the ever charismatic amitabh bachchan
i have finally found some time from my busy weekend schedule to update my blog. though i plan to write many posts, thought of starting with this one. felt like writing this after reading varun's post on big b declaring himself as a "beggar for roles" on some tv show. the discussion ended on the note that big b should not get himself stereotyped in playing fatherly roles like the one in recently released movie Waqt where he played the DAIDAA of akshay kumar.
i still believe that big b was just being modest when he said that he is afraid of not getting roles. he hasn't lost his old charisma at all, in fact he has become one of the biggest brand of india. the fact that Cadburys asked him to promote their product (after the insect in dairy milk episode) and the daily milk sales bounced back from a dip following the tv commercial featuring big b with the line "kyonki hum keh rahe hain", says it all. though building a temple in his name is no sanity, but there is no denying the fact that indian people still regard him as much as they did in the 80s (people all over the country prayed for his recovery after his near-fatal accident while shooting for movie Coolie) and have even come to trust him a lot.
agreed that he has not been successful always, e.g. his stint with politics and the abcl fiasco. but he has never given up and always bounced back. though not directly involved in mainstream politics, he is almost there by virtue of his wife jaya bhaduri, so-called bhai amar singh and close alliances with mulayam singh yadav and anil ambani. as for abcl, he had paid all his debts thanks to the popular tv show "kaun banega crorepati". i think it would be fair to say that no other star could have carried the show in a better way than big b, proof lies in the fact that none other tv quiz shows have gained as much popularity among the viewers across india as kbc.
now the next question raised was regarding playing stereotypes roles. at the age of 65, the most obvious role to play is obviously of a father. i personally(and for that matter, hope other big b fans also) won't like big b gyrating with heronies a half/third of his age, no way. and i think even he realised the fact after his new innings in bollywood started on a bad note with super flop movies like lal badshah, suryavansham etc. what's so wrong in playing roles of a father or grandfather when that kind of role suits the age perfectly. and the fact remains, that if one analyses his roles in late 70s and 80s, did he not play stereotypes roles even then. either a good honest cop or a bad person with a good heart who dies in the end, these were the stereotyped roles he played with perfection and people loved it all. on the contrary, if we exclude his fatherly roles, he is getting more variety these day. in my view, the honest but unsucessful and aging a.c.p. of Khakee was one of the finest portrayal of a police officer in recent movies. and then we had Black, another role never before played by anyone in bollywood.
people are waiting for his new avatar in Sarkar (where he is portraying the marlon brando of godfather) and they won't be complaining simply because he plays the father of 3 in that movie. with the KBC series all set to restart shortly, i think he will be adding even more stars to his popularity, the phenomenon that Big B already is. way to go Bachchan Saab.
i still believe that big b was just being modest when he said that he is afraid of not getting roles. he hasn't lost his old charisma at all, in fact he has become one of the biggest brand of india. the fact that Cadburys asked him to promote their product (after the insect in dairy milk episode) and the daily milk sales bounced back from a dip following the tv commercial featuring big b with the line "kyonki hum keh rahe hain", says it all. though building a temple in his name is no sanity, but there is no denying the fact that indian people still regard him as much as they did in the 80s (people all over the country prayed for his recovery after his near-fatal accident while shooting for movie Coolie) and have even come to trust him a lot.
agreed that he has not been successful always, e.g. his stint with politics and the abcl fiasco. but he has never given up and always bounced back. though not directly involved in mainstream politics, he is almost there by virtue of his wife jaya bhaduri, so-called bhai amar singh and close alliances with mulayam singh yadav and anil ambani. as for abcl, he had paid all his debts thanks to the popular tv show "kaun banega crorepati". i think it would be fair to say that no other star could have carried the show in a better way than big b, proof lies in the fact that none other tv quiz shows have gained as much popularity among the viewers across india as kbc.
now the next question raised was regarding playing stereotypes roles. at the age of 65, the most obvious role to play is obviously of a father. i personally(and for that matter, hope other big b fans also) won't like big b gyrating with heronies a half/third of his age, no way. and i think even he realised the fact after his new innings in bollywood started on a bad note with super flop movies like lal badshah, suryavansham etc. what's so wrong in playing roles of a father or grandfather when that kind of role suits the age perfectly. and the fact remains, that if one analyses his roles in late 70s and 80s, did he not play stereotypes roles even then. either a good honest cop or a bad person with a good heart who dies in the end, these were the stereotyped roles he played with perfection and people loved it all. on the contrary, if we exclude his fatherly roles, he is getting more variety these day. in my view, the honest but unsucessful and aging a.c.p. of Khakee was one of the finest portrayal of a police officer in recent movies. and then we had Black, another role never before played by anyone in bollywood.
people are waiting for his new avatar in Sarkar (where he is portraying the marlon brando of godfather) and they won't be complaining simply because he plays the father of 3 in that movie. with the KBC series all set to restart shortly, i think he will be adding even more stars to his popularity, the phenomenon that Big B already is. way to go Bachchan Saab.
posted by himanshu agrawal | 10:08 AM
4 Comments:
at the age of 65, the most obvious role to play is obviously of a father
I don't remember seeing Sean Connery playing a father. Playing father is no problem as long as it's not cliched. Om Puri's role in Dhoop was of a father, but it was still "different". So was Anupam Kher's role in Saraansh.
It's very easy to play cliched roles and make bucks, but I don't think Bachchan should do that now! He has the potential to carry out most difficult roles. He should restrict himself to challanging roles & not succumb with mediocrity.
I totally agree with Varun. No one is denying his greatness. We just wish that he always do the roles like he did in aankhein, khakee, black and many more. Fathers' role is welcome as long as its not cliched as Varun said. By your description, Sarkar sounds good and I will be eagerly awaiting for it. When is it releasing?
they don't make so many off-beat or hollywood-ish movies here in india. for so many years, bollywood has seen the same formula getting repeated. only now, directors are attempting to make some hatke movies. but the directors obviously choose the actor they think suits the role best. so if amitabh doesn't get Dhoop/Saaransh kinda roles, it isn't his mistake entirely. he still tries, may be this was what he had in mind when he called himself "beggar" that even he has to struggle good roles.
and just an off the track remark. in hollywood, i find Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman doing much better roles than Sean Connery (who appears to me doing cliched roles in action movies only)
The point is, if he isn't getting good roles, which I don't think is true, is it still necessary to compromise on quality & do 10-15 movies per year?
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