The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Big B’s large-hearted gesture

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Saturday, Apr 26, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Big B’s large-hearted gesture

Ramya Kannan

Photo: M. Vedhan

Amitabh Bachchan with children at KJ Hospital in Chennai on Friday. —

CHENNAI: To little children perched on kid chairs in the foyer of the hospital, the Big B seemed really big as he strode in, clad in a white Pathan kurtha.

Some of them had heard of him before and were seeing him for the first time, the younger ones were hearing of him for the very first time. Irrespective of whether they knew of him or not, it would have been difficult for the children to miss the fact brought out by rapid camera flashes — in their midst was a celebrity.

Amitabh Bachchan, on a fleeting visit to be with the child beneficiaries of Needy Little Hearts at K.J. Hospital, left behind a trail of excitement and a cheque for Rs.11 lakh. He spent a few minutes sitting amidst the children along with K. Jagadeesan, founder director of K.J. Hospital.

With genuine gladness written on his face, Mr. Bachchan received a rose from each child, while patiently waiting for excited cameramen to be satiated with their shots. That, of course, never happened. With fans, including patients of the hospital, swarming the lobby, a cordon had to be formed around Big B so that he could take two long strides to reach the makeshift stage.

P.S. Sreemathi, cardiothoracic surgeon, introduced the Needy Little Hearts scheme under which free cardiac surgeries are performed on children from poor backgrounds. Speaking after her, Mr. Bachchan appreciated the work being done by the hospital, with which he said he shared a close association and which had contributed to his health. He went on to laud the talent and acumen of Indian doctors. He then handed over a cheque for Rs.11 lakh towards the corpus fund of the Needy Little Hearts programme and then, suddenly, was gone, leaving behind a bunch of bewildered kids, deliriously happy adult fans and a lingering big buzz.

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