Two-and-a-half decades before Marvel blitzed cinemas with superhero after superhero, Ajooba roamed the land of ‘Baharistan’ ridding it off sinners. His trusted friend Hassan played Robin to his Batman. Tuesday marked their 25th year of operations – having been granted immortality by the silver screen – and actor Amitabh Bachchan, who played Ajooba, noted the milestone on social media. Among the several memories he shared was this photo of Ranbir Kapoor, then eight-year-old, and his sister Riddhima. Their father, Rishi Kapoor, played Hassan; their grand-uncle Shashi Kapoor directed the film.

In 2013, Amitabh Bachchan revealed on Facebook that Shashi Kapoor was a strict taskmaster on set and wielded a stick which he used ‘generously’ on his troops whenever there was indiscipline in the ranks. “He lost the stick in Russia, Thank God,” write Big B in a post on Facebook. Now’s a good time to ask – lost or ‘lost’?

Ajooba, which co-starred Dimple Kapadia, Sonam and Amrish Puri, lost money when it released but has acquired cult status over the years.

Big B, meanwhile, also wished his fans on the Punjabi festival of Baisakhi. His mother Teji Bachchan was a Punjabi.

Big B, 73, who was last seen on the silver screen in Wazir and Ki And Ka, has Pink and Te3n in the pipeline. Ranbir, 33, who last appeared in 2015’s Tamasha, has Jagga Jasoos up for release.