Article from Unfolded Magazine Issue 03 - available online
at
www.unfoldedmag.com
Unfolded Magazine had the honour of speaking to legendary actor
Amitabh Bachchan, BBC 'Star of the Millennium' and a veteran of
over 180 films, about the launch of Bachchan Bol in the UK, a novel
voice blog. Amitabh is the son of prominent Urdu poet Harivansh Rai
Bachchan, husband of Jaya Badhuri, father of Abhishek and
father-in-law of Aishwarya Rai. We spoke to Big B about his vog,
life, fashion and the Indian film industry.
With a career spanning over four decades, without a shadow of a
doubt, a leading icon of the Indian film industry and an ambassador
for the art, we asked Amitabh about where he gets the drive, energy
and enthusiasm for acting from? "I don’t know, it just happened.
Once you give a commitment and are passionate about a particular
job you just find the time for it". Audiences are what have made
Amitabh a household name in India, "It really has a lot to do with
the audience and fans who have given me huge encouragement over the
years".
Giving up a stable job as an executive in a managing agency,
Amitabh did amateur theatre for several years before deciding on
pursuing a film career, "films seemed to be a natural extension of
theatre. I applied to several projects and got rejected. Eventually
I got my break, landed in Mumbai and have never looked back".
This has been a lucky break, not just for himself but for the
public who have flocked to see his films over the years. Amitabh
means the light that will never extinguish; it is fitting then that
Amitabh is at ease with the adoption of new technologies, blogging,
twitter and now indeed vogging, to add to the repertoire of ways he
interacts with his audiences, "It does interest me, technology has
given me a great opportunity to connect more closely with the fans.
To grasp and utilise it is very exciting".
To be short and succinct with ones words, given the twitter
platform, we asked whether Amitabh would incorporate that into his
vog? Would he utilise short voice messages or expand to more
lengthy discussions? "The blog is fairly extensive, I can write as
much as a like. Twitter is more concise, with 140 character limit.
The Vog, I would say, is also limitless as I can keep talking about
a subject and invite discussion and debate, as I do with my blog.
Even on twitter, you can get great feedback and discussion. They
are three mediums I now use extensively, but each has their own
positives and negatives".
However, as a public figure, to be misquoted concerns Amitabh and
he values the three mediums as "a great platform for sharing views
and indeed addressing wrongly held ones of others", but "as we are
only human, we are not always right". Amitabh adds that "it is
welcoming at times to be corrected by others who read his words",
as in doing so "we share knowledge" and "interact with others on
the other side of the line with another viewpoint".
In terms of clothing, fashion houses and designers, Amitabh
certainly is an icon in India with the following he has. With that,
appearance and how he is viewed are certainly important. Amitabh
has said he does not have an affinity for a certain brand or
clothing, wearing "whatever I feel comfortable in, is good enough
for me". However, he ads that he has "been with Dolce & Gabbana
(India) for a very long time, whose clothing is beautifully
crafted". Of notable Indian designers he has worked, to recall just
a few, Amitabh mentions Abu Sandeep (Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla)
and in August, he will "return to KBC, with my look and clothing
designed by Rohit Bal", adding that "they are all very young,
enterprising and very talented".
With talent and passion for the film industry, Amitabh says his
parents were his first mentors and people he most looks up to,
adding: "from the film industry, people like Dilip Kumar, Waheeda
Rahman, Motilal". With a somewhat reminiscent tone, "you have to
look to your elders and forebears for guidance".
Given the whole escapism of Indian cinema, with the musicals and
fanfare; Amitabh has had the opportunity to play a varied number of
roles over the years. We asked whether there is a role he would
like to portray in the future that would be a challenge? "I would
be very happy if someone challenged me and bought something novel.
Films with directors Sanjay Leela Bhansali and also R Balki, who
did our last two films were very challenging".
Indian cinema is indeed changing apace, as is technology. Given his
sprightly age of 68, Amitabh has seen first hand, how the Indian
film industry has developed and adopt a global audience of fans,
mentioning how when he grew up, cinema was considered almost a
"non-entity". For the future, with companies now realising how huge
the industry is and bringing in investment, of the next 40 years,
Amitabh says "I think Indian cinema was looked upon rather
cynically", however, the films
were "purely made for entertainment with all their music; escapism;
fantasy; plot structures -
appealing to all denominators, from poor to rich." With regard to
the format: "as the box office continues to be filled, the west has
realised our unique selling point", the format looks set to
continue for some time.
Of upcoming films, with Amitabh known for his inimitable style, he
is set to reprise his his 'angry man image' in Viacom18 & AB
Corp’s, 'Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap', directed by Puri Jagannath.
Connection with fans is key and we hope to continue to see Big B in
several films to come, not least, tweet, share, blog and now listen
via Bachchan Bol to his words of wisdom.
(Interview by Nardip Singh)
For more information:
bigb.bigadda.com
www.bachchanbol.com
www.insideindia.co.uk