When A Famous Director Got Slapped For Gifting Amitabh Bachchan A Rolls Royce
A lot of people still don't know that the Rolls Royce Phantom VIII, which was once owned by the legendary Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, was actually gifted to him by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Now, years later, during an interview, Chopra revealed a few interesting details of what actually happened after he gifted this Rs 4.5 crore Rolls Royce Phantom to Big B. He stated that soon after he revealed to his mother that it cost Rs 4.5 crore, he was given a slap by his mom.
According to Vidhu Vinod Chopra, after finishing the shoot of his movie Eklavya: The Royal Guard, he gifted a Rolls Royce Phantom VII to Amitabh Bachchan for “tolerating” him throughout the shoot. He then revealed that during the handover ceremony of the gift, he brought along his mother to meet Big B.
Chopra, during the interview, also revealed that his mother was the one who handed over the keys to the Rolls Royce Phantom VII to Amitabh Bachchan, whom she fondly called “Lamboo” due to his height. The director then added that while they were returning to their home in his blue-colored Maruti Omni van, his mother stated, “Tu Lamboo nu gaadi dedi?” I said, “Haan.” She looked shocked and said, “Tu khud kyun nahi leta gaadi?”
Following this, Chopra then dropped another bomb in front of his mother by telling her the actual cost of the car. He stated that his mother was under the impression that the vehicle he gifted to Big B cost Rs 11 lakh. However, when he told her that it cost Rs 4.5 crore, she slapped him and said, “Bewakoof.” The director then added, “What is money if it can’t bring you joy?”
Before the shoot of Eklavya commenced, Jaya Bachchan warned Amitabh that working with Vidhu Vinod Chopra would be hard and he wouldn't be able to work with him for more than a week. Due to this warning, Mr. Bachchan packed light for the shoot, and, proving Jaya Bachchan’s warning right, the creative disagreements started increasing by the end of the first week.
However, as Amitabh Bachchan was resilient and respectful, he continued the shoot and finished the film. He said, “It was humbling for a star of his stature to tolerate me.” So, due to this, he gifted him the Rs 4.5 crore Rolls Royce Phantom VII. Unfortunately, Eklavya did not perform well at the box office; however, Vidhu Vinod Chopra did not blame anyone for the failure.
The Rolls Royce Phantom VII gifted by Vidhu Vinod Chopra was finished in the beautiful shade of pearl white. What made it even more special was that it had the VIP registration number “MH 02 BB 0002.” It came powered by a 6.7-litre V12 petrol engine that generated a maximum of 453 PS and 722 Nm of peak torque. The engine was mated to an automatic transmission, and the power was sent to the rear wheels.
Currently, this particular Rolls Royce Phantom is owned by Bengaluru-based businessman Yousuf Shariff. Unfortunately, this vehicle was later seized by the Bengaluru RTO as the owner did not pay Rs 38.36 lakh road tax. The vehicle is still registered under the name of Amitabh Bachchan, despite it being bought by the businessman back in 2021. Shariff also owns a Rolls Royce Ghost, which was previously owned by actor Aamir Khan, and it also has a tax due of Rs 19.83 lakh.