Shashikant Pedwal Bewilders Legend Amitabh with A Photo!

Shashikant Pedwal video on  ETimes Sep 28, 2022, 09:27 IST

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Shashikant Pedwal, a replica of the legendary actor, Amitabh Bachchan recognized his uncanny similarity with the actor when he was in the 10^th Class.

He met India’s most-loved celebrities in 2011 and presented his photos which left even the superstar baffled.

It was then that Shashikant Ji conveyed the truth about the photos and that they belonged to him. Amitabh opined that even his family is sure to be confused because of the striking resemblance. 

Shashikant Ji renders Big B his Lord and is recognized as his replica for the past 15 years. In addition to being a duplicate of AB, he is also a mimicry artist who imitates famous personalities like Dilip Kumar, and Dharmendra and is even a professor at the Government ITI College, Pune. He essayed on the role of Bachchan’s body double in the critically acclaimed movie, Jhund (2022). 

Shashikant’s journey to success from childhood to the present is full of ups and downs. He was born in Lasal Gaon, a small village near Nashik, and today has more than nine lakh followers on Instagram.  

In this Struggle Story, read the life story of Shashikant Pedwal in his words – 

Born on 5^th July 1970 in Lasal Gaon, Shashikant Pedwal started working at the innocent age of 13 to support his father. He sold bread for 2 rupees a loaf every day before going to school. His father had an ice cream van and Shashikant Ji helped him sell ice creams and lassi. Because they made a profit only during festive and eventful times, their business scaled seasonally. So, to sustain themselves, they had to expand their sources of income and hence, he started selling Ganesh idols during Ganesh Chaturthi, and crackers during Diwali.

It was only in the 10^th Class when one of his friends pointed out his uncanny resemblance with Amitabh Bachchan, that he noticed it. Despite being a huge fan of India’s biggest superstar, he never realized that he was also his perfect lookalike. Holding on to this realization, Shashikant Ji took steps to develop his personality as a charismatic actor and mold himself into a reputable performer in all aspects. He worked on imitating Big B’s voice, walking style, and overall persona. Apart from mimicking Amitabh, he started imitating the voices of Dilip Kumar, and Dharmendra, inviting loads of applause.

Lauding his skills, many event organizers started inviting Shashikant Ji to orchestras that stretched on for hours on end to keep the audience engaged when the actors took routine breaks for tea and breakfast. This act became a roadmap for many event companies, stage shows, and TV programs.

Shashikant Ji also participated in an event that was attended by singer Alka Yagnik and she appreciated his performance. He collaborated with the local cable operator of his village and was featured in a polio awareness advertisement. It was inspired by Amitabh Bachchan Sir’s theme of spreading awareness regarding the Polio vaccination where he delivered the tagline in the signature, hefty AB voice – “Polio Se Lasal Gaon Hamara Bachega, Unnati Desh Hamara Karega.” It left the people of the Lasal Gaon utterly amused as they truly believed Amitabh Bachchan had uttered the name of their home. This further escalated Shashikant Ji’s confidence as an artist.   

He then completed his graduation Apprentice at ITI Pune and started working as a marketer in the medical field but lost interest after a while. Thereafter, Shashikant Ji has been working with Pune ITI since 1996 where he was initially offered a temporary job which turned into the post of a permanent professor by 1999.

Almost a decade later, in 2011, when his friend was visiting Big B’s office on account of some work, Shashikant Ji finally had the good fortune of meeting his idol and film-industry stalwart. In this 5-minute meeting cum conversation in Janakpuri, Shashikant Ji carried his portfolio that contained accounts of all the times he had roleplayed as AB. The mimicry artist opines that those 5-minutes of meeting the superstar were one of the most joyous moments of his life that he will continue to relish.  

He further clarified that even Big B was stumped to see the photos and mistook them as his own which Shashikant Ji apologized for, and revealed the truth. Upon understanding the reality and overcoming the sudden surprise, Bachchan Ji jokingly exclaimed that the artist must not take this album to his family members as they might recognize him as the real AB. 

More about Shashikant Pedwal 

When his family and friends got to know about his meeting with Big B, everyone was ecstatic. After experiencing the most beautiful day of his life, Shashikant Ji started receiving piles of offers for performing body-double stints for the reputed actor. He has thus acted in the critically acclaimed movie, Jhund, which was released in 2022, and even worked for an education app. The artist has even completed dubbing a Bhojpuri film for AB that was produced by Deepak Sawant, Big B’s makeup artist. 

For the naked eye, it is certainly tricky to distinguish between their striking resemblance. As narrated by Shashikant Ji, once, while crossing a toll plaza, the toll charges were waived for him. Furthermore, an RTO officer let him off the hook when his driver exclaimed that he was getting late for a shoot and Shashikant Ji just greeted him with folded hands in the immaculate Big B tone!

Shashikant Ji has always worked for good causes because of the name, recognition, fame, and money he has received by being a body double for the famous Actor. He visits cancer hospitals and nursing homes to meet terminally ill patients without fees and conceals his real identity. His presence brings positivity and happiness to patients along with their families and is one of the activities he performs as part of his social duty. During the Covid-19 pandemic, in the second wave, Shashikant Ji transformed himself into Big B and helped more than a thousand people by encouraging them to win this fight against the virus. He narrated his own battle with the disease, how he overcame it, and that motivated others to emerge fearless too.

Shashikant Ji even collaborated with the administration to encourage patients to talk with him through online video calls. He was appreciated by the megastar, Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of KBC for his kind gesture. In addition to being a mimicry artist, he is a Professor at ITI, Pune, and lives a simple and ordinary life as a teacher. His down-to-earth personality and earnest perspective of doing good for all make him one of the humblest artists one might come across in one’s life!