When Amitabh Bachchan lied about killing a snake, paraded it around school, got thrashed by the principal

Amitabh Bachchan recalled a story from his childhood, when he lied about having killed a snake and paraded it around school. When the principal found out, he thrashed him with a stick.

Kaun Banega Crorepati host Amitabh Bachchan, in a recent episode of the game show, recalled a story from his childhood. The moral, he said, was that one should be truthful.

Amitabh Bachchan on Kaun Banega Crorepati.

During the Karamveer episode of KBC 12, guest Boman Irani spoke about overcoming a speech impediment as a child, and asked Amitabh what his youth was like.

The actor, recalling a story, said, “Mein bahut darpok tha. Bahut si cheese hum karte the jo chori chupe karte the aur kabhi batate nahi the kisi ko (I was a coward. We would do so much mischief and not tell anybody).” One day, Amitabh and his friends were attacked by a snake. As they ran away, they noticed a hunter on the side of the road and he killed the snake for them. “Maar diya toh humko laga ki bahut badi cheez ho gayi (We thought killing a snake was such a big deal),” he said.

And so, they put the dead snake on a hockey stick and paraded it around school, as if they’d killed it. But the school principal wasn’t impressed. Amitabh continued, “Humare principal Britisher the toh ek British atmosphere tha. Sachai bahut important hoti thi (Our principal was a Britisher. For him, being truthful was very important). He used to ask, ‘You know that you have done something wrong?’ ‘Yes, sir’ [then he would say] ‘I am going to give you six cuts’.”

Amitabh then gave details of the corporal punishment students would receive. There was a garage in the school where oiled sticks would be kept. Amitabh and his friends were told to bend over a wheelbarrow, and they were thrashed on the back. “Saans nikal jaati thi, itna pain hota tha. Lekin karyakram ye hota tha ki khade hokar bolna padta tha (It would knock the wind out of us. But the entertaining thing was that after the beating was over, you’d have to say), ‘Thank you, sir’.”

Amitabh was educated at Sherwood College, Nainital, and Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi.

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