Sabeer Bhatia, who co-founded Hotmail, recently told an old story concerning a Bollywood actress whom he had once invited to his house, describing how a particular unexpected incident left his American guests entirely bewildered.
Waiter touched the actress’s feet
Bhatia posted the anecdote on X, stating that the incident took place “many decades ago”; he did not give the actress’s name since he wished to respect her privacy. Bhatia had arranged for Indian food to be served at the gathering by a local restaurant, and several American guests were there when one of the waitstaff members recognised the actress.
Bhatia remembered the waiter instantly set down his tray and stooped down to put his hands to the actress’s feet. The man went further and he lay on the ground in front of her, he said. The unusual reaction left Bhatia’s American friends confused. They asked him why the man had touched her feet. Bhatia said he did not know how to explain the moment to them.
The incident, however, stayed with him for years. In his post, he connected the experience to the way Bollywood celebrities are often admired in India, particularly the traditional gesture of touching the feet of someone considered worthy of deep respect.
Who was the Actress?
While Bhatia did not named the actress, many netizens felt that she must have been an elderly actress who would have been as elderly or motherly figure by many Indian people and that may explain the reaction of the waiter who touched her feet and laid flat on the ground in front of her.
Sabeer Bhatia reflects on celebrity worship
When looking back on the incident, Bhatia said that it had made him consider just how deeply celebrity worship is rooted in Indian culture. To the American guests the waiter’s action seemed entirely strange, even though it looked like an ordinary or reasonable thing to them and they couldn’t understand why a person should react in such a strong way to meeting an actress.
The entrepreneur, on the other hand, didn’t name the actress or give any additional information about the gathering, sticking instead to the strange moment and the reaction it caused among his guests.
Many decades ago, I invited a Bollywood actress to my home. I won’t name her out of respect for her privacy. There were several American guests, and I had catered Indian food from a local restaurant. Midway through the evening, one of the wait staff recognized her. He immediately put down his tray, bent all the way down, and touched her feet. In fact he lay down flat on the ground. My American friends were completely bewildered. “Why did he touch her feet? Who is she?” I didn’t know how to explain it. That moment stayed with me. Celebrity worship is so deeply embedded in our culture that what seems completely normal to one person can look incomprehensible to someone outside it.
— Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) October 5, 2026
Bhatia continued the discussion with another tweet and opined whether touching someone’s feet is necessary to show respect!
Is touching someone’s feet really a sign of respect – or just submission disguised as tradition?
— Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) October 6, 2026
Social Media Reactions
The netizens opined that such a reaction from an Indian person is not surprising given the fact how much celebrity worship is embedded into the Indian people.
“Such behaviours is one of the biggest reasons India can never grow – when people look down or up upon each other there is always a master & servant- such society is doomed , when I go any 5 star hotel in India 20 people salute and I hate that” wrote one user
