Not many get an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II of England and then deny it. But then not many are like Amitabh Bachchan. The megastar of Bollywood was extended a special invitation by the Queen to attend a programme at the Buckingham Palace. The Queen and Philip, the Duke Of Edinburgh will host the UK-India Year of Culture launch at the Buckingham Palace on coming Monday for which Big B was invited.
But the Piku star had to turn the invitation down because of his tight schedule. A source told a tabloid, “Prior commitments are making it impossible for him to fly to London for the gala. He has already extended his regret to the invitation, citing pre-scheduled commitments, but is honoured to receive a special invite from Buckingham Palace.”
The publicist of Big B confirmed to Mid-day, “Yes, Mr Bachchan has been extended a rare invitation by Queen Elizabeth and Buckingham Palace to grace the UK-India Cultural Year reception. Unfortunately, however, he will be unable to attend due to prior commitments.”
Amitabh Bachchan is said to be busy with the hectic schedule of Sarkaar 3, helmed by Ram Gopal Varma. Apart from this, prepping up for Vijay Krishna Acharya’s Thugs of Hindostan and Gaurang Doshi’s Aankhen 2, too are taking a lot of his time. Big B has also been roped in for Ayan Mukerji’s Dragon and a Kabir Khan production. Given so many films in the pipeline, it is obviously difficult for Amitabh Bachchan to squeeze in the visit to London.
The 74-year-old superstar made it to the news a few days ago when he took his granddaughter Aaradhya out on Valentine’s Day and described it vividly on his blog.
