BollyParty

Putting aside occasional differences with the actor for a while, old friend Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday wished Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan a speedy recovery.

"I wish him a happy belated birthday and pray for his long life" Sinha, who acted with Bachchan in several films in the 1980s, told PTI over the phone from Mumbai.

Though admitting that of late he had some "teething troubles" with the megastar, the actor-turned-politician refused to talk about them, saying, "We are friends of struggle days and hold each other in high esteem. I do not want to talk about those things and just want to wish him a speedy recovery."

Sinha, who allegedly returned sweets sent by Bachchan on his son's marriage for being "discourteous" in not extending an invitation to him, said, he would be happy to offer his help to Bachchan at this hour.

A BJP leader and a member in the Atal Behari Vajpayee cabinet, Sinha said, "Due to some political reasons Amitabh was given only the Padmashree award despite being a Ratna (gem) of Bharat."

"He deserves much more as he does not belong just to Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra but is a national asset with considerable international appeal," he added.

In an apparent swipe at Railway minister Lalu Prasad and Bachchan's family friend Amar Singh for their eagerness to reach out to the media to give an update on Amitabh's health, he said it was a publicity gimmick at the time when general elections are round the corner.

"Politicians shall keep away from things personal to him and his family," he said, adding that they should avoid trying to hog media attention by speaking about Bachchan.