HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU... Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at INOX (Forum) on Sunday evening for the Calcutta premiere of Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey. Picture by Aranya Sen

B6 in Screen 4 of INOX (Forum) has seated thousands of movie viewers over seven years but never one who has made the rest of the audience turn its head and watch her rather than the movie.

But then not every day does a certain Aishwarya Rai Bachchan sit there. And that too as a Bangali bou in kantha-stitched sari complete with a red sindoor bindi and a thick red streak. The gasps were all too audible in audi 4.

Ash was playing the suitable bride to Abhishek Bachchan, in a silk kurta and dhoti, koncha clutched in left hand, babumoshai-style.

Abhishek was playing Surya Sen at the Calcutta premiere of Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.

At the Mumbai premiere of the Ashutosh Gowariker film on Thursday, he was in a black sherwani and she in a beige Sabyasachi (Mukherjee) sari.

Aishwarya’s surprise appearance at the Calcutta screening of Khelein Hum… drew wild shrieks from the crowd as she stepped out of Screen 3 holding Abhishek’s hand.

She had hogged the spotlight the evening before at the Science City auditorium while collecting her Best Actress trophy at the Anandalok Puraskar 2010, where Abhishek won the Best Actor crown. Both for Raavan.

But Sunday evening at INOX (Forum) was meant to be Abhishek and Deepika Padukone’s, Masterda and Kalpana Datta of Khelein Hum…. With a no-show from Deepika, it was an unabashed AbhiAsh show.

Perhaps it was the response to the Chittagong gang of freedom fighters at the Science City auditorium on Saturday that prompted her to join hubby at the Calcutta premiere of the film. The Anandalok Puraskar audience had given a standing ovation to Surya Sen and hailed Abhishek for taking on the role.

“God chose us to make a movie on Suryada and it is your love and respect for the man which shows that cinema is not only about box office and numbers, it is about standing up for something and for recognising great people,” Abhishek had said.

Cut to Screen 4 at INOX (Forum) less than 24 hours later. Just before the screening got underway Abhishek told the crowd: “We are very proud to bring the film to Calcutta and very anxious to know your reaction to the film. Suryada and his revolutionaries are so iconic here in Bengal that we thought it was only fitting that we have a premiere of the film in the city. I hope the film manages to move you as much as it has moved us while we were making the film.”

Abhishek gave a special shout-out to Manini Chatterjee (of The Telegraph), on whose book Do And Die Ashutosh Gowariker’s film is based. Manini was sitting in the audience which included filmmakers like Sandip Ray and Buddhadeb Dasgupta, industrialists like Harsh Neotia and musicians like Usha Uthup and Bickram Ghosh.

“It is very important for us that our Bengali colleagues, people we all look up to and have immense respect for, they grace the occasion and watch our film,” Abhishek added, looking at the Rays and the Dasguptas. “Hopefully they would like the humble effort of ours to salute the heroes, even if it’s after 80 years. The film has been made with great sincerity and purity of heart.”

While Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey hasn’t fired at the box office yet, Gowariker hoped that the film would make everyone aware of the little-known chapter of Indian history. “I think it is important that our generation and future generations get to know of the people who gave their lives for our freedom,” he said.

Abhishek echoed his director’s views adding: “Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is the kind of film which will serve as documentation and help people wake up and recognise a hero like Surya Sen and his contribution to the Indian freedom movement.”

More people have certainly started reading the book, revealed Manini Chatterjee. “A lot of people have texted and told me how they have picked up the book after watching the film,” she said. “As more and more people watch the film and read the book, we will get to know our own history better.”

And as the lights faded in Screen 4, all heads turned from Seat B6 to the giant screen in front where “the man with a book in one hand and a gun in the other” was scripting a chapter of history on celluloid.

Will the film revive interest in Surya Sen? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com