Mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan may not be physically present at this year’s International Film Festival of India, but his spitting image has been doing the rounds of the annual extravaganza- albeit in an artist’s sketchbook.

Presently convalescing in a Mumbai hospital, Bachchan may not even remember posing for his portrait but for IFFI regular Nagappa Alam, the incident is one of the highlights of his life.

“Bachchan was kind enough to pose for me at one of the film festivals. It was a wonderful experience,” recalls Alam.

The septuagenarian artist has attended all the editions of the film festival since 1990, capturing the likeness of hundreds of actors and delegates in his autographed sketchbook.

“Many like the late Sunil Dutt have been very kind to me. I don’t charge for my portraits but sometimes they give money of their own volition,” says Alam, who hails from Solapur in Maharashtra.

The artist does not remember the names of all the celebrities who have modelled for him, especially foreign delegates, and it’s tough to decipher their names from the fading signatures in the sketchbook.

When he’s not attending film festivals, Alam ekes out a living in Mumbai by painting hoardings, magazine covers and portraits.