If those present at South City mall around 5pm on Tuesday spied a tall young man in a pink shirt and grey suit grooving to Ek main aur ek tu hai..., it wasn’t an Abhishek lookalike — it was Bachchan (Jr) himself. The Bluffmaster was in town as a brand pusher to launch Idea Cellular in Bengal. But Abhishek the actor won’t be “right here, right now” for the shooting of Ashutosh Gowariker’s film on freedom fighter Surya Sen. For, Calcutta has lost out to Goa as the suitable location for Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey. The Lagaan director had come down to the city last year to scout locations for his next big historical revolving around the Chittagong uprising but “logistics and feasibility” forced him to opt for Goa as Masterda’s shooting site. “We are creating an elaborate set in Goa to recreate Chittagong and we start filming next month,” Abhishek told Metro. “Ashutosh’s trip to Calcutta did help him in his research material but unfortunately we couldn’t shoot here. Goa was chosen because the flora and fauna there is very similar to that of Chittagong.” But Abhishek’s love for Calcutta continues to be as strong as ever. Using words like “homecoming” and “second home” on more than one occasion, Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan’s son admitted that he “belongs to Calcutta in some ways”. “I have spent a lot of time here as a kid. All the films I have shot here (Yuva, Antarmahal, Desh, Raavan) have been very memorable. Apart from the great sites and the great food what makes Calcutta special for me are the people. They have always welcomed my family. They treat me like their own. And that’s invaluable to me.” The brand that beta Bachchan was pushing as “Sirjee” plans to pump in Rs 1,200-1,500 crore in the east during the current fiscal, of which Rs 600 crore will be spent in Calcutta and rest of the Bengal telecom circles. Picture by Aranya Sen