Dev Anand Was 'Made To Wait Outside' Amitabh Bachchan’s Home For Half Hour, Reveals Late Actor’s Friend

Dev Anand was one of the biggest stars of his era, admired across generations, so expectations were naturally high when he launched his autobiography in 2007. However, circumstances surrounding the event reportedly left the legendary actor confused and hurt. Amitabh Bachchan, who was invited as a special guest, made a brief appearance on stage but left soon after, skipping dinner and not collecting a copy of the book.

The following day, when Dev Anand went to Bachchan’s residence, Jalsa, to personally hand over a copy of his autobiography, he was allegedly made to wait outside the gate for nearly half an hour. The incident was recently recalled by Dev Anand’s close friend and associate, Mohan Churiwala, in an interview with Vickey Lalwani.

Mohan

shared that Amar Singh, who was close to the Bachchan family at the time, had taken responsibility for bringing Amitabh Bachchan to the book launch. “He asked, ‘Hum Amitabh ji ko bula lein?’ I said, ‘Bula lo’,” Mohan recalled, adding that Amar Singh had promised to arrive with Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Ambani and Tina Ambani.

At the time, Amar Singh was associated with the Samajwadi Party, while Maharashtra was under a Congress government led by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Things reportedly became tense when politician T Subbarami Reddy informed Dev Anand’s team that he would attend the event with Deshmukh — something that did not sit well with Amar Singh, given his strained relations with the Congress. Though Amar had assured Dev Anand that they would stay for dinner, the group left before the event concluded.

‘Had To Take Permission’ To Enter Jalsa

“Dev saab wondered, ‘Did they feel bad about something?’” Mohan recalled. After speaking to Amar Singh on the phone, Mohan decided to personally deliver the books meant for the Ambanis, Bachchan and Singh to Jalsa. At the last moment, Dev Anand insisted on accompanying him.

Describing the incident, Mohan said, “I reached Jalsa and I honked. The watchman came out, asked us about our visit and went inside. He didn’t come out for 15 minutes.” During the wait, Mohan called Amar Singh, who took another 10 minutes to respond. “Dev saab said it has been a while. Why is it taking so long?” he recalled.

When they were finally allowed inside, Amar Singh appeared in nightwear, visibly surprised to see Dev Anand, as he hadn’t been informed that the veteran actor would be accompanying Mohan. Amitabh Bachchan arrived around 15 minutes later, reportedly after returning from the health club. “We sat there for a few minutes and had tea,” Mohan said.

After Dev Anand’s death in 2011, Amar Singh addressed the incident in a conversation with Vir Sanghvi, stating that Dev had to wait because permission was required to allow any guest inside Jalsa. Recalling that interview, Mohan said, “In Vir Sanghvi’s interview, he said that if he had to call any guest, he had to take permission from the Bachchans.” He added, “I was glad that this came out after Dev saab’s death. Or else, if he heard about this that someone had to ask for permission to allow him in, he would have felt very bad.”