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Bachchan — 548 & 549

LINK
“Jaya has travelled to Dhaka, Bangladesh to shoot for a film, Abhishek has wrapped on ‘Ravana’, the film is over, much against the continued tirade by a section of the press that the film is delayed due to endless re shoots and issues between artists on set, which the Khaleej Times patronized by out of job ‘khalidas’ sitting in way out Dubai, seem to invent. 180 days to complete a film in two versions, Tamil and Hindi is no mean accomplishment. Thats 90 days per film. Not at all unreasonable. Abhishek will be back tomorrow.”
LINK2
“Abhishek having finished with ‘Ravana’, much to the consternation of certain deliberately biased and sold over media that has been dutifully panning the film and its delays in order to destroy its presence and importance, on his drive back, swung by Kamalistan Studios where I was leaving large footprints in tons of cement, to have lunch and to discuss various developments in both the area of brand endorsements and film. Aishwarya finishes on ‘Ravana’ tomorrow and thats a wrap for her on the film. More consternation for sold over biased media !!”

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93 Responses to “Bachchan — 548 & 549”

  1. Satyam Says:
    October 21, 2009 at 6:06 PM

    [I wonder what the speculation would have been like if Mughal-e-Azam and Pakeezah had been attempted today and with all the years that went into the making of each film! Film-making is a chaotic enterprise in all situations even if the media pretends to notice only when Abhishek is shooting and especially when he is shooting with Rathnam. I have said this before in other contexts but the Raavan schedules have been easily the most difficult shoots the stars of that film (in either version) have been involved in and it is possibly the most difficult shoot of Rathnam’s career as well. As these negative stories proliferate the budget number is also exaggerated beyond all measure. This is a safety net of a kind. How? Well later on when the film does well one might rely on these fairly idiotic numbers and pretend that relative to budget the film has still lost money! Many of these tactics were tried out, rather unsuccessfully, with Guru. In the meantime when it’s a question of some other stars the same hyperbolic budgets are used as selling points for those films and then when the films either don’t do well or barely scrape through at the box office or even if they are really successful no one really bothers about this stuff. Part of it is the fact that this compromised and rather corruptible media is ‘indulged’ in terms of both of these tendencies by some of the stars and film-makers in question. Hence the reports are always positive even in the worst case scenario. Not too long ago we saw the ridiculous spectacle of Nahata claiming that an 80 crore selling price for My Name is Khan (after this number had been advertised) was actually a steal! Well my math is not that weak and it is fairly easy to work this out for audio sales or satellite rights or overseas territories or what have you. Again the game here is to add up all the numbers and present the kind of math that would probably satisfy the sensibility of someone in kindergarten when everyone knows that movies are not sold that way. If a sub-distributor in Rajasthan loses money he doesn’t care if the producer made a table profit. And of course if the producer doesn’t recompense the distributor or sub-distributor for the same then the relationship becomes problematic. if the producer however is generous enough and/or smart enough to do so he reduces his own profit margin. So on and so forth. of course the likes of Nahata and Adarsh pretend not to know all of this. Supposedly the top two trade people in India but they act like ‘party operatives’ for certain films and stars and directors. Often they present one verdict online or on TV before a popular audience and then when you get to their actual trade journals (which are read by 10 people) the real picture emerges. So it’s plain and simply lying and they know it. But folks such as these or others of their kind then disseminate this sort of reporting in the media. The media that has also often received its own pound of flesh by the same sources is happy to bite. If there is still some integrity left in some it is often compromised for ideological reasons. Films that please the classes represented by the media and those that don’t. It’s a nasty, sleazy game. As I always tell people if you want to know who’s really more honest in terms of their dealings with the media/trade look at what kind of coverage they or their films get!

    I did come across the story on the ostensible fraud. Glad you’ll be deconstructing it.

    I’ve also read countless stories on the superb ratings of Big Boss. Meanwhile there are other stories percolating that Abhishek has agreed to do a show for the same channel called Bingo. I find this a bit hard to believe but perhaps you could clarify this matter as well.

    The film I’m most looking forward to in terms of your future projects (Paa of course is around the corner) is Johnny Mastana. But this films seems to keep falling out of the limelight, not least because of production issues and so forth. Wonder if you could enlighten us on the status of this film.

    I provided links yesterday to two images of Sharmila Tagore and Rekha, each from a Filmfare cover from ‘71. Both are very striking images. The former as I mentioned is probably my all time favorite Hindi film actress. A discussion then ensued on Rekha elsewhere where some were surprised or dismayed to learn that some of us (including myself) weren’t her greatest fans. I thought I’d add my opinions on Rekha here.

    Rekha had great screen presence and she especially benefited doing many films with you because she clearly learnt from you in terms of being a more effective star-actress. some of the lessons learnt were most efficiently employed in the 80s film Insaaf ki Awaaz (a film also notable for featuring the since deceased Richa Sharma). You made a good pair with her in many films even if I preferred watching you with your spouse (or spouse to be in certain films) or Smita Patil. because there was a certain asymmetry in these latter pairs. Rekha was all star, a competent actress but more star than actress and did not quite have the gifts that those other two ladies had (with the utmost respect I shall be bold enough to suggest that Jayaji herself is not the actress today, which is to say in films like K3G, that she once was, which is again to say in the 70s and going through Silsila, a film where she far outdoes Rekha in terms of performance and presence.. this sounds like a heretical view but Rekha was far too picture perfect here). But she nonetheless made a good pair with you. I personally have never detected the extra chemistry that the media and fans always asserted when it came to films featuring the two of you but the pair as I’ve said was charismatic. Of the films the two of you did Natwarlal is my very favorite in this context. Do Anjaane might be next on the list. But there are others too. At the Unforgettables it was quite a special moment to watch Abhishek and Aishwarya do pardesiya for all the ’semiotics’ of the moment (I shall not unpack this). But Rekha’s greatest gift to my mind was her re-invention of herself as ‘diva’. If I might be allowed some brutal honesty here I think her diva image was actually a bit incommensurate with her actual box office achievements (since one cannot get great credit for being successful with Amitabh Bachchan when everyone else was as well!). I credit her intelligence and her panache is terms of carrying this off (even if, and to be very candid yet again, she should have stopped many years ago) but it is not something built on the kind of bedrock achievements that the term ‘diva’ normally conjures up, i.e. when not employed wholly negatively. By the time that Rekha came into full bloom as an actress and in terms of fashioning the right persona (this was by the late 70s) it was already too late for her. So even as she had very successful films with you or something like Umrao Jaan or Khubsoorat somewhat later it was already too late for her to do much more. She did have a last hurrah in Agar Tum Na Hote (Insaaf ki Awaaz is too crassy a film) and if one wants to consider the box office then Khoon Bhari Maang (of course the Bokadia was a success too). But she’s really become the ice maiden by this time befitting the diva image and I personally found her vastly less interesting. Since the 90s a lot of the diva gesturality has been evident at public functions (awards shows et al) and I cannot say I have much taste for it. Yet for all this she did manage to carve out a certain cultural space for herself and she perhaps needs to be commended for it.

    I must admit that this was one of the more difficult responses for me to put up here. To paraphrase Hamlet the rest ought only to be silence..]

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  2. Kassam Says:
    October 21, 2009 at 6:24 PM

    I feel like we should celebrate.
    Ravana shooting is complete! :D.

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  3. Rajesh Says:
    October 21, 2009 at 8:01 PM

    From AB’s blog
    “the conference was sparse. Not too many journalists turned up and neither did the electronic trip over each other to get an entry into the PVR theatre inside this large and massive Gurgaon Mall, where we had all gathered. Such occurrences generally depict disinterest in the film or disinterest in the cast by the media. I guess they must have been dissatisfied by both.”
    Sad and disappointed that there is not much media hype surrounding a Bachchan movie these days. We had a thread in this earlier, where I had felt it would go the ‘Bhootnath’ way. Wish I’am wrong and this fares far better.

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    • Satyam Says:
      October 21, 2009 at 8:35 PM

      Rajesh, I’ve been pointing this out for a long time. But I would present three theses in this context:

      1)Bachchan’s cultural impact and his continuing transcendence cannot be measured solely by the box office fate of his films. His TV appearances to name one example establish this.

      2)Partly he has diluted his box office considerably because of questionable decisions in safer films but equally so on account of interesting decisions in commercially unsafe film. A fair bit of the time there has been neither saving grace to the endeavor.

      3)The response to his films among the audience is of two kinds. There are either the blind fans who refuse to understand the problem with his strategy over a decade or more. They keep pretending to themselves that there is no problem at all and confuse this sort of blindness with notions of loyalty. But even these most devoted of fans are not really interested in films like Bhootnath or Aladin. They just merge their ambitions for Bachchan’s box office with questions of personal taste.

      Then there are the others, people who pretend to be fans but really use him in a kind of anti-Abhishek politics. The code here is, hey we like Bachchan, just not Abhishek. Not that everyone who does so is insincere but there are very many who are properly speaking anti-Bachchan or even if not so explicitly unnerved enough by the Bachchan permanence (or so it seems in our own time) to not want an extension by way of Abhishek (irrespective of whether they might otherwise like Abhishek or not).

      These are the three larger points I’ve pointed to obsessively over a period of time to varying degrees. I’ve of course said much more than to Bachchan on his very blog. I often feel that the fans are actually the most guilty in this entire situation because they haven’t held Bachchan’s feet to the fire. What if for example 90% of his blog objected to Aladin?! And again the box office here misses the point. With the Bhootnath kind of film Bachchan gets deconstructed even if the film works in a big way. Yes.. EVEN IF!

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    • Tyler Says:
      October 21, 2009 at 8:44 PM

      If Aladin gets decent reviews (not great) it will do okay. It has been a long time since a clean family entertainer has been released. I think the promos and music have generated some interest. It may get to average status at least.

      BTW, based on comments I have read it seems Boothnath did better on TV and DVD then in the cinema especially with kids. So maybe that audience will show up to view Aladin.

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  4. Satyam Says:
    October 21, 2009 at 8:56 PM

    [Roma, thanks for your comment. I must however seriously disagree. I am the last person not to be candid on this blog. Perhaps I am even too much so. Sometimes I even feel a little guilty about this. Nonetheless you must not believe the media nonsense on many of these issues. I know the whole fuss the media created about Amitji ignoring Rekha at a function and so forth. I’ll say this categorically — if Amitji isn’t a gentleman I wouldn’t know how to define the word. Now as for that particular event I’ve seen the images and the videos and I personally think too much is being made there. There are countless cases where a certain camera angle presents a certain perspective which might not be true. It happens all the time all over the world. Getting beyond this though let’s assume that the story is indeed right and something of the sort did happen. If a gentleman acts in a way that is unusual one should assume there’s a great deal of the story that one doesn’t know. But also when interpreting such events one shouldn’t accept earlier media copy as fact. Just because the media reports a certain version of events for years doesn’t make it true in the verifiable sense. So for example why would you think that Amitji insulted Rekha? It’s not just this recent episode but also the fact that you have already accepted a certain media history on all of this! I am not trying to engage in hair-splitting here but I do find it a little uncomfortable and even distasteful to speculate on the personal lives of stars. It is certainly true that one of the dangers of being a public figure is that such gossip is always handy and being human all of us consume it. at the same time there should be a distinction drawn between gossip about professional matters and those that are far more personal. No one can really know what goes on inside a marriage except for the two people involved in it. But nor can anyone know what goes on between any two people bonded in any sort of special way. All of this, to quote a favorite thinker of mine, belongs to the order of a ’secret’. Which does not mean that which can or cannot be publicly known but that which is ‘unknowable’ to anyone but the two who are part of that ‘essential’ relationship (not only between men and women, not only between spouses or lovers). An example? Amitji obviously had a very special relationship with his father. This has been evident forever and if one had any doubts about this it has been emphasized again and again on this blog in the most intimate of reminiscences. Yet their relationship is really a kind of ’secret’. Only Amitabh Bachchan and Harivanshrai Bachchan had access to that ’secret’. Only they knew. Amitji’s retelling of anecdotes and his indulgences in personal feelings and so forth does not make us privy to that ’secret’. So one should not speculate, certainly one should not accept traditional narratives on any of these matters as ‘fact’. Whenever the names Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha are strung together in a sentence a whole media history is also recalled simultaneously (one reason why I am always so vigilant when it comes to questions about the media.. equally one should be as vigilant about ‘rumor’ when dealing with people and their ’stories’ in one’s private life.. gossip can be harmful even if true..). This continuous presence of that narrative in this sense hardly makes it true. But even were there a ‘factual’ basis to the story one would still have not know anything (in the manner I have outlined) and one would have certainly been guilty of a serious ethical infraction in terms of probing this space. Just because one is public figure does not mean one cannot be hurt or one cannot be wounded. We should avoid this. Rumor is just that. It never has any real relation with truth. It either presents a lie because it is false or it presents a lie because it is completely distorted ‘truth’. We should be sensitive to this. I am not engaging in this lengthy response to sound holier-than-thou or anything. I have just always been deeply uncomfortable with certain sorts of personal discussion. We should all be allowed our privacy. I know I wouldn’t want my ghosts exposed but nor would I want to be placed in a position where I had to dispel the ‘untrue’. Either option would do violence to my personal space. I hope you take this response in the right spirit. I appreciate your comment but I must disagree completely with your tone and the direction you’ve taken with your words.]

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  5. gabbar Says:
    October 21, 2009 at 9:43 PM

    cadbury dropped bachchan as per the article.. i think controversies and his bad movie choices since 2005 are catching up

    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/advertising/Big-Bs-endorsement-space-is-getting-smaller/articleshow/5147101.cms

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    • Satyam Says:
      October 21, 2009 at 9:49 PM

      Amitabh Bachchan — the 700 cr brand!

      Here’s the counterview.. to be fair he’s 67.. I don’t think that even the best movies would necessarily have resulted in better dividends in the advertising world..

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      • gabbar Says:
        October 21, 2009 at 10:30 PM

        yes he is 67… probably no one else would be able to achieve what he has achieved at this age… But had he been careful with movie choices he would have been in much much better position. Kaante, BuntyBabli and Sarkar first weekend collections broke some opening records in 2003-2005. But today that kind of scenario looks very unlikely, because people in general have lost faith in his movie choices. Hopefully that will change with Paa/Rann/johny, but very unlikely.

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        • Satyam Says:
          October 21, 2009 at 10:41 PM

          Bachchan fans find this hard to accept but BnB or Sarkar wouldn’t have come close to the opening week record without Abhishek. Kaante was in 2002, Bachchan had not really diluted his impact at the time and Kaante was the first of the slick bad boy films. It had a great deal of buzz. Boom in ’03 though got off to a flying start and then collapsed. In BnB or Sarkar though it was the coming of age of Abhishek and then the father-son deal that was very important. Which does not mean that Bachchan wasn’t significant in those films, just that he didn’t get those initials ever again after those films (nor very significant grosses) and he certainly wasn’t breaking records even leading upto these. 2000-2002 was a different deal though. Aks too got off to a great start and then tanked. Aankhen had a very good opening number. There are some other examples there also. The massive Bachchan initial is actually not structurally possible anymore. what happens though is that when the setup is otherwise right and the right stars are part of the film in addition to him the initial can still be big. Because there is a market for him of course, the only thing is that people cannot quite figure out which Bachchan shows up. The other stars or the overall setup can convince them that a film with him is ‘safe’. The last word there probably sounds bizarre but the fact is that if you are in it for Bachchan you cannot be satisfied with Bhootnath! Beyond a point the fan becomes disheartened and stops showing up. He or she still remains a fan but refuses to be disappointed anymore. When people think films like Bhootnath and Aladin are ok well then they deserve this diluted Bachchan. I’ve been ranting and railing about this for years for a reason! By the way I don’t need to put forward my credentials on Amitabh Bachchan. I even saw Hum Kaun Hai in the theater! But one just gives up after a while. I could have digested films like Lal Badshah far more easily than some of the other indifferent stuff.

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    • Tyler Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 6:54 AM

      Let’s see. He lost Cadbury but gained Max New York Life which is more prominent. So I would say he is even. No need to panic.

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  6. Qalandar Says:
    October 21, 2009 at 10:58 PM

    I don’t want to clutter Bachchan’s comment board with off-topic comments, but I think this bit by Roma is completely false:

    “For me, Rekhaji is far more polite and professional in her
    attitude with colleagues than Sir Amitabh Bachchan !”

    Rekha’s demeanor at public events, her very showy silences and “I know the camera will focus on me when amitabh is on stage” demeanor are anything but professional IMO.

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  7. gabbar Says:
    October 21, 2009 at 11:12 PM

    Per Rajeev masand on twitter:
    First look of Paa; Oct 30. Also, 3 Idiots first trailer to be released shortly. Hopefully a teaser of My Name Is Khan with Kurbaan on Nov 20

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  8. Offside Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 6:19 AM

    Amitabh should have refrained from commenting on the ‘disinterest’ derived from sparse attendance. Would he say so about ‘Paa’ if the situation was similar, the latter being his own production? Don’t think.

    After all he’s promoting the film.

    On another note, glad that Ravana is complete. Looks the most interesting of all Abhishek projects.

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  9. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 11:39 AM

    Re: There are either the blind fans who refuse to understand the problem with his strategy over a decade or more. They keep pretending to themselves that there is no problem at all and confuse this sort of blindness with notions of loyalty. But even these most devoted of fans are not really interested in films like Bhootnath or Aladin. They just merge their ambitions for Bachchan’s box office with questions of personal taste.

    Quite an explosive statement, Satyam. I might fall in that category to some extent. I love the idea of Bachchan legacy but my first loyalty is to Amitabh Bachchan the person and I always want him to be successful, no matter what he is doing. Everything else comes after that. I may not care for Bhootnath that much but still I was happy that it was not a dud. Havent seen Aladdin, so I cannot comment. But, I certainly hope it is successful. I have at times felt there is a problem when he does a film like Kyun Ho gaya na or Hum Kaun hai.
    I whole heartedly believe in his legacy and everything that goes with him. But, his failure also pains me. It is loyalty and not blindness, IMHO.

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    • Rocky Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 11:50 AM

      I am with you Rajen, I have no personal problems with Anil Kapoor and SRK but started diliking them as soon as they and the media started comparing them to Bachchan.
      I too did not like him in Bhootnath and JBJ and Aag , but I still wanted these movies to do well- to show to the world that – He is the Man.

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      • Rajesh Says:
        October 22, 2009 at 1:19 PM

        Rajen, Rocky..Well said. I’am with you too.
        Excellent comment “I whole heartedly believe in his legacy and everything that goes with him. But, his failure also pains me. It is loyalty and not blindness”.. Rocky regarding SRK, I have the same view as yours
        Started diliking them as soon as they started comparing to Bachchan. In that lines, I did not like SRK doing a Don or KBC. I’am sure Satyam will not agree, but OSO in some way was made to feel Bachchan down. If OSO was based in 70’s and early 80’s, how could they not refer to the biggest star of that period ( or rather from the period to till date). OSO turning out to bit HIT made me feel even worse 🙂

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        • Qalandar Says:
          October 22, 2009 at 2:15 PM

          Re: “I’am sure Satyam will not agree, but OSO in some way was made to feel Bachchan down.”

          Not sure I follow? Why would satyam DISagree with this characterization of Om Shanti Om? My impression had been that he might agree to an extent.

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    • Satyam Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 12:10 PM

      Rajen, here’s how I see it:

      1)I would rather not have Bachchan make certain choices.

      2)Once he makes them I’d rather have him succeed than not even if it’s something like Big Boss.

      But fans have often been too willing to just assume the second stage when the real resistance ought to have been provided at the first one.

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      • jayshah Says:
        October 22, 2009 at 12:17 PM

        I’ll go for option 3)

        3) Realise some of the poor choices and correct them for future. Preserve the legacy at the optimum level and try hardest not to diminish it with erratic choices. Not suggesting the legacy is in jeapardy but any entertainer or sportsman at the pinncale edge of talent and accomplishment should try hard to preserve that and not circually unfold it. Bachchan to his credit has a Godfather like persona and would think no amount of failure can replace the success of the past. BUT frustration and chink in armour of support is always possible with any larger than life figure.

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        • jayshah Says:
          October 22, 2009 at 12:24 PM

          1) Is obviously the correct way to look at it. In fact false success on nodes of poor choices is not a way forward. As much as Akshay is a likeable fella I actually don’t want to see crapfests of his succeed. Much as a Mela should never succeed. Why settle for low standards of success? it’s like the beaurocratic establishments set-up in work places where old mens club get the best jobs for doing jack shit. Who would want someone to achieve success the “wrong” way?

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        • Satyam Says:
          October 22, 2009 at 12:28 PM

          You’re right and that is what I’m arguing for. Still there’s enough of a personal investment in Bachchan that I don’t want to see him fail.

          With Akshay even though I don’t watch most of his stuff I still want him to succeed. I realize he might never improve his film selection but I also don’t want the space he’s opened up in some ways vanish. And I don’t see any other star credibly doing the non-multiplex in any credible sense. So yeah he’s doing the lowest of the low in terms of his comedy but because it’s not WUS (!) or that sort of deal I’ll take it!

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        • Satyam Says:
          October 22, 2009 at 12:25 PM

          what helps him is the fact that his older stuff is perennially relevant and for example available on cable all the time. But much as I would never want to see Tendulkar struggling to make 30 runs similarly I do not like to see Bachchan failing in certain ways. In the right projects even failure wouldn’t seem too bad. Kamal is a good example. He gets his commercial successes from time to time but he has failed far more often in this later phase of his career. But he has mostly done so attempting worthwhile stuff. No one questions the gross of a Dev. But with Aetbaar we do! Plus there are questions of legacy as well inasmuch as the ultimate brand-name of consumption replaces the revolutionary of an earlier era. Again in cricket terms it would be as if the spontaneous and offensively inclined, cheeky batsman that sachin often is would give way to a gavaskar late style with no flash or elan. But Bachchan doesn’t even do this. He is often late Gavaskar without the runs.

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  10. Rocky Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 11:55 AM

    I should really get back to work now.

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  11. vijay Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 11:55 AM

    rajen, dont know what to say but i agree 100 percent with you.
    His failure does bring a sad dissapointment on his selection of films with a caliber of his status.

    Most of Amitabhs fans will be loyal to him and that includes me because of his early films and the major factor “his acting”.

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  12. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 11:57 AM

    My view here is somewhat opposite to Satyam. Failure deconstructs Amitabh far more than his success in questionable films. He has created this aura of timelessness, invincibility and of defying challengers even at his age that gets diluted every time a venture or a movie he is involved with fails.
    Success, even in projects like Big Boss counters that and perpetuates that aura.

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    • Satyam Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 12:21 PM

      That’s true to an extent Rajen which is why I ultimately wish him success no matter how resistant I might be to his choices otherwise. I also didn’t suggest that failure in better films was preferable to success in questionable ones. What I did mean was that given Bachchan’s unique status and legacy he is expected to define the agenda with whatever he does. He’s much older know so I wouldn’t expect him to be at the cutting edge of cinematic trends. But I would hope he would spare fans like myself a great deal of pain and not attempt something like KANK. Or a 10 min bit in Lakshya. Or an Indian Disney attempt like Bhootnath. There are many other examples. Specially since he clearly has been able to get good author backed parts all along. There is no excuse for this other stuff. I think fans are often not able to see the ridiculousness attached to some of these parts. People take Bachchan seriously when he does a Sarkar not when he does Aladin. This is evident from all the reactions. Yeah the media would write positive things if Aladin worked but that doesn’t mean much. but also the fans do not really mean what they otherwise try to convince themselves of. How many people showed up for Bhootnath? The TV ratings and the response to a film like Black or a moment like Kajra re or whatever suggests he still has people who worship him. I could sense this palpably when I attended his concert last year. But he often doesn’t give people precisely what made people fans of his in the first place. Again this isn’t about image or anything but about doing projects that are commensurate with one’s gifts. People want to take Bachchan seriously. They can only do when he does something worthwhile not when he does Bhootnath. If one is a fan who supports Black and Sarkar and Bhootnath equally or at least pretends to then one gets what has been Bachchan’s career for a decade now. He could have still been setting the pace in box office terms in many ways. He could have made the Black kind of moment a norm. He could have done so much precisely because he is still so culturally relevant. But he didn’t. I don’t define the optimal by what Bachchan does!

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  13. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 12:42 PM

    I think he has become a lot better lately. I dont mind Aladdin or Bhootnath as much as some other films that he did.
    Again, I do agree with quite a bit of what you said above but it comes across a little too shrill and harsh. Some of his choices were dictated by the financial doldrums that he found himself in after the ABCL debacle.
    And the ensuing insecurity. The best thing he could haave done is retired entirely. But, the fiscal consequences of poor business decision did not leave him withg a choice.
    Latley he has been doing exactly what you want Abhishek to do. Balancing riskier or finanically no-hopers like the Last Lear, Paa, Johnny Mastana, Teen Patti with a Big Boss. Again, I think Bhootnath and Aladdin dont hurt him as much a a Kyun Ho Gaya Na or the JBJ role.
    Again , this is uncharted territory for an Indian actor. Inspite of everything, he is still the path breaker.
    As for what Jay said, how can you take someone who hasnt watched Sholay seriously?

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  14. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 12:48 PM

    I am feeling a bit chaeritable, so will adress Jay’s comment.
    Amitabh’s situtation is a little different from Akshay or Indian beurocrats. He doesnt need to prove anything at this point. He doesnt need to go forward. Even if he stands still, no body will ever catch up with him.
    He needs to be relevant and not fail. If he does so in good movies, very good. If he does so with Big Boss, still OK.
    For you, a Dosti 2 is already in the making! LOL.

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    • jayshah Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 12:56 PM

      I consider that a very low bar for someone who is much higher. It would be like accepting Tendulkar playing in the lower leagues of cricket and hitting 100’s and cheering it on. The currency attached to phenomenon is much more. The Akshay comment was just an analogy, not a direct comparison. It’s not even about others catching up to him – more about being aware of your achievements and the fandom surrounding oneself. Financial issues is a fair enough reason which is OK. But now after KBC success, the debts should be cleared. Last Lear, Teen Patti kind of movie no one will ever diss. Even if they fail they are appreciably strong author backed roles giving glimpses of a talent at work. Good work is the motto. Success or failure is secondary if your doing good work.

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      • rajen Says:
        October 22, 2009 at 1:03 PM

        Bachhu, abhi dadhi ke baal nikle nahin. How will you appreciate the trials and tribulations of a 67 year old , infirm man trying to dictate history in a competitive world like Bollywood with a fickle audience undegoing demographic revolutions by the minute!
        But, I do get the point. Some of his decisions have been less than ideal. But, the course has to be corrected with a gentle nudge instead of the acid burns which is Satyam’s formula here!

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  15. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 12:55 PM

    BTW, Gavaskar towards the end was far more cheekier than Tendulakar ever will be. He had several priceless gems like the 90 he scored against WI at Motera stadium in Ahmedabad. Kind of knock one would travel miles to see. And when some critics complained he was getting too cheeky he silenced them with a workman like 236 at Madras.
    No body in any arena could dictate the tone and terms of discussion with the ruthless certainty that Gavaskar did.

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  16. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 1:05 PM

    BTW, someone lamented the lack of feistiness on the blog the other day. Certainly no one can point the finger at me in this regard!

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  17. Saket Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 1:12 PM

    Being a fan and all, and a big one at that, I find Bachchan’s choices pretty much baffling to say the least! It is Amitabh who continuously asserts that the new breed of filmmakers is what keeps him creatively challenged! But where is the challenge in doing something like ‘Aladin’? With no overt disrespect intended, Riteish Deshmukh isn’t the kind of foil Amitabh deserves.

    He is a phenomenon, a living legend, but even legends run the risk of belittling their position, diluting their legacy — and what pains most is that this isn’t some quirk of fate that has changed the equation, but conscious choices on the part of Amitabh himself, which have left his most diehard fans dissatisfied, to say the least. I certainly welcome a ‘Nishabd’ from Amitabh, consider it to be one of his very fine performances, but what about Armaan, KHGN, God Tussi and the rest?

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  18. Saket Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 1:16 PM

    Having said that, the recent crop of special appearances are still better than the crap that Mehul Kumar and KC Bokadia produced! And that should give people an idea — when he was at the peak of his prowess, when he was the undisputed #1, he chose to make a comeback with a film called ‘Mrityudaata’. I know that phase is history, but it clearly outlines his decision making skills or lack there of!

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  19. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 1:17 PM

    Re: but what about Armaan, KHGN, God Tussi and the rest?
    Missteps that he has avoided of late.
    Aladdin is somewhat different. He is just having a little fun. I dont expect something good here but will still reserve judgement till I see it.
    BTW, Ritesh won me over when he was asked if he had a lamp in real life what would be ask of genie. His answer : If the genie was Amitabh, I would just keep on staring at him for hours. I wouldnt ask for anything more.

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    • Saket Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 1:26 PM

      Riteish isn’t a bad ‘actor’ per se. But he has zero charisma, very little star value — and outside of comedies, almost negligible recall value.

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    • Rocky Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 1:59 PM

      Rajen- this is what actually happened and why ritesh said what he said-( you are worse than the media for spinning the story – LOL)

      The 67-year-old actor who was in the capital to promote the upcoming fantasy, was bemused when a journalist told his co-star Riteish Deshmukh that if she had Big B for a genie, she could never get over the temptation to rub the magic lamp every few seconds just to see him.

      Before Deshmukh could reply, Bachchan took the mic and asked her, “Young lady what are you doing tonight? If you are free I would love to take you out to dinner.”

      As the gathered media squealed with laughter, Riteish came to the rescue of the embarrassed girl and said, “Actually, I agree with you, I felt the same urge. Who would not?”

      http://www.indianexpress.com/news/when-big-b-the-genie-granted-a-wish/531894/

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  20. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 1:19 PM

    Re: but it clearly outlines his decision making skills or lack there of!

    On that we can certainly agree. He is not as caluclated as an Aamir and doesnt have the same decision making capacity. But packs the acting talents of all three Khans in a little toe of his.

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    • Saket Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 1:24 PM

      I wouldn’t even compare him to the collective might of the next generation! pretty big disservice to his talent and all..

      The ones I’d compare him favorably with would include names like Naseer, Om Puri and the younger Dilip Kumar!

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    • Qalandar Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 2:05 PM

      Re: “He is not as caluclated as an Aamir and doesnt have the same decision making capacity.”

      Necessity is the mother of invention: if the likes of an Aamir or a SRK didn’t plan thoroughly, they would be extinct, or at most just hang around, surviving. If one is a titanic talent like Bachchan, one can get by. I wish he had planned things better in the winter of his career, but there would have been no post-Lagaan summer for Aamir absent planning…

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  21. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 1:30 PM

    Satyam is either preparing a long esay or watching Kandhasaamy for the 15th time while all this is going on!

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  22. sunil Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 1:44 PM

    Bachchan should have retired after he cleared his debts.Acting in father roles has diluted his superstardom.He should have acted in a very few films which have him as main lead.
    He should not have acted in films like mohabbatein.
    I think a superstar should always remain a superstar.He should not become a charecter artist.Because failure at the later stage deconstructs the earlier success.

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    • Rocky Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 2:01 PM

      Sunil- I disagree, in fact Mohabtein, KKKG, and Baghbaan solidified his position, which made- Nishabd, Cheeni Kum and Sarkar possible.

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      • Qalandar Says:
        October 22, 2009 at 2:03 PM

        Re: “Because failure at the later stage deconstructs the earlier success.”

        I don’t agree: it is sad to see Rajesh Khanna in crap films, but nothing can change the fact that he was in all those hit films from the early 1970s. And Dharam in garbage later on cannot shake the memory of Veeru. So too, and even moreso, with Amitabh, especially when sattelite channels and cable TV show the older films continually.

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  23. Satyam Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 2:13 PM

    I am quite unhappy that someone called ‘Time’ has reproduced part of these exchanges on Bachchan’s blog. Because they appear thoroughly decontextualized this way.

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  24. shakti Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 2:56 PM

    satyam someone is putting comments from your blog on sirs blog

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    • Satyam Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 3:14 PM

      yes I just mentioned this here and I am most unhappy.. I see myself and Rajen and Jay there among others.. and these are completely decontextualized comments.

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  25. Satyam Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 3:12 PM

    I do not know how many different ways I can re-inflect this (!) and yet I shall try once again:

    1)Comparisons of Bachchan with anyone else are beside the point. He’s his own standard. Much as one doesn’t say on Tendulkar’s off day (with respect Rajen Gavaskar was pretty dull in the second half of his career, even painfully slow at times, sure he was great enough to do that and he maintained his average this way but Sachin he wasn’t and he’d be the first to admit it!) that he’s nevertheless better than most others.

    2)I have always been a bit viscerally connected with Bachchan’s 70s work. As I’ve stated many times before the films that I like even from the 80s, and even before he took a sabbatical for politics, are actually exceptions. Much as I have great admiration for this phase of his career for his utter dominance and for his ability to spin box office gold out of literally ‘nothing’ at times I still consider his work here far far less interesting compared to his 70s period and this using just about every register of film-making. Again there are exceptions and I’ve named these at many times. But what this also means is that I actually reject many ‘classics’ that many today if not most love at least as much as his 70s greats if not more. so even the 80s are not something I can completely endorse let alone anything since.

    3)Precisely because Bachchan is such a titan, such an event, such a phenomenon that one does not at all need to get defensive about him. The answer to the question: how well has he done at the box office recently? should be — so what?! Precisely because he is so transcendent can he afford to ignore this largely and still remain relevant. we shouldn’t get into issues of grosses and what not. Because whatever he’s doing is incredible for his age.

    4)Nonetheless this does not justify not just questionable decisions but rank bad ones. Precisely because he is a titan who could have done so much more that the truly poor choices rankle, especially when these become the norm, which they did at points.

    5)I am afraid I cannot be satisfied with crumbs like Aladin. As I said before I have always been on the heights where Bachchan is concerned and I will continue to remain there even if I am the only one left! Aladin ought not to be acceptable in any context if one’s references are Deewar and Trishul.

    6)And no I do not accept the ‘time’ argument because those debates are for mere mortals, not for events like Bachchan. I do understand that things cannot remain the same. Hopefully I am not that daft. But one can age on one’s terms rather than age on terms that others set for you. If one has established the highest bars throughout one’s career one must continue to respect these. One cannot simply walk away but even if one wants to do so there are paths more appropriate than some of those chosen in this instance.

    7)One might blame me for having extraordinarily high standards for Bachchan, perhaps even ‘inhuman’ ones, but I think that precisely Bachchan could meet these. I am not looking for a twilight career planned in epic fashion or with complete perfection, all I ask for is that a film mean something at some level. And many of those films don’t mean anything. Aladin is just a symptom of this entire malady for me and therefore just an example. It might not be the worst film around. But whether it’s a worthwhile one will remain questionable. But one cannot operate with the logic that the best is worthwhile for Bachchan because he is so unique but the worst is too since he still nonetheless elevates to somewhat better status! There is no harm in flopping with a D6 but there is a great deal of harm in achieving the same (actually far worse!) result with a Drona. Isn’t the latter completely pointless when it doesn’t achieve even a third of what it’s meant to?

    8)It is true that I do indulge in the acid-like commentary as Rajen has rightly pointed out. But it’s about time that someone jolted the fans this way who have been as complicit in this project of diluting Bachchan’s signature as he himself is.

    9)What misplaced notion of loyalty would force one to accept any and everything Bachchan did? I am only suggesting that if fans mind some of his choices (presumably they do even when they don’t say this aloud) they should also head to the closest mirrors! I’ve been saying forever, including on Bachchan’s blog several times — to be true to Bachchan’s signature, the force of his event, one has to reject a great deal of his films in recent years. One maintains the greatest loyalty and fidelity by engaging in these little betrayals.

    10)Actually my position is the most inconsistent. I feel most strongly about his choices and yet I continue to wish for his success whether it’s Aladin or Big Boss. In some ways this is the greatest loyalty though it isn’t one I am especially proud of.

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  26. Pradip Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 3:27 PM

    Satyam again AB’s 549 headlines…anyone surprised!!!

    “And I am amazed at our own FmXt, Satyam at * 44’s response, talking liberally on this very topic and with perhaps greater perception than I would have knowledge of”.

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  27. aby2000 Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 3:41 PM

    Glad AB spoke about the economic times article, every year ET wants to finish off brand Bachchan…I so wish AB had listed all this current and future endorsements!!!

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  28. Satyam Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 3:47 PM

    [Bravo for another extraordinary post. Before I go on to comment on anything I should say here that I’ve been disappointed with a certain member here who decided to post part of a certain exchange in the previous post, one where I was engaged in a very protracted discussion with friends. I do not suggest any malice here but one ought to be careful inasmuch as extracting things this way decontextualizes them and conveys a misleading impression. The topic of course was the age old one regarding your signature and your legacy. Friends of mine, who are among your most loyal supporters, sometimes consider my criticism or commentary in this regard a bit too bracing. I see where they are coming from, I myself feel guilty from time to time when I think I have been far too candid. This isn’t because (as I’ve stated before) I do not really hold those positions but because there is a deep emotional bond with your ‘event’. Even as I try to be as neutral as possible from a theoretical perspective, even as I try to be as sincere as I can, I at the very same time find myself in a position of unease when I engage in criticism of yourself, no matter how well-intentioned. And so I see where my friends are coming from. Simultaneously I cannot be untrue to what I believe. I also keep suggesting that at least one measure of Amitji’s magnanimity and ethics is his own ability to keep absorbing such criticism. This itself is unique. I should just add here that when you mentioned what you did about the Aladin event yesterday it actually pained me to read it, especially your reaction to it. And this is the sort of thing I have forever wished you would save yourself from at the outset. Having said that the film is looking better as more of the previews come out and I certainly wish you success with it.

    If the Bachchan brand has been diminishing someone forgot to tell your sponsors! Jokes aside how many times have you seen such pieces written about yourself in all your decades in the industry and how often have you made those writers look foolish later on?! Needless to say the same will happen here. What is constant about your incredible career is your ability to always overcome these challenges and I don’t really think you’re facing one at this point to begin with. The media will do what it always does. As long as they keep talking about you you can rest assured you matter a great deal. This applies to abhishek also incidentally. In any sphere of life being ignored is a fate far worse than being written about negatively or being disliked because the first just means that you are not important enough to matter to anyone. Since this is clearly not the case one can brush aside these pieces. Not that one necessarily has to shed the ability to get indignant or even angry about these writers. But then the choice has always been yours. There’s a way of playing hardball with these publications. You are too classy a person to do so and yet sometimes this is what is needed. But you’re right in that flatly contradictory reports appear at different times, sometimes the same source does so within the same week! It’s all a big game, no real integrity or ethics to it. Anything that can make for a sensational story, anything that can be sold to an audience that (let’s call a spade a spade) is quite happy to consume this nonsense. But in terms of stories that present the opposite view here’s a recent one from Business Standard that I put up a few days ago as well:

    http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/the-rs-700-cr-brand/372139/

    It is true that stars are not made or unmade in the media, nor films. And yet with the kind of 24/7 media industry that is so much a part of our world (if indeed it is not our entire world!) the overall narrative can perhaps be framed in ways that weren’t possible before. One should therefore never underestimate the effects of the media. The Obama campaign and presidency, so savvy at so many things has precisely never ignored the media in any sense and has always responded in all sorts of ways. It would be a great world if one could have the luxury of ignoring these folks. Unfortunately one can’t. How one then deal with them is one’s choice? But it is important to remember that it would also be a great world if everyone could just be ‘persuaded’ about things.

    As to why people must do this (which seems to be your question) one might as well question the dust that shapes humans! To be honest ethical lepers as many of these folks might be there is an obvious advantage to be gained, material and otherwise, in playing the game a certain way. These decisions are not irrational. I am glad that you address so much on your blog. But I wish you’d do more in other ways. But again you are too classy a person to perhaps stoop to that level. This dismays me at a tactical level and yet also fills me with greater admiration for you..]

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  29. rajen Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 5:07 PM

    Satyam,
    Great points. Above.
    Chalo, mauf kiya.

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  30. Tyler Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 5:08 PM

    Yes Boss

    Rajesh Khanna agrees to enter Bigg Boss as a wildcard entry

    By Subhash K Jha
    Posted On Friday, October 23, 2009 at 02:31:54 AM

    Rajesh Khanna is destined to be part of Bigg Boss 3. The veteran actor, who will now be introduced as a wildcard entry in the show within the next two weeks, was a strong contender when the channel was finalising the contestants a few days before the show was about to be aired. However, he wasn’t finalised because of dillydallying at that point of time…

    http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/30/2009102320091023023154484ad8f25e/Yes-Boss.html

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  31. Pradip Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 7:37 PM

    The other side of coin-it require guts and courage to go in that house with superstar tag and other baggage.

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  32. Ravi Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 8:20 PM

    You truly would Satyam.

    Bachchan needs a very good advisor and a savvy marketing person.

    One has to admire SRK for being able to market himself unlike any.

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    • Satyam Says:
      October 22, 2009 at 8:32 PM

      thanks so much Ravi.. always a pleasure to see a comment from you. Don’t mean this kind of thing necessarily! LOL!

      The SRK marketing phenomenon I am not a great admirer of. I see the savvy aspect to an extent but I see a lot more that is manufactured. We also see this more recently with films as different as KI or LAK where films are hyped beyond measure, declared instant hits and even if they underperform the media narrative doesn’t get altered very much. All of this SRK used to do once upon a time. So he did usher in all of this. But what I find much more admirable is what Aamir did with a Ghajini where he created a certain hype without ‘paid media’.

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  33. ted Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 8:54 PM

    I think Bachchans definitely need advisor or good PR. Abhishek was not aware that D6 was flop for 3 weeks. He was under impression first week has got the good response. The facebook people has to tell him that from second week it crashed. How can people be away from news of their films? That is always puzzling to me. they keep giving interviews to people (indiafm/mumbai mirror)
    who are giving purposefully putting down their movies or their appearances.
    I don’t know, something is missing….

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  34. ted Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 9:00 PM

    I hope so.

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  35. aarkayne Says:
    October 22, 2009 at 10:02 PM

    “……which the Khaleej Times patronized by out of job ‘khalidas’ sitting in way out Dubai, seem to invent.”

    Is he referring to Khalid Mohammed or is he referring to Khalid Ansari? I believe he has a stake in it and is owner of Mid-Day with whom BigB has an ongoing spat .

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  36. Satyam Says:
    October 23, 2009 at 3:41 PM

    Now I’m just a credit title: Big B

    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.

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  37. aby2000 Says:
    October 23, 2009 at 4:06 PM

    Satyam will you be attending the screening of Aladin in NY on the 28th?

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