Social media has expressed strong disapproval of Manu Bhaker’s recent compliments to Amitabh Bachchan. The sharpshooter, who appeared on Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) 16 alongside fellow Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat, said the host is world-famous, suggesting he’s the first person, other than Shah Rukh Khan, to come to people’s minds when she says she’s from India.
“Koi bhi nahin hoga India mein toh aapki pictures nahi dekhi hain. Bahar bhi main jaati hoon na, aapko sab jaante hain, Sir. Bus wo ye bolte hain, ‘India, oh, Amitabh Bachchan… Shah Rukh Khan’ (There’s probably no one in India who hasn’t watch your films. Even when I go outside India, everyone knows you, Sir. They just say, ‘India, oh, Amitabh Bachchan… Shah Rukh Khan’),” Bhaker told Bachchan.
The Olympian’s equation of the KBC host with Shah Rukh wasn’t received particularly well on the internet. Perhaps, for many, the least favourite part was where she implied Bachchan was closely associated with India.
“Traveled over 80 Countries, but no one ever uttered name of Amitabh Bacchan, it's always Gandhi, Shah Rukh Khan. In fact Raj Kapoor is more popular than Amitabh Bacchan. Stop glorifying pliable Bachchan,” read a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Another, echoing the same sentiment, said, “Im from India till date i never watched amitabh bachan movie ( except kalki ) stop glorifying this bollywood s**t."
“I was once auditing a film course & our visiting professor from the King’s College randomly asked during a class- who’s that annoying oldie with a French beard I keep seeing in every advertisement in India?,” recalled a third.
Bhaker's favourite actor is anyone's guess, but Bachchan is definitely not the first one of whom she has spoken highly. Previously, the shooter described Tamil actor and GOAT star Vijay as a “darling”
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she won two bronze medals, falling short of a third, in different pistol-shooting categories.