Some meetings happen unexpectedly, yet behind them lies a story spanning decades. My recent visit to the sets of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC)’ was something like that.On September 12, we went to our village in Punjab from Chandigarh to rebuild our ancestral house. We wanted to retain its original structure and layout because this was the house our parents had built. We were born and brought up there. It was within those walls that our love for films first took root — a love that has travelled through the generations.Papa was very fond of watching films. He would bring slippers and shoes from Jalandhar and travel from village to village selling them. Every Friday, he had to go to Jalandhar, and the day held another special meaning for us: new films. There was the 6 pm to 9 pm show, followed by the 9 pm to midnight show. Sometimes he took me along, sometimes my younger brother, and at times my sisters. In time, watching films together became a family tradition.He could never have imagined that one day his children would become part of the film industry.My first visit to Bombay was in 1990. In those days, Bombay was spoken of in much the same way as Lahore once had been: if you had not seen Amitabh Bachchan’s house and Juhu Beach, it was almost as though you had never visited the city at all.During the past few years, whenever we travelled to Mumbai to visit our children, Wamiqa and Puran, we would drive towards Juhu Beach in the morning. On the way, we would stop the car outside Bachchanji’s house and I would often say to myself, “One day I will surely meet you.”Sometimes, I would jokingly tell Wamiqa, “Until you do a film with Amitabh Bachchan, I will not consider you a complete actor.” That film has not happened yet. However, she has a film coming up with his wife, the renowned actress Jaya Bachchan.Last month, we were busy with the work at our village house when Wamiqa messaged: “The whole family, come to Mumbai.” I was surprised. I soon learnt that she was going to ‘KBC’ to promote her film, ‘Prahaar’, and that we were expected to join her.My wife Raj Kumari, younger sister-in-law Shakha Rani and I prepared to leave. Our son was to join us in Mumbai. The next day, we took a flight from Adampur. On September 19, we found ourselves sitting at Famous Studios in Goregaon. The day began with rehearsals at 9 am. We were told where to sit, when to stand and when to clap. Microphones were fitted, the lights were ready, and we were asked to deposit our phones and watches. Then came the moment we had all been waiting for.Bachchanji was standing before us.When he introduced the guests — “Sitting before me are actor Rajkummar Rao, actress Wamiqa Gabbi and renowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam” — something inside me gave way. I cannot say whether they were tears of happiness, pride or some unspoken memory accumulated over the past 60 years. Perhaps they were a mixture of all three.During the conversation, Wamiqa mentioned about the role I had played in her becoming an actor. I wanted to tell Bachchanji that behind our journey lay the long shadow of a father who, by taking his children to watch films every Friday, had unknowingly planted a love for cinema that would endure for generations.At one point, Wamiqa said, “Amitji, you should invite my father and my family for a meal.” He laughed and laid down a condition: “First answer 10 questions.” That brought another round of laughter.After the recording, we took photographs with Bachchanji. I told him that like his father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, I too am a writer and gave him two of my books, which he accepted with pleasure.In terms of age, Bachchanji belongs to my father’s generation. Sitting before him, I felt that I was also catching a glimpse of him. Perhaps that was why this was not merely an encounter with a great film star. It was a meeting with my childhood, with those Fridays when Papa travelled to Jalandhar. It was a meeting with the cinema tickets he bought for us and with those darkened halls where a hero would appear and we would watch him in wonder.Today, that very world of cinema has embraced our children. We, too, have become a part of it.Perhaps, at some future meeting, I will have the opportunity to tell Bachchanji who first set us on this path, and how a journey that began in a village house travelled so far.— The writer is an author & educationist