayush was born with cerebral palsy and 90 per cent of his body is afflicted by it. Only the toes of his leg move and he paints with them. He is a really huge fan of Amitabh Bachchan and through Facebook we contacted Suresh Jumani, who is a member of a fan group of the actor. We wanted their help to meet Bachchan."
Kundal paints with the toes of his left foot
The fan group helped Kundal realise his dream. "We are not well-to-do. So the fan group helped us with tickets to Mumbai. On Sunday morning we reached Mumbai by train and the team promised us they would help us meet Amitabh Bachchan. But, on Sunday at 6 pm at Jalsa, a staff member announced that Mr Bachchan's health was not good and he could not meet fans. I was very upset and we decided to return to Indore. But when we were about to take the train at 8.30 pm, the team arrived and requested us not to go home, as Mr Bachchan wanted to meet us and he had also apologised for cancelling the earlier meeting," Saroj said.
'They bought the paintings'
"On Monday, Amitabh Bachchan had a meeting at Goa. We thought again we would miss the chance to meet him. But at 6 pm sharp he met us at his Janak bungalow in Juhu. The team bought all of Ayush's paintings and gifted them to Bachchan. They also gave us R50,000 for them," a beaming Saroj added. The actor was happy to meet Kundal and messaged the fan group later.
"My special friend, Ayush, truly special… has so many limitations of speech and movement but his heart and feet move in the directions that most understand.
He paints with his feet. He paints all the images from KBC that he enjoys. I am so sorry that I missed him on Sunday, but after a request from the fan group's team and Jumani, I was able to get him back. The next evening I had the honour of a private meeting. Bless you Ayush and may the almighty keep you in his blessings. My gratitude and love," Bachchan wrote.
Rs 50k
The amount the fan group bought Kundal's paintings for
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