'Tu na thamega kabhi…': Amitabh Bachchan quotes poem to salute armed forces

After sharing a series of blank posts on his X page and personal blog for weeks, Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday made his social media comeback with a post on Pahalgam attack and the armed forces' retaliatory Operation Sindoor.

Bachchan shared an emotionally charged message on social media just hours after India and Pakistan formally announced a ceasefire.

In a heartfelt post on X, the legendary actor described the horrific scene in Pahalgam, writing, "While celebrating the holidays, that monster dragged the innocent couple outside, stripped the husband naked, and after fulfilling his duty, started shooting him," adding, "Even after the wife fell on her knees and cried and requested not to kill her husband, that cowardly monster shot her husband very ruthlessly, making the wife a widow."

In a moment of literary poignancy, Bachchan reflected on the emotional toll through a reference to a line from a poem by his late father, renowned poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan. "Hai Chita ki raakh kar me, maangti sindoor duniya." (There are ashes of the funeral pyre, the world is asking for vermilion.") He continued, invoking the name of the Indian army's recent 'Operation Sindoor' — 'De diya sindoor!' (Vermillion was given indeed)

Bachchan concluded his message with an impassioned salute to the nation's defenders and iconic lines of his father's poem:  “Tu na thamega kabhi; tu na mudega kabhi; tu na jhukega kabhee, kar shapath, kar shapath, kar shapath. Agni Path! Agni Path! Agni Path!.” (You will never stop; you will never turn back; you will never bow down. Take an oath, take an oath, take an oath! Path of fire! Path of fire! Path of fire!)"

On Saturday, India officially accused Pakistan of violating a ceasefire agreement that had only been hours old.