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Amitabh Bachhan

, ALL ABOUT BIG-B

 
 
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> Amitabh Bachhan, ALL ABOUT BIG-B
Sharmila-Sweet
post Sep 22 2009, 05:35 PM
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'Rekha was ego trip for Amitabh'


Susmita Dasgupta finds Amitabh Bachchan an interesting subject to study. Here, she decodes the superstar, the subject of her PhD and a book, in an explosive, tell-all interview to Anuradha Verma

By Anuradha Verma | TNN
Posted On Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 03:59:06 PM



Amitabh Bachchan

Susmita Dasgupta finds Amitabh Bachchan an interesting subject to study. Here, she decodes the superstar, the subject of her PhD and a book, in an explosive, tell-all interview to Anuradha Verma

Is there an Amitabh ‘before’ and ‘after’ ABCL?

There is definitely a before and after ABCL Amitabh. The ABCL tragedy, like all stupendous failures have split Amitabh into a before and after image. The trauma of having failed appears to have drastically changed the person whose image was that of the invincible.

What is Amitabh, the husband, like?

As I could observe, and at that point of time I was nearly 20 years younger, that Amitabh and Jaya were ideologically apart. For Jaya, there was a distress about why Amitabh did the films that he did. Jaya would have loved it were Amitabh to remain in the Hrishikesh Mukherjee camp and graduated later to Satyajit Ray (Manik Kaku for her; Jaya is exceptionally well-connected). But Amitabh went into rather "cheap stuff" with which she was not comfortable.

To the best of my mind, this was the basic reason for a kind of stand-off. Jaya and Amitabh were dutifully husband and wife but I felt that the romance in the marriage was lacking. Also Jaya is a ‘Bong’ woman, the oldest among three sisters, and most probably the brightest, daughter to a doting father and that too an important one. She is Bhaduri, an upper caste Barendri Brahmin, who are very proud people.

But slowly as Amitabh got involved in his career, he himself became the centre of all attention which was very difficult for Jaya to swallow. After all, at the time of their marriage she was the star and he the also-ran.

The change in the power position within the marriage as Amitabh became successful also changed the soft, intense and emotional romance which Jaya and Amitabh had.

How is the superstar with his kids? Is his rapport different with Abhishek and Shweta?

With his children, Amitabh is doting, pampering, blind with affection and only pretending to be firm, but very interested to be a part of their lives and eager to go to any lengths for their well-being. The daughter is interesting, I am not so sure that she feels the same way towards her parents as they feel towards her.

I get this strange feeling that Shweta is seeking to move out of her parents’ very doting shadow and that marriage helped her have some independence that her extra protective parents robbed her of. Abhishek loves and would love to continue to be under the parents’ protection.

What about the Rekha episode? Is there reason to believe the affair happened, despite Amitabh’s denials?

Yes, it is a matter of great speculation for me as well. I always sided with Amitabh when he denied all on Rekha. But, only recently, I saw this television footage in which Amitabh suddenly got up and moved away as Rekha came near where he was seated. This makes me believe that yes, they did have an affair. The sudden getting up and moving away was a giveaway.

It was almost a pose of fleeing from Rekha... why would a man want to do that if he is not guilty of something? I believe Amitabh knew from day one that he wasn’t serious about Rekha. Also, he’s very, very class conscious... Rekha was perhaps an ego trip.

How do you think Abhishek fares, being Amitabh and Jaya's son, and now Aishwarya’s husband?

Abhishek reminds me of Prince Salim and he has the Prince Salim syndrome. In today’s world, Abhishek’s appeal lies in a certain sense of being chaperoned, someone who seeks and has security and, on the basis of an assured lifestyle, can afford to be nice to one and all.

Just as Amitabh’s image crashed with failure, Abhishek's image can crash if the shadows of persons chaperoning him are taken away. The image contains the shadows of the biggies that he nests among.

Was he behind Abhishek joining films?

Yes, he was totally behind Abhishek's joining films and if I were to have my opinion, then to push him to cinema. That’s why I say that Abhishek is prince Salim, the reluctant heir of Akbar when his heart was away in Venice, Rome and even Spain.

Amitabh is projected today as the loyal friend... what drives his friendships with the Anil Ambani and Amar Singh?

I feel that Amitabh has never been a loyal friend. Loyalty has never been his characteristic trait. Anwar Ali and Amjad Khan are at least two who Amitabh never even acknowledged. I have seen him rather stand-offish with Javed, Salim, Prakash Mehra, the persons who made him. Amitabh never attended Hrishida’s funeral. He refuses to acknowledge Desh Mukherjee or Tinnu Anand. So, he looks for friends as far as he has something to gain from them.

The Amar Singh episode is strange. He must be really gaining something out of Anil Ambani and Amar Singh and that “gain” has some connection with the “loss” in terms of money.

Why do you think he is still working? Is it insecurity, to consolidate a space for Abhishek or love of acting?

Amitabh is still working, yes, what you suggest to consolidate Abhishek’s career, but to the best of my understanding, Amitabh is Bhishma, he wishes to prove that he is immortal as a star. I think that Amitabh is seeking immortality by constantly reinventing his image to suit each new age that he lives in.



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Sharmila-Sweet
post Oct 23 2009, 02:53 PM
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Fri, Oct 23 08:22 AM
New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS) He sleeps for 'four to five hours' a day, burns the midnight oil to blog and has a packed shooting schedule. But 67-year-old megastar Amitabh Bachchan insists he is neither the busiest person in the Hindi film industry nor an important part of any of his projects.

'I don't think that is entirely correct. I just do whatever is offered to me. I do films, I am now doing television ('Big Boss 3'),' said Amitabh shrugging off the busy bee title.

'If you plan your day and time, you can find time to do all these things. If the body responds, it's fine. But sooner or later it's going to pack up, so might as well work while it's working,' said Amitabh who squeezed in enough time to reply to 1207 SMSes that he received on his birthday last week.

Over four decades of excellent cinematic presence has made him a brand. Doesn't that overshadow others in a film?

'I don't think that is entirely correct. May be in the early years, they (audiences) came to watch my films because I was in it. But now I am just one of the credit titles. I am not that important,' Bachchan told IANS in an interview.

'I am a part of the crew and the cast. Even in my early years, I used to think that. I think the product itself is more important. It's the film that is going to make you or your name or give you visibility. If that goes wrong then everything goes wrong. So one must work as a team so that the product works,' he explained.

The actor stays awake till the wee hours to write his blog.

'That is like a compulsion. I feel very vacant and I feel as though I haven't done justice to my day if I don't write the blog because there are now a few hundred people who are regular. They wait to know about me and they want to talk to me,' Amitabh said.

'I feel somewhat guilty if I don't write the blog every day. So even if I am late, I make sure that I put something down,' he added.

Doesn't his family object to his blogging addiction? 'They are always saying, 'Please don't write your blog. Get off your blog',' he said.

'You have all kinds of funny things happening to your neck and shoulder because you're all the time bending down on your laptop. But that's okay,' added the Big B, as he is fondly called.

Strenuous working hours and regular blogging hardly leaves any time to catch up on sleep but the actor is content with what he gets.

'I get about four to five hours' sleep and that's okay,' said the veteran, who was seen this year only in a cameo in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Delhi-6'.

Amitabh was here to promote his upcoming film 'Aladin'. Releasing Oct 30, it is a contemporary take on the classic fairy tale and he stars in it as the Genie.

Produced by Sunil Lulla and Sujoy Ghosh, the film has been directed by Ghosh. It also stars Riteish Deshmukh in the lead opposite debutante Jacqueline Fernandez. Sanjay Dutt appears in a negative role in the film.

Apart from casting magic in the film as the Genie, the sexagenarian has also performed action sequences in 'Aladin'. He says the only way to attempt stunts at his age is by keeping 'fit'.

'You have to keep fit. Some of the action scenes are really tough and they are physically very draining. But now they have wonderful gadgetry which can make you jump sky high and do all kinds of things. We use that, but even doing that is strenuous. If you are not prepared to do all that, then it doesn't work,' he said.

Despite wife Jaya, son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya all being actors, the Hindi film industry still has not seen the entire family together in a film.

When asked about it, he said: 'I don't know. Somebody will have to design a project like that. If they do, we'll be very happy to do it.'

Apart from 'Aladin', Amitabh's other projects include 'Paa', 'Teen Patti', 'Rann' and 'Johnny Mastana'.

(Robin Bansal can be contacted at robin.b@ians.in)


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post Nov 19 2009, 12:35 PM
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Making music magic


Amitabh Bachchan's wish of recording a song in Ilaiyaaraja's presence was fulfilled yesterday when he had to record Paa's title song all over again

By Subhash K Jha
Posted On Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 02:16:29 AM


It was meant to be a proxy recording.Amitabh Bachchan had recorded the title song of Paa in the juvenile voice of his 12-year-old character Auro at Aadesh Shrivastava’s studio two weeks ago.


The track has been composed by music maestro Ilaiyaraaja, who had sent across the track from Chennai.


Paa

While Amitabh privately regretted the fact that he couldn’t record in the presence of Ilaiyaaraja, the actor’s wish was fulfilled last evening. Director Balki and Amitabh realised that they’d have to re-record the entire song because the recording in Mumbai went kaput.

Last night Balki, who was in Chennai, laughed and said, “I guess someone up there was listening. Our recording in Mumbai of Amitji’s number suffered a leakage in the headphone. The song had to be re-done all over again. So here we are in Chennai. We’ve just recorded the title number again, this time with Amitji and Ilaiyaraaja face to face.”


Ilaiyaaraja

Amitabh Bachchan rendered the number perfectly prompting the Chennai-based music maverick to wonder how a 67-year-old man could sing the number in a 12-year old’s voice so perfectly.

Balki and Bachchan wanted to keep the very special recording a secret and reveal the coming together of the two stalwarts at a later time.


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post Nov 24 2009, 11:35 AM
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Tea with BS: Amitabh Bachchan

The ‘hopeless businessman’ plans a comeback as a cool CEO who has learned his lesson the hard way.

Amitabh Bachchan says he doesn’t want to be left behind and is trying hard to match the supersonic speed of Gen X, Y or Z. In doing so, he has noticed that he speaks much faster these days than he did 10 years ago, write Shobhana Subramanian and Shyamal Majumdar.

“That’s cool — a favourite expression of youngsters these days — fascinates me. It compresses everything for which I would have perhaps used 10 sentences earlier,” the megastar says. Not any more — the 68-year-old youngster has made “that’s cool” a part of his everyday lingo. And that’s the reason why he thinks he is still getting “some work” even after four decades in Hindi films. Gen X, we thought, would do well to reciprocate and take lessons in modesty from him.

We are at AB Corp’s headquarters at Juhu, a stone’s throw from his home — Jalsa. The speed is evident in other ways, too. While it’s common for stars, much lower in stature, to keep guests waiting for hours, we are ushered in to his well-appointed office where huge cut-outs of Auro (his character in Paa) greet us, almost on the dot.

Dressed in a white Pathan suit, Bachchan looks as imposing in real life as he does in reel life. We point out that his a-bit-rusty wrist watch looks familiar as we have seen it many times on 70 mm screens over the years. Bachchan is quick with a repartee: “You must have really noticed it when the camera took close-ups of me signing the cheques on Kaun Banega Crorepati,” he says with a hearty laugh, ordering tea for us and lemon juice for himself.

The superstar is quick in gifting us CDs and signing autographs on miniature posters of the film. “Take one extra autographed poster please — your friends might want one. I hope you will see Paa and enjoy it”, Big B says. From anyone else, it may have sounded like a salesman’s “buy one, get one free” pitch, but Bachchan’s innate courtesy and passion for his film can be infectious.

Paa, due for release next week, is something India’s biggest movie star has never done before. Apart from his unique role of a 13-year-old with an extremely rare genetic defect that causes accelerated ageing, the face that you see in the film is the result of deep research. Kids affected by this problem become bald and their veins begin to show prominently on their heads, which enlarge to a size beyond normal. To get the special look for the character, director R. Balki roped in Hollywood make-up artist Stephan Dupuis.

The prosthetic process was arduous. Around eight pieces of specially-crafted clay models were meticulously stuck on to the face. Once the process started, it was impossible to move even a few centimetres. Eating and drinking had to be avoided and he couldn’t talk because it would have displaced the pieces. The entire process took four-five hours every day over 45 days of continuous shooting. He was even willing to go through the process of showing his eyeballs bulging out to give a more authentic look to the character, but doctors said that would require injections in his eye every two hours which could affect his vision.

“Ninety per cent of the job is done if you have that kind of make-up. My grandchildren took care of the remaining 10 per cent,” Bachchan says. That’s the reason why he has dedicated the film to his grandchildren from whom he picked up the mannerisms of the boy in the film. The doting grandfather tells us that one of the biggest compliments he has received so far is from his granddaughter who pinged him just the other day, on his Blackberry, to say that Auro behaves exactly like Aggi (his grandson).

With Paa, Big B also dons another hat — that of a producer in collaboration with friend Anil Ambani’s Reliance Big Entertainment. While AB Corp is producing the film, the distribution rights are with Reliance Big — a business model Bachchan intends to follow for his forthcoming ventures as well. Bachchan says his family would do what they are best at — giving creative inputs — and depend on specialised companies to do the rest. “That’s the model followed the world over. Fragmentation of roles and specialisation are the way to go,” he says, with the flourish of a CEO making a slick presentation.

He is particularly proud of the fact that the production costs have been kept below the Rs 15-crore budget set by his son Abhishek. Paa cost AB Corp Rs 14.75 crore, of which a tenth went into Auro’s make-up alone. “AB Corp has no intention of producing the so-called Rs 40-crore, 50-crore films which are sold for Rs 70-80 crore, making returns on investments that much more difficult,” Bachchan says.

A self-confessed “hopeless businessman” a few years ago, Bachchan says AB Corp, founded in 1996, made a decent profit of Rs 16 crore in the first year, but ran into turbulent weather soon enough because of two reasons: One, he forgot that his specialisation was creativity and not other aspects of the entertainment business; and two, he depended too much on recruits from multinationals who could make slick presentations on impressive spreadsheets, but knew nothing about the intricacies of entertainment as a business.

In the process, he signed “ridiculous documents” and found himself alone when the cookie crumbled after the disastrous Miss World pageant. The debt burden was huge, but Bachchan says he ignored his friends’ advice that AB Corp should declare bankruptcy, close shop and escape the debt recovery proceedings.

Bachchan worked harder to repay the dues — every single paise of it. “Many of the debtors were from my own industry and I couldn’t have looked at them straight in the eye if I hadn’t paid back their dues. After all, the company derives its name from my late father,” he says.

We have long overshot our allotted time and his aides walk in with worried expressions, but Bachchan is in a mood to talk. He doesn’t think that there was anything wrong with the idea behind AB Corp and cites the corporatisation of the film industry that happened much later. “A film can have so many brand extensions —TV content, merchandise, music concerts, internet properties etc. AB Corp saw the potential much ahead of others, but the execution let us down,” Bachchan says, taking a sip of lemon juice.

Is he dismayed by the failure of Bollywood films and TV serials to raise the quality bar? Bachchan says he indeed misses the fascinating films made by directors like Hrishida (Hrishikesh Mukherjee), but doesn’t mind flowing with the tide. The reality is that an average Indian wants to forget his worries watching some nach-gana, action, beautiful locales and even more beautiful ladies on screen, he says, adding: “If the entire country (including wife Jaya) is willing to empathise with the participants of Big Boss 3 (a show he is hosting on Colors), who am I to stop them?”

How does he react to Sachin Tendulkar’s famous comment that he is an Indian first and then a Marathi? Bachchan says the cricketer spoke what he truly believed in, but the question was asked by the media “with a purpose”. The media has a responsibility to avoid such unnecessary controversies and it has to decide how to balance its money-making compulsions and social conscience — the theme of his forthcoming film Rann.

It’s time for us to leave, but we still steal time for the last question. Abhishek, who plays the role of his father, has described him as a mischievous son. How would he rate Abhishek as his father? “Well, he is a very caring, conscientious and principled parent,” Bachchan says, with all seriousness. Many youngsters would say “that’s cool” to the rather prompt answer.

Source: Business Standard

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post Dec 1 2009, 10:28 AM
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Amitabh to receive Asian Film Cultural award
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Press Trust Of India
Mumbai, November 30, 2009
First Published: 00:30 IST(1/12/2009)




8th Third Eye Asian Film Festival will be held from December 4 to 10. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with the Asian Film Cultural award by filmmaker Ramesh Sippy at the festival.

Not only this, Harishchandrachi Factory, India's entry to the Oscars this year, will kick start the the Film Festival.

Paresh Mokashi, director of 'Harishchandrachi Factory' will also be felicitated at the opening ceremony of the festival which will be inaugurated by Vijaya Mehta, Executive Director of National Centre for Performing Arts.

Over 100 feature and short films from 24 countries will be screened in the fest at Plaza Cinema, Dadar and YB Chavan Centre in South Mumbai, festival director Sudhir Nandgaonkar said.

Egypt will be the 'Country Focus' where seven contemporary Egyptian films will be screened.

The festival also includes 'Retrospective of Japanese' filmmaker Mikio Naruse, whose work has been applauded by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

'Asian Masters' section will feature five films by Japanese master of Nagisa Oshima.

'Filmmaker in Focus' section will feature three internationally award winning films of Iranian director Jafar Panahi.

The competition section includes 15 films by debutante Asian directors.


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post Dec 4 2009, 10:19 AM
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Movie Reviews


By Taran Adarsh, December 3, 2009 - 17:34 IST


Can you ever imagine watching an Amitabh Bachchan film and not watching Amitabh Bachchan in it? Seems impossible, isn't it? The towering persona and the rich baritone just cannot be overlooked. But R. Balki transforms the legendary actor into Auro, replaces the rich baritone with the voice of an adolescent [who's neither grown up, nor a kid] and taps the hitherto untapped talent of the icon.

Trust me, 10 minutes into the film and you forget you're watching Amitabh Bachchan. For, Auro takes over the moment he is introduced to the viewer.

Write your own movie review of Paa
PAA is a simple film told in the most simplistic manner and that's one of the prime reasons why this film works big time. The emotions would've fallen flat had the writing been sub-standard or the execution of the material been humdrum or the actors been inferior. But, thankfully, PAA scores in all three departments, although it must be said that the entire slum redevelopment episode is a complete put-off.



Yet, all said and done, PAA is an outstanding film. A film for every paa, every maa... for everyone with a heart. Take a bow, Auro!

Auro [Amitabh Bachchan] is an intelligent, witty 13-year-old boy with an extremely rare genetic defect that causes accelerated ageing. He suffers from progeria. Mentally, he is 13, very normal, but physically he looks five times older.

Inspite of his condition, Auro is a happy boy. He lives with his mother Vidya [Vidya Balan], a gynaecologist, but is completely clueless of his father's identity. Till he meets him, Amol [Abhishek Bachchan], who is a full of ideals politician.

Okay, let's not disrespect Balki by calling PAA a rip-off of THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON or JACK. It's not! PAA looks at the varied relationships so minutely. It may've been publicized as a father-son film, but the women - mother and granny - play equally pivotal parts.

The first hour of PAA grips you in patches. The introduction of Auro is brilliant, but the moment the story focuses on the politician and his arch rival's sub-plot, it goes off-track. Sure, there are some interesting sequences, but the impact isn't mesmeric.

But the post-interval portions take the film to dizzy heights and camouflages the defects. The father-son bonding and the penultimate 25 minutes raise the bar. The emotional quotient is tremendous. Get ready to overhear a lot of sniffs and see a lot of moist eyes once the lights are switched on.

Note the two sequences in the climax, when Auro reveals what his father's first mistake was and the pheras towards the end. Also recall the scene when the girl Auro detests for a certain reason shows up with a sketch of Auro. It moves you completely.

But let's not mistaken PAA to be a rona-dhona movie. It's a positive film with funny/light moments in plenty. The conversation between Auro and his best friend, on various occasions, are superb. Also, not once does PAA show Auro as 'different'. He's one among the kids and there's no discrimination whatsoever, which is remarkable.

Director R. Balki deserves a salute for thinking out of the box and also presenting Amitabh Bachchan like never before. The writing may be erratic, but his handling of the emotional moments is exemplary. Note this, he would be a force to reckon with after PAA. Ilaiyaraaja's music is soothing. P.C. Sreeram's cinematography is incredible.

It would be a blunder if one missed out the contribution of the makeup artists. Transforming the veteran actor into a kid must've been an arduous task and Christien Tinsley and Domini Till deserve to be complimented for making Auro look so real.

Now to the performances! No amount of praise, no amount of adjectives and personifications would do justice to Amitabh Bachchan's performance as Auro. Sure, the icon has enthralled us with superlative performances in his four-decade career, but PAA is something else. The icon keeps surprising you at regular intervals and PAA is one of those beautiful surprises, which will remain etched in your memory forever.

That doesn't mean that the remaining performances get dwarfed by Auro. Sure, PAA belongs to Auro, but not once does Abhishek Bachchan dither from his position or seems less inferior. This is the hallmark of a tremendous actor, which Abhishek is. Vidya is another surprise of PAA. She takes giant strides as an actor and proves yet again that given the right roles, she can match up to the best in the business.

Paresh Rawal is effective. Arundhati Naag is amazing. So is the kid, Pratik, enacting the role of Auro's best buddy. His telephonic conversation with Auro is superb. Jaya Bachchan's presence is lovely.

On the whole, PAA is an amazing experience. It makes you realize two things. One, the Hindi film industry is also capable of narrating fresh stories. Two, Amitabh Bachchan is truly the most accomplished actor this side of the Atlantic.

Talking from the business point of view, PAA has been made in a sensible and reasonable budget [approx. Rs. 17 crores, including P & A expenses], which should easily be recovered from multiplexes alone.

In the final tally, here's a film that should win awards [for Auro] and also box-office rewards, given its low costs. A film that should strike a chord with every paa, maa... just about everyone with a heart!





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post Feb 16 2010, 03:00 PM
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In defence of Amitabh Bachchan's lack of convictions
By IANS, 16 February, 2010



Actor Amitabh Bachchan's decision to be Gujarat's brand ambassador has provoked many to question his political convictions, with some even going to the extent of wondering whether he has any.

'When Amitabh Bachchan advertises cement or any other commodity, we are expected to buy it because he has endorsed it; yet, when he shakes hands with Narendra Modi, he expects us to read nothing into it,' write Jatin Gandhi and Hartosh Singh Bal in the latest issue of Open magazine.

'The question is not whether Modi is better or worse than Rajiv (Gandhi), but whether there are convictions the man or the actor is willing to stand by.'

In her column for the Daily News and Analysis (DNA) high profile social activist from Gujarat and noted classical dancer Mallika Sarabhai asked: 'It has been reported that no direct fee will be paid to you for being my Brand Ambassador. So, with no monetary decision to guide you, how did you decide to say yes? Did you check on the state of the state?'

The overall tone of both these pieces is one of unconcealed derision at Bachchan's seemingly flexible political convictions and thinly disguised self-serving opportunism. This is the kind of subject where both sides can make their case quite forcefully and yet leave many unconvinced.

There is a third point of view which might explain some of the contradictions. For reasons that are hard to comprehend millions of Indians have accorded Bachchan a seriousness of purpose which he may not fully deserve or even hanker after. People confuse his celluloid persona to arrive at judgements which are far in excess of what he may be as a human being in real life. To that extent Bachchan is tested against benchmarks which are inherently unfair and unrealistic.

Bachchan is an ordinary mortal like the rest of humanity when it comes to impulses such as personal ambition and aggrandisement. His motivations, like the rest, are purely personal and familial first and then perhaps communal, national and global. People react with outrage to Bachchan's apparent lack of convictions or shifting political loyalties based on personal gain because they have formed a lofty image of his in their minds for no rational reason. And when they discover a chasm between what they perceive him to be or want him to be and what he really is, they feel let down or even betrayed.

What Bachchan really is may not even be that egregiously flawed. However, the people have given him such an exalted position, which he may not have sought himself and may not have done much to challenge either, that a slight lowering in that image causes widespread anger, indignation and disillusionment.

Why raise him on a pedestal and deify him in the first place and then rage against him if he wants to step down from time to time? It is a natural consequence of his chosen profession that he would acquire stature and influence which are often disproportionate to his actual contribution outside that profession. That is why he is able to glibly endorse a whole range of products which he may never have used in the past, nor is likely to in the future.

Because he is Amitabh Bachchan he may enjoy credibility in walks of life where he has absolutely no achievement to speak of. That reputation is as much a creation of the media as it is a product of the guileless millions who have invested unquestioning faith in him. As a purely commercial being he is merely leveraging that faith without making any distinction between endorsing a brand of cement, a bank, a car or even a state. In that sense Bachchan has perfected his personal brand as agnostic to the deeper contradictions of his endorsements.

The moment people start seeing him for what he is -- a broadly decent, unquestionably gifted, intelligent albeit occasionally obscurantist, and strongly commercially driven professional -- all the indignation, outrage and disillusionment will disappear. That he apparently has no political convictions cannot be extrapolated to mean that he has no scruples. The mercenary instinct is an inherent feature of all super celebrities globally who capitalize on their personal brand equity to sell anything -- either a product or a cause.

The only way to rationalise Bachchan's seeming lack of any permanent political loyalties or convictions is by rubbing out the aura of improbable greatness that people have come to associate with him. Once he is seen like any other hugely successful professional, whose primary motivations are necessarily selfish and feet are made of clay, his apparent lack of convictions and shifting political loyalties will appear far less incongruent, quite like they would in any other mortal extracting the most out of the opportunities that life offers.




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post Jun 8 2010, 12:24 PM
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Bollywood's first couple Amitabh Bachchan [ Images ] and Jaya Bachchan entered in their 37th year of togetherness on Thursday with fans pouring their best wishes.


"37 years! That's how long my parents have been married. Their wedding anniversary today!," Abhishek announced on micro-blogging Twitter on Thursday morning.

And ever since congratulatory posts have been flooding from celebrities and fans alike. Sachin Tendulkar [ Images ], Madhur Bhandarkar [ Images ], Preity Zinta [ Images ], Sikandar Kher, Genelia [ Images ] D'Souza, Atul Kasbekar wished the couple on Twitter to which the 67-year-old superstar replied graciously.


"Dear Amitji & Jayaji wish u both a vry happy wedding annvrsry. May god bless u with good health & happiness in life.Anjali&Sachin (sic)," Sachin wrote on his twitter account.


"Thank you very much Sachin and Anjali.. am in the interiors of Gujarat, signal weak.. but lovely hearing from you both..," Bachchan replied in a Twitter post.


"This is wishing my dear Babua and Beti a very happy wedding anniversary. Love," veteran actor Shammi Kapoor [ Images ] wrote.
Bachchan thanked Kapoor and wrote, "Thank you so much Shammi ji... your blessings always divine..."


"Your greetings for our Anniversary keep pouring in and I am overwhelmed by your love.. Many thanks for your affection," Bachchan added.


The actor is in Gujarat as the brand ambassador of the state, shooting for promotional advertisements. Son Abhishek is in Turkey for a film shooting, while daughter-in-law Aishwarya is in Paris fulfiling her commitments as a brand ambassador of Longines.

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post Jun 18 2010, 12:09 PM
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Amitabh Bachchan to host KBC 4 on Sony
By: Bollywood Mantra Staff on 12th June 2010





Amitabh Bachchan is back. He is signed to play the host of the most popular quiz show, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ season 4. Earlier aired by Siddharth Basu’s Synergy on Star Plus will now be aired by Sony entertainment channel.

According to the show’s actual quizmaster, Siddharth Basu: “Star relinquished the KBC license some time back. And yes, the show is with Sony now. All the questions regarding the show and the host will have to be addressed to them since they are the broadcasters now. Of course, my company, Big Synergy, looks forward to producing it for them.”

Shahrukh Khan was also on the card but finally the decision went in favor of Amitabh. KBC was Big B’s first appearance on Indian television. It was one of the most popular show on Indian television but went off air due to some unknown reasons. Now that it is back again, TV-goers will be entertained as well as informative.
Sony is yet to make the official announcement. Hopefully, the show will go on air by the end of this year.

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post Jun 30 2010, 11:11 AM
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No language barrier for Big B
IANS, Jun 30, 2010, 12.00am IST



Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan is off to Ooty to shoot for his Malayalam project and says he gave his nod for the film only because of his admiration for southern superstar Mohanlal.

"My admiration for Mohanlal could never have made me refuse this offer and so I do it for him," Amitabh posted on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com.

"Mohanlal has been and still is one of the most incredible talents from Kerala and the Malayalam film industry. I have admired him and his work through many years of my existence in this profession. He has a unique body and face language. You get the feeling that he is doing nothing, yet it results in the most amazing results - natural, without effort and effective. Just such a joy to watch him," he wrote.

The offer for the yet-to-be-titled project came to Amitabh when he went to Kerala to attend the celebration of sound technician Resul Pookutty's Oscar victory last year.

"It was there that Mohanlal, a guest at the occasion, had come up to my room with his director Major Ravi to put up this idea and this proposal. A few weeks later, they all came to meet up with me in Mumbai to set up all the details for the shoot," he posted.

The 67-year-old is working for free in the movie.

"(They) put up the inevitable question that most producers do of remuneration! I had laughed at them. What? Charge you for working for three days in a Mohanlal film? An actor I admire? You must be joking! No way, no fees, no nothing. Just tell me when I have to report and where. That is all."

There won't be any language barrier for Amitabh as he is playing a north Indian character.

"The film will be in Malayalam, but my character is north Indian so I shall be speaking in Hindi, with the odd sentence in Malayalam. Now that shall be tough, but effort shall be made, let's see what happens," he wrote.

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post Sep 29 2011, 10:11 AM
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Big B at Lata Mangeshkar's birthday concert

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/stills/par...cert/index.html
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post Nov 9 2011, 10:12 AM
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No coverage of Aishwarya's baby
By: The Hitlist Team Date: 2011-11-08 Place: Mumbai





The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has sent some guidelines barring the channels from reporting about Aishwarya Rai's impending delivery.

Apparently inspired by a tweet by Amitabh Bachchan, the Broadcast Editor's association has set some strict guidelines for television channels.



Apart from other guidelines, it says that the channels cannot place their OB vans outside the hospital or any other location and no MMS or photography of the child can be shown unless the Bachchan family voluntarily parts with it.

So those of you expecting to get a minute-by-minute coverage of the arrival of the child are in for a disappointment.
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post Nov 9 2011, 10:19 AM
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Big B denies controlling coverage of grandchild’s birth
By IANS, 8 November, 2011


Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he has no intention of controlling the electronic media coverage of his grandchild’s birth.

His daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai is expected to deliver a baby in mid-November.

Responding to a report that said he approached the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) to ban TV channels from placing reporters and cameras outside the hospital, Bachchan tweeted: ‘I&B and media matter! Firstly, I have no such intention ever, secondly do you really think I&B would listen to me!?? No way baby.

Big B, who was also informed of the development through a message from a senior journalist, took to his blog to clarify that he had no role to play in moving these guidelines.

He wrote Monday night: ‘…this afternoon a print media sent a message – ‘have you told the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to stop OB Vans from being anywhere near your house and hospital during the delivery of the baby.’

‘This was of course not true and a lot of nonsense, so I put the PR agency to look after the matter. They came back with the response that they contacted the journalist and told them that the news was wrong and refuted it on my behalf, but also told me that apparently there is news that the I&B Ministry has passed an order stating that the dignity of a patient should be respected and that the placing of OB Vans outside hospitals be not allowed.’

A media report said that the Broadcast Editors Association (BEA) has issued a 10-point advisory to its members on how to cover the birth of Bachchan’s grandchild.

Be it Amitabh’s son Abhishek’s wedding, Aishwarya’s baby shower, Karva Chauth or Diwali — all such events at the Bachchan household have attracted mass media coverage in the recent past.


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post Oct 11 2013, 03:18 PM
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Life itself is a miracle: Amitabh Bachchan



As he turns 71 today, the legend Amitabh Bachchan shares a few thoughts with HitList...


October 11, 2013


Mumbai

Shubha Shetty-Saha


Looking back at your illustrious career is there anything which you look at as miraculous? Things which you never expected to happen?
Life itself is a miracle ! What better can one expect or hope for? The fact that I am still alive, the fact that I am still fortunate enough to get some work, the fact that there are a few that still wish well for me, the fact that you seek my responses for an interview are all miracles!

Photos: Rare pictures of Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan

You have been fortunate enough to closely see an enormous change that has happened in the industry, technology wise and otherwise. Is there anything that you wish had happened sooner when you were struggling to get in or when you were at the peak of your career?
Yes, technology has changed, times have changed and that bodes well. But when you get in front of the camera, nothing else matters except your interpretation of the scene as per the directions of your director. Each decade or period of time in the life of any artiste is always looked upon favourably, because at that time of your presence there were many changes that your predecessors did not have and they managed well and became your idols. So we should not have any wishes. We are fortunate to be getting the facilities with changing times and they are most welcome ..

Photos: Big B films you may not have seen

Internationally do you think our films have to be represented better? Or do you think we need to do something beyond what is being done now?
I think our films are being sufficiently well represented internationally. There is a sizeable market for them, and if comparisons are to be made then you need to find out the percentages of other nation countries and the representation that their films are making, to judge whether we are on the right track or not. Indian films have a unique USP, and though they may have been the subject of severe criticism laced with, according to me, unjust cynicism, we have not changed and are now a greatly recognised medium. Let us be very clear on this. We make films, primarily, for our diasporas. The international interest is more than welcome!

Photos: Amitabh Bachchan: The Man and his moments

As a senior, respected member of the industry, would you want to represent the country in more ways than you already do?
I think that I am fine with whatever little I may be assumed to be doing. I love my country, as do all of us, and to see it grow into a developed nation, a First World nation, rather than one that is often referred to as Third World, would be not only my desire but I believe the desire of every Indian.

As it happened recently with The Good Road and The Lunchbox, there was open criticism about the choice if film that went for Oscars. Do you think this open challenge of authority, which didnt happen earlier, a sign of growth?
We have the great benefit of living in a free environment, one that gives us constitutional right to be able to express ourselves within its tenets. If there is an official body that has been put in place by the system, it must be honoured. You may have the right to disagree, and make vocal your criticism, but eventually you obey the system. That is the quality of a good citizen. Challenge to authority has always happened, more so in a democratic country like ours. When you say it never 'happened earlier', is not entirely correct. It did. Only you never heard it, because the kind of communication facility that exists now, did not earlier.

You have been handling your career with much dedication and enthusiasm. But when you introspect, is there something that you think could have been improved upon? Or given a choice you would do it differently?
Each day and each moment I look to improve upon all aspects of my life! Doing it differently, perhaps not, for then it would rob me of the benefit of learning from the mistakes that I made.

At this juncture of your career and life, what gives you the most satisfaction?
That I possess the ability to never seek complete satisfaction...

Has your definition of success and happiness changed over the years?
I have no definition to describe success ... happiness being more subjective, is and does contain a definition for me; one that I would not want to disclose.
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