Ali Hussain Khan at his Kidderpore home on Wednesday. (Amit Datta)

The man who played Auro is set to meet the screen teen’s real-life likeness, an 11-year-old city boy whose progeric brother died the day Paa released, with his last wish of seeing Amitabh Bachchan face-to-face unfulfilled.

Amitabh sent an SMS to Metro on Wednesday confirming that he planned to meet Ali Hussain Khan and his family members. “Whenever they want,” he texted, adding that the meeting would take place “in Mumbai”.

Ali Hussain’s father had written to Amitabh in mid-January, requesting him to spare some time for the child. Bishul Khan, a watchman in a Kidderpore warehouse, described in the letter how his eldest son, 22-year-old Ekramul, who was also afflicted with progeria, had craved to meet the superstar after learning about his role as Auro in Paa.

On Monday, Amitabh’s secretary called the Institute of Child Health, where Ali Hussain is admitted when his condition worsens, and sought the family’s address and phone number. An official at the Park Circus hospital said they provided the contact details. The 11-year-old is now just waiting for a tryst with his hero. “I have seen Paa and Amitabh Bachchan looked just like me in the film! I am very excited about meeting him,” said Ali Hussain.

Amitabh Bachchan in Paa

Children like him manifest symptoms resembling aspects of ageing and live only till their early-20s. Three of Ali Hussain’s five sisters have died prematurely in the past seven years after suffering from the disease.

Progeria, which Paa director R. Balki used as a device to allow Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan to reverse roles on screen, is a rare disease. According to an estimate, there are only about 50 progeria patients across the world. The Khans, who moved to the city from Bihar more than a decade back, might be the only family in India with progeria patients. And now a meeting with Amitabh Bachchan might be their only thing to look forward to.