Amitabh Bachchan's 80th Birthday: Anwar Ali says Big B taught him that friends are family - Exclusive

Mehmood's brother and producer Anwar Ali is emotional as his close friend Amitabh Bachchan celebrates his 80th birthday. On this momentous occasion, Ali shares his honest emotions and feelings with ETimes. In his own words...
"Amitabh and I have transformed from black sideburns to grey hair"
Amitabh Bachchan is 80 and our friendship is 52 years old. It's no different from Amitabh at 27 and our very first meeting.I learnt on day one that Amitabh is a man of few words. And so our friendship followed. Defined by oscillating periods of action, adventure, excitement, silence, our friendship seemed to take centre stage in our lives.
Decades down the line, it certainly doesn’t seem like yesterday. For, Amitabh and I have traversed many a territory transforming from long black sideburns to longer seasoned grey!
"He is my co-star, my actor but also my friend"
It feels like we have always been together, even when apart. I cherish our frequent trips to the “circle” of places of worship, our shared togetherness and faith in the most divine surroundings. I cherish the Holi celebrations at Amitabh’s that endorsed our zest for life.
I may have been his co-actor (in Saat Hindustani, Bombay to Goa, Manzil, Bansi Birju, Parwana…), I may have been his producer (Kunwaara Baap, Khud-Daar), but most of all I am his friend.
"We don't need to communicate to stay in touch"
Thanks to Amitabh, I came to discover that friends are family. We have shared varied experiences of life together. Experiences of struggle, achievement, aspiration, despair, dreams, reality, perhaps much more. Above all we have shared an understanding of each other, realising that any give and take in our simple friendship has always been unconditional.
Our friendship today is defined by the same silence, the same space that is uniquely characterised by a constant chatter of communication from heart to heart. That perhaps is what makes him so special. The fact that he can reach out without communicating.
"The entire Universe is besotted with my Bachchan"
It doesn’t matter if we are not perceived in the same frame too often, because it never did. It doesn’t matter if we don’t work together as co stars now, because it never did.
What does matter is that we remain to one another what we always have been; friends for life and beyond….beyond 80, going stronger and steadier.
As William Shakespeare said, “Men of few words are the best men." I have known this all along! Little wonder the entire universe is besotted by my Bachchan!