It`s tough to slot him in categories or anticipate his career moves

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\\ A M I T A B H B A C H C H A N
It’s tough to slot him in categories
or anticipate his career moves.
Amitabh Bachchan, the phenomenon
that he is, continues to reinvent himself
Ab tak
Bachchan
by Aarti Kapoor Singh
ere’s one who needs innumerable adjectives and a study in hyperbole to
describe his life and career. While countless dialogues that he has mouthed
in his baritone have become legendary, several have stuck to his personality.
A case in point: Hum jahaan khade hote hain, line wahin se shuru ho jaati hai
from the movie Kaalia.
If there ever was a live example for the word “phenomenon”, Amitabh Bachchan
would be it. Can you think of any other actor who makes stars three to four decades
younger than him, fade away in comparison? Or any other septuagenarian, who hungrily
snaps up four to five releases a year, when other younger actors have to be content with a
couple of wraps? The superstar of the millennium, as reported by the BBC, has the
energy to support several causes and endorse myriad products, host game shows and
appear tirelessly for film promotions. His blogs, Twitter handle and Facebook profile
“likes” are used to show social networking trends and his posts and posted photos make
news! And it is this living legend, this man who gave swagger a whole new meaning,
who starts the interview with a warm namaste. Good he spoke first, or this hopelessly
star-struck writer would have stayed tongue-tied.
I’m curious about how he challenges every norm that there is about acting one’s age,
and what keeps him going. His answer is as disarming as it is humble. He gives all the
credit to his fans: “When I see fans — the way they come to me, crowd around my house
every Sunday, I feel as though I owe them something.” He candidly confesses to
H
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A M I T A B H B A C H C H A N //
AMITABH:
THE REAL
LIFE
During his school
days, Amitabh
Bachchan dreamt of
becoming an
engineer. At one
point, he
contemplated
joining the Indian
Air Force.
When Bachchan
was in critical
condition after the
near-fatal accident
on the sets ofCoolie,
wife Jaya walked
barefoot daily from
Breach Candy
Hospital in south
Mumbai, to the
famed Siddhivinayak
Temple, six
kilometres away,
praying for his quick
recovery.
The actor holds the
record for being the
most-nominated
Bollywood celebrity
in any major
categories at the
prestigious Filmfare
Awards, with 39
nominations.
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A M I T A B H B A C H C H A N //
moments of nervousness, too, “Any challenge to my
limited ability as an actor does get me anxious. But I
feel it is a good thing. This is a better way to address
one’s insecurities and enhance creativity rather than
allowing them to weigh you down.”
It is, perhaps, this attitude — borrowing a verse
from his father’s poem — “Mann ka ho to achcha, na
ho to aur bhi achcha” — that makes him Big B.
Unmindful of all criticism — trying too hard,
choosing gimmicky roles or acting bizarre, selling his
name for peddling products — Bachchan refuses to
slow down. “I thank God for every blessing. I have
seen the lows of life and am insecure about losing it
all one day,” he confesses.
“In the film industry, when you are past a certain
age, you’re not going to get the leading role. And
therefore, there are character roles. You can decide
whether you opt for the character role category or
not. I want to continue working, and I’m happy
doing character roles,” adds the actor who carved
another niche hitherto unknown of in Hindi cinema
— that of the mature leading man. And much like
whatever he did, these character roles were
unconventional, too. Some have even been
outrageous, to the extent of being bizarre. But
Bachchan pulled off Paa, Aladin, Cheeni Kum and
several others without any reference.
Where there were praises, however, there was
criticism, too. But Bachchan feels he is past the age
of keeping up appearances. “Sometimes you do tend
to repeat what has worked or has been appreciated.
But at 72, you can’t look at some kind of image that
you have to maintain. I am doing what I enjoy and
that makes me happy and blessed,” quips the
superstar, adding, how he’s at a stage where the
responsibility of being the leading man, or for a film
to be successful, is not on his shoulders. "So I would
like to do whatever comes my way — in that sense,
yes, I am getting younger and taking risks (laughs).
Okay, people didn’t like some of my films such as
Nishabd or Aladin or Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag and
AMITABH
ADOPTED HIS
FATHER’S
PEN NAME —
BACHCHAN — AS
HIS LAST NAME.
HIS ACTUAL
SURNAME IS
SRIVASTAVA.
You can decide whether you opt for
the character role category or not.
I want to continue working, and
I’m happy playing such parts
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IRONICALLY, THE
ACTOR WHO REFUSED
TO ENDORSE ANY
PRODUCTS AT THE
PEAK OF HIS CAREER,
LENDS HIS
CHARISMATIC
PERSONA TO A WIDE
RANGE OF PRODUCTS
— FROM CELLULAR
PHONES AND SOFT
DRINKS TO PENS,
CARS AND FINANCIAL
SCHEMES. TAKING
HOME NEARLY Rs 200
MILLION, BACHCHAN
ENDORSES GLOBAL
PRODUCTS, TOO.
trashed it. But I am fine with that. I didn’t mind doing those roles because they tested my
creativity and I enjoyed doing them.”
Criticism has been part of Bachchan’s life, but overlooking it has become a habit for the man.
After all, wasn’t he criticised for being too tall, for his baritone (even rejected by Ameen Sayani
in a radio audition!)? Even his wife Jaya was extremely critical of the chartbuster song Mere
Angne Mein from Laawaris. “Well, Jaya was repulsed by that song. She saw the rushes and
unmindful of who was present there, she burst out saying, ‘How can you do this? How can you
be so crass?’.” Jaya has not seen the film till date. According to Amitabh, Shweta and Abhishek,
his children, are his severest critics. They analyse everything — from his appearance to his
dance moves — whenever his film releases.
The strongest criticism from the family came before he agreed to be on TV for the first time.
“My family was apprehensive about TV. Jaya thought it would reduce the canvas and that it was
below me. Shweta kept telling me she was with me, but I had to be really sure. Everyone said I
was reducing myself from 70mm to 25 inches. But I was at a stage in my life where I wasn’t
doing much. My work was not being appreciated. My films were not doing well. I just looked at
it as another opportunity,” says the actor. Bachchan was taken to England to see a recording of
Who Wants to Be A Millionaire with Chris Tarrant, who was filming the show at the BBC’s
legendary Elstree Studios. Once Bachchan said yes, there was no looking back.
Fourteen years after his TV debut, this BBC’s Superstar Of The Millennium considers himself
a novice in the medium. “To be honest, I am still learning the medium,” he says, and made his
TV fiction debut this year, in Yudh. The series, launched on July 14, boasts of many firsts:
Bachchan stars in his first TV fiction series; Anurag Kashyap and Shoojit Sircar team up as the
creative director and the creative consultant, respectively, for a TV show; and it features
heavyweights such as Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kay Kay Menon, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Zakir Hussain
and Sarika, some making their television debut with the show. “I liked the story idea,” Bachchan
stresses. “I liked the character and its complicated bearings and I liked the idea of doing
something in a serial form for television,” he says.
It is not just films and TV where the consummate performer occupies a pole position.
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A M I T A B H B A C H C H A N //
AMITABH:
THE REEL LIFE
After his likeable act as the
compassionate babu moshai in
Anand, Amitabh had a spate of 10
flops, Parwaana, Pyaar Ki Kahani,
Reshma Aur Shera, Bombay
Talkies, Bansi Birju, Ek Nazar,
Raaste Ka Patthar, Sanjog,
Garam Masala, Bandhe Haath.
Prakash Mehra’s smashing hit
Zanjeer broke the jinx.
Amitabh Bachchan is the only
actor in Hindi film industry who
has played the maximum number
of double roles – that’s 10
movies. Aadalat, Don, Kasme
Vaade, The Great Gambler, Desh
Premee, Satte Pe Satta, Aakhree
Raasta, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan,
Lal Baadshah and
Sooryavansham.
While shooting for Mukul Anand's
Khuda Gawah, Najibullah, the
then president of Afghanistan,
provided Bachchan with half the
country's air force for his
protection. Khuda Gawah became
one of the most watched Indian
films in Afghanistan.
During the making of Khuda
Gawah, Amitabh, who plays a
Pathan, developed blisters on his
face due to the constant
application and removal of his
fake beard.
For someone who is not a
professional singer, he has sung
quite a few hit songs. Mere Angne
Mein in Laawaris, Rang Barse in
Silsila, Mere Paas Aao in
Mr Natwarlal, Tu Maike Mat Jaiyo
in Pukar, Bura bhala in Aks, the
Aankhen soliloquy in Aankhen,
and the recent Ekla Chalo Re
from Kahaani , to name a few.
I was at a stage in my life
where I wasn’t doing much.
My work was not being
appreciated. My films were not
doing well. I just looked at it
(TV) as another opportunity
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Bachchan has conquered the world of advertising as well.
Ironically, the actor who refused to endorse any products at the
peak of his career, lends his charismatic persona to a wide
range of products — from cellular phones and soft drinks to
pens, cars and financial schemes. Taking home nearly Rs 200
million, Bachchan endorses global products, too. But it is not
just the money that the megastar is concerned with. As he puts
it, “I do a lot of thinking before I take up a brand. I don’t have
an agent who facilitates this work for me. I make my own
judgement by meeting the client personally, seeing their
accounts and audits. They need to convince me why I must
endorse their product.”
Having Amitabh Bachchan as an ambassador gets these
brands noticed since the man’s popularity crosses boundaries
— be it demographic, psychographic or geographic. He
commands respect across the length and breadth of India,
cutting across the barriers of age, income, region and
language. Small wonder then, that even as a superhero, he
came out trumps with children. Yes, even before the Krrishes
and Ra.Ones, India had its own superhero. A comic book
series about superhero Amitabh, based on the star’s life, was
published in the mid-1980s. The story was later developed into
a full-fledged film Toofan. He played himself in the comic
series, and was also Supremo — a savior to those in trouble —
AMITABH BACHCHAN IS A VEGETARIAN WHO
LOVES ALU POORI, PAKODAS, DHOKLAS AND
PARATHAS. HE ALSO LOVES GULAB JAMUNS.
who wore skin-tight beet-red costume and welding glasses to
hide his original identity; the first page of the comic carried a
personal handwritten request from Big B, requesting all his
fans to keep his identity a secret.
Supremo didn’t have superpowers but what he did have is
strength and conviction to overcome situations and adversaries
— in that sense, he was real. Credit also goes to the writer of
the series — Gulzar. The pages were peppered with
throwbacks to characters from Bachchan’s movies. For
instance, Supremo’s two helpers — Vijay and Anthony —
were named after his on-screen characters. He also had a pet
Dolphin called Sonali and a falcon scout Shaheen, inspired by
the bird in his superhit movie, Coolie.
Despite its popularity, however, the comic series lasted only
two years. “I was lucky the makers approached me with this
concept. I have come across several fans who are grown-up
adults now, but recollect with glee the comics and sometimes
bring it to show me. It helped me make a lot of young
friends,” says Bachchan. The Supremo avatar inspired his film
role in Ajooba.
It is this comfort with people of all age-groups that makes
his movie releases a highly anticipated event in India. His next
in line will be Do (tentatively titled) with Farhan Akhtar, and R
Balki’s Shamitabh (in which he stars with Rekha after 33 years).
“I am blessed that these intelligent minds consider me worthy
of their films and instil in me the will to keep working,” says
the actor.
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A M I T A B H B A C H C H A N //
Timeless classic: Amitabh Bachchan starred in the adaption of F Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby
Bachchan’s humility is deeply entrenched in the lessons he
has learnt from life when the going got tough. Imagine quitting
an executive’s job in Kolkata that paid a four-figure (quite
princely in those days) salary, having a car and a house, to
sleeping on a bench. Much later, when everything seemed to be
getting only better, Bachchan’s finances tumbled with his
company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd (ABCL) got into
serious financial trouble. His homes were attached by lenders
who once clamoured to lend to his company, and his bank
account was down to a pittance. He survived the emotional
turmoil, much like he survived the infamous accident on the
sets of Coolie, when Bachchan was declared clinically dead for a
couple of minutes before reviving.
After the ups and downs, Bachchan is aware of the fickle
nature of kismet. “There is always this apprehension and
anxiety that I may lose everything, simply because nothing is
permanent. I think the eventuality of that should never be
forgotten. There is always going to be a risk. When you are
aware of it and realise that it could happen at the drop of a hat,
it drives you to not get into that situation again,” he feels.
This philosophy reflects in Bachchan’s blogs as well. This is
another habit that the superstar diligently adheres to — of
writing a blog entry every day. His take on life reflects in his
post written on the eve of his birthday: “Struggles and
uncertainties, successes and disappointments, accusations and
controversies, ill health and months in hospital, all such a vivid
kaleidoscope of moments, events, images simply unbelievable
and unimaginable...”.
Like I said, a life well-lived and worth fighting for. And
Bachchan is doing all that and more.
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