Courtsey..Indiafm forum
Remember this is a comedy
During the production of Federico Fellini's film 81/2 Fellini hand wrote a note to himself and pasted it on the camera below the view finder so that he could see it constantly. It read: Ricordati che e un film comico.— Remember this is a comedy.
Non –stop Entertainment — That's what the Bachchan family has become for us. Feeling low? Switch on the television and go to the great Bachchan show. It's on 24/7 and it's the funniest show in town. It is difficult to tell however, who are the bigger entertainers, the Bachchans or the byte hunters. So much for their barely concealed disdain for the press, they manage to remain in the center of a very welcome media circus almost constantly —with their dark glasses on of course! Remember this is a comedy!
After looking clueless on the issue for over a year, they rushed into an engagement two days after the tepid release of Guru. What a sweet coincidence! What was more amusing was the pantomime that followed. Next morning, after the curious engagement, the master himself sat on a white plastic chair outside his house, smile-less in a white shirt, jeans and dark glasses to address the gleeful members of the press whom he had obviously invited to talk about what was hitherto a "private and personal" matter. And honey, did they flock around the B like bees to honey?
So there he was, the emperor in dark glasses, at the back of his house, on a Monday morning, sitting on a white plastic chair (probably borrowed from his watchman), somberly doling out alms of classified information. Wrapped chocolate for the press to unwrap and suckle on. But don't litter my lawn with the wrappers please! The barrenness of Mistah B's face perfectly matching the bareness of the white plastic chair he sat on.
A herd of eternally thankful, red faced, runny nosed, blabbering lieutenants of the fourth estate in a state of uncontainable frenzy, and in the midst of this furore sits the man who manufactured the furore himself –impassive, indifferent and cold, alive only to his purpose. Chalo ek ek kar ke aao…haath badhao..yeh lo, tum bhi lo, aur tum bhi lo, sab ko milega….
"Abhishek has surpassed me in Guru.I dont think even I can ever live up to ABhishek's performance and do what ABhishek has done"
"I want to watch Guru a 100 times"
"I'm glad Guru is doing so well"
"Aishwarya's inner beauty is deeper than her outer beauty"
"AIshwarya has saadgi,gharelupan and parampara"
And I'll so be damned its not funny.
(Shush...remember,its a comedy)
In the last couple of weeks, Bachchan senior has shed so many proud tears and pointed superlatives on son Abhishek's performance in Guru making it extremely embarrassing for anyone else to disagree. They are not taking any chances this time. Dhoom 2 has shaken them up seemingly badly! And that's natural….I can relate to that. Most families have gone through the nervousness of seeing their loved ones falter.But that's not what a celebrity wants to be.He wants to paint a picture of infallibility and ironically he wants me to help him paint it. And for that he needs me to be a green juvenile. A non-questioning moron! Some of us comply.
There is something queasy here.This constant cat and mouse game played between the celebrity and the scribe.I'm uncomfortable with the latter playing the mouse mostly and taking the easy way.Especially those ludicrous Ash-Abhi marriage predictions by the pundits and the distasteful media mayhem when Bachchan was hospitalized.
However,when the cat finally shows up and its showtime,the mice put all their weapons down,letting the cat get away with the cream.
For all the excitement of getting some selected byte from the Big Bachchan that morning, did we actually get anything? Can't we see that all we ever get is bits and pieces that suit their purpose! That there is nothing in it for us.
I am about to relate a bizarre scene from the media-dance that followed the Ash-Abhishek engagement.
Mistah B, as I have said earlier stated, on his white, plastic chair… and this wheatish complexioned, stocky, plumpish news reporter sniveling with gratitude. Big B, austere, dark glasses on, talking to the obliged journalist with a seemingly disinterested expression on his face even as he poured out all those eulogies on son Abhishek and bahu Aishwarya. Finally the beaming journalist asks the old man sweetly, "When will we get to eat the shaadi ka ladoos?" Mistah B, apparently referring to the night earlier says, "Arre, kal bahar bheje toh the laddoo…aapko mile nahin…"
And what do you think the young man from the leading news channel replied? He said, "Pepsi mili thi…magar laddoo…"
Why are we constantly making such fools of ourselves and setting ourselves up for ridicule? The man's playing a game in which he holds all the cards.There was nothing significantly important in this exchange for the journalist or viewer.There was,as always,only self serving,self glorification or self preservation.Yet,why did it seem as if a great favour were passed?
DO some of us,in some perverse way,ask for it?IS it time for some of us to look where we are going and see what we are doing to ourselves?DO we want to be non questioning morons forever?
The Bachchans are not exactly the spontaneous,self happy,"I am what I am" types.They keep themselves locked in safe deposit vaultsalong with their other valuables.What I find offensive is the media merry go round they constantly trigger,and then,after having achieved whatever they had set out to,they go back to wearing their dark glasses,untill it is suitable time for yet another ballet.
Big as they are,I would call them miserly who cannot spare even a warm smile towards people who are sitting in their courtyard.Big as they are,I would call them ungenerouswho are unable to accord a fraction of that respect and dignity that they assume is their birthright.This is not acceptable to me and I fail to see how this is acceptable to anybody
MAybe the bachchans should set up a channel of their own and air their own news exclusively 24-7.They can keep all the advantages of their Bachchanhood to themselves.And their padyatras and poojas and other shenanigans can be aired non stop.And then there's the shaadi to come.If they can pull off stuff they have been putting up in the last one year,the channel will rip through all TRP's.Ultimately there's a plebian in all of us however wise and intelligent we might be.It depends on what you want to adress to,my baseness or my finer instincts.
It goes as much for the press as for the stars.Remember this is a comedy"
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Apparently an article that appeared in Cine Blitz.Summed up eloquently.
Cricket
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