Superstar Amitabh Bachchan had to make a tough decision in the last few days – to not step out of his bungalow for a weekly greeting session with his fans. Every Sunday, fans would gather outside his villa in Juhu and wait for a glimpse of the megastar. He would come, wave a bit, smile at his fans and their day would be made. However, the crippling corona virus that has spread across the world and is also spreading fast in India, has made Big B reconsider his decision to hold his darbar. He will not be meeting and greeting his fans on Sunday from now on (at least until the scare remains), thus breaking a 15 year tradition.

However, guess what made the actor take such a drastic decision? His doctor’s orders! According to sources close to the family it was not Big B’ s decision to stop meeting his fans but it was more on the advice of his doctors and well-wisers. “It was  the  doctors’ orders that he must stop interacting with crowds during these times of a viral outbreak. You know Amitji.  If he had his way, he would never disappoint his fans. He knows his admirers come every Sunday to his home from faraway places outside Mumbai to get a glimpse of him. Given a chance, he would have continued with the ritual,” says a  close family friend of the Bachchans. But then there is the  Big B’s frail health.

Says the source,  “Amitji’s immunity system is down to the bare minimum. He is more prone to catch any virus than you or me. The doctors have strictly forbidden him  from stepping out.” In lieu of this beloved weekly ritual, Mr Bachchan will probably be putting out videos  on Sunday for his fans until the virus threat subsides. Meanwhile, the long and final schedule of Ayan Mukerjee’s Brahmastra where Mr Bachchan shares  screen space with Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Nagarajuna has been postponed.

The Coronavirus scare has had a massive impact on Bollywood releases. While Sooryavanshi has been postponed, the box office collections of Angrezi Medium has also seen a steady decline.