Big B spins charkha at Sabarmati Ashram, spreads 'khushboo Bapu ki'

Bapu invented it, Rahul Gandhi made it contemporary by trying his hand at it, and now, Gujarat’s tourism brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan will take the Charkha to the vast global audience through his tourism campaign ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’.

The sleepy Sabarmati Ashram, abode of Mahatma Gandhi during pre-independence days, saw frenetic activity on Monday afternoon when Bollywood heartthrob Amitabh Bachchan and a large crew of filmmakers visited the Ashram to shoot for the second phase of the tourism campaign. The frenzy continued for three hours as the film was shot in the serene environs on the banks of Sabarmati river, in the Hriday Kunj  and at the Charkha, where Bachchan tried his hand.

“He especially wore a khadi kurta for the shot and tried his hand at the Charkha for five to seven minutes. As his tribute to Bapu, Bachchan walked barefoot in the Ashram,” sources said.
If Big B’s tweets soon after the shoot are anything to go by, he seemed to have enjoyed the visit. “Finished day’s shoot. Sabarmati Ashram. Serene, pious, almost religious feel. Greatness of the Mahatma in every inch of soil,” he tweeted. Later in the evening, the first three films shot at Kutch, Gir and Somnath were released by chief minister Narendra Modi in a quiet ceremony at the Circuit House in the city. The focus of these can be summed up as:
Khushboo Sangram ki
Khushboo Azaadi ladaai ki
Khushboo Bapu ki
Khushboo Gujarat ki…

 “Formally handed over the first batch of the tourism campaign. I think they liked it. Should be on air soon.” Big B later tweeted. Bachchan was accompanied by Gujarat tourism secretary Vipul Mittra and O&M’s Piyush Pandey.

The shoot will continue on Tuesday morning, at Adalaj and Lothal, after which the crew will fly to Bapu’s birthplace, Porbandar, in the evening. The next destination on Wednesday will be Dwarka, drawing to an end to the second phase of the campaign.  The actor seems to have taken a liking to Gujarati cuisine as he munched on Bajara ni Roti that he specially asked for, after trying it during his last visit in Kutch.