Bachchans FC 8! 1 Yr. Anniversary p.134 - Page 30

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Posted: 18 years ago


dats big b, his daughter and abhi
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Posted: 18 years ago
Not a single person has disliked 'Nishabd': Amitabh (INTERVIEW)

Mumbai, March 12 (IANS) Amitabh Bachchan is glad that audiences have understood and appreciated Ram Gopal Varma's 'Nishabd', where the protagonist falls in love with his daughter's teenaged friend, even though it sparked off an ethical debate.

'I'm happy to see I've been appreciated. I did it because it was challenging. I'm happy audiences understood what the film is really about. That's contrary to how some people in the film trade saw it from the outset ... not a single person has disliked it. I've got positive feedback from weird places,' Amitabh told IANS in an interview.


The veteran actor pointed out that 'Nishabd' was shot in a remote location, away from crowds, which enabled him to perform well. He also stressed that Varma gave ample space to all his artistes.


'There were no crowds, no phones, no connection with the rest of the world. It was just us and the project. It was the silence that stimulated creativity.'


Excerpts from the interview:


Q. 'Nishabd' has triggered off a lot of debate.


A. I'm happy to see I've been appreciated. I did it because it was challenging. I'm happy audiences understood what the film is really about. That's contrary to how some people in the film trade saw it from the outset. Ramu now feels the projection of the film's publicity was wrong. But not a single person has disliked it. I've got positive feedback from weird places.


The point of the film is what does a man in that situation (of falling for a much younger girl) do? It's not about how can he or why did he? I think the ethical speculation is a hypocritical excuse for puerile thoughts. Some people have challenged the wisdom of the character ...as though wisdom and age are inherently linked together. They're not! Wisdom doesn't come automatically with age.


Q. You've once again stunned audiences in 'Nishabd'.


A. Given an opportunity and a competent director, it's possible. One reason why it happened was because we went to a remote place and shot the film at a stretch. There were no crowds, no phones, no connection with the rest of the world. It was just us and the project. It was the silence that stimulated creativity. We've forgotten the value of silences.


The moment the camera goes on, the actor craves for solitude. Most of the time we're so crowded we don't do our best work. Everything came together in 'Nishabd'. I just love the time that Ramu gave to my close-up after my character asks the girl to leave. Ramu just lets the moment linger on. He gives space to all artistes.


Q. Like 'Black', your performance in 'Nishabd' is born without reference points.


A. Sanjay Leela Bhansali ('Black' director) gave me huge moments of space. Sometimes during shooting the film ran out or the video monitor broke down. But he didn't stop me. He just allowed me to keep going. At the end of the shot he'd ask me to do it again. Not once did he rush me. I could easily make out when Sanjay was happy and when he was very happy. I was never content with him just being happy.


I remember one sequence where the girl Michelle says 'mother' for the first time and my character sits at the water fountain and starts talking ...Sanjay had the camera very close to me. I asked him to take the camera back. Suddenly I didn't feel crowded while breaking down. Sometimes you get very conscious when dozens of people are watching you. Suddenly when the camera and the unit move back you get the physical space to let your true emotions come out. I felt these true emotions come out in 'Black' and 'Nishabd'.


Q. Would you say these two are your finest films in recent times?


A. I'm fortunate such roles are coming my way. These two films gave me the opportunity to delve into the darker areas of my personality. Some of my forthcoming films also give me that opportunity.

Copyright Indo-Asian News Service
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Posted: 18 years ago

Originally posted by: sonu!

how cum i neva saw dis celb fan club section..
i am a big fan of bachachanss...
wans join in... 😳

hello yaar...We are soo happy to have a new member...Hope u have lots of fun here...yes we all Love the Bachchanz!!!😃

Cheers and love..Laks😊

Btw...Fan_of_Big_B...great to see u active here...we are really very happy that more n more members are getting active😊

umi82990 thumbnail
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Posted: 18 years ago

Originally posted by: lucky_lakshmi

hello yaar...We are soo happy to have a new member...Hope u have lots of fun here...yes we all Love the Bachchanz!!!😃

Cheers and love..Laks😊

Btw...Fan_of_Big_B...great to see u active here...we are really very happy that more n more members are getting active😊

yes..we like more in this family!! It looks better than just me, monix, pachu, and laxs posting!!😆

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Posted: 18 years ago
Meet Big B's new on-screen mom
By Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

Download Ek Ajnabee WallpapersThere was a time when Nirupa Roy and Amitabh Bachchan were inseparable as mother and son. The golden era ended after LAAL BAADSHAH which was the last film where the two were seen together.

With Big B himself crossing 60, it was hard to imagine any film coming where an opportunity would arise to have someone play his mother. But the impossible has happened with the film CHEENI KUM where Amitabh Bachchan plays his age, i.e. 64, and still has a woman for his mother.

She is none other than acclaimed actress Zohra Seghal who is still known for her ever-so-spirited-and-fill-of-life persona.

In CHEENI KUM, she would be seen as an 85 year old lady who plays Big B's mother and as always brings on quite a few chuckles with her trademark acting style and dialogue delivery. She is the one who gives a go-ahead to him when he confesses to his love for Tabu and gives him tips on how to woo her and get talking to her father for her hand.

Directed by Balakrishnan, CHEENI KUM is slated for a May release.
Edited by monika.goel - 18 years ago
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Posted: 18 years ago

The Rediff Interview / Amitabh Bachchan

'Why would people target me?'

Naresh Varma | March 12, 2007


Amitabh Bachchan
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It is being said about Ram Gopal Varma's latest release Nishabd that Amitabh Bachchan's performance in the film has surpassed his work in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black. Despite the critical acclaim, the film is not getting its due from either the movie fraternity or the media. In a freewheeling interview, Amitabh Bachchan speaks out -- on criticism, camps and controversies. Read on:

Let me start with the protests in cities like Jalandhar and Varanasi concerning the film. It is being said that in recent times, the film industry has matured in terms of subjects. Don't you feel these protests basically underline the conservative mindset of the masses? Does this reflect their hollowness?

No, this can't be termed as hollow. I feel it is the moral right of the individuals of this country to express their feelings within the framework of the Constitution and law and order. We accept their opinion. It is a known fact that some will accept things while others won't. I am open to both their criticism and praise in equal measure. I am basically an artist and this film is an element for me and the director. We have served it to the nation and it is their discretion whether they like it or not.

If we were to talk about newspaper and television reviews of Nishabd, there is a clear message that it has not been accepted despite it being a revolutionary film in terms of treatment and story. Don't you feel there is a group who are bent upon destroying things?

I don't believe in such things. I will never buy this statement that there are groups who deliberately sabotage things. We are Indians and are proud of our fellow citizens. Why will any one indulge in such negative activity?

Just a day after the film's release, one newspaper spoke about the attendance figures for Nishabd in various cinema halls in Mumbai. This seems like a vendetta aimed at you.

I feel they have the right to print and publish anything. But again, if things undergo a metamorphosis in a few days or months then their own stuff gets challenged. And this has happened several times. Recently, when Guru released, something similar was said. Most of them had written off the film but the fact remains that after three months -- that is if you really want to know -- the film has collected more than Rs 85 crores in this country. The collections of Guru is better than those of Don and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Guru has amply proved its merit and this was proved later on despite all the brickbats from the media. So you never know when the media is proved wrong.

Whenever any film of yours hits the cinema halls, don't you feel you are targeted?

I don't believe this. Why would people target me? I hardly have anything. What damage will they do to me? My job is to act in films and we ought to know that we cannot always be successful. We are prone to errors only because we are human beings.

A few days ago I was watching an interview with Ram Gopal Varma about Nishabd on a television news channel. After the anchor asked him some questions, his standard reply was that we have made a film and handed it over to the people -- it is their discretion whether they accept or reject it. This was quite unlike Karan Johar who despite getting initial flak for KANK went all out with his stars to defend the film. Why is RGV not doing the same because both the films started debates?

Ram Gopal Varma needs to defend his film from what?

He has been saying I have made a film and now it is up to the audience to accept or reject it, rather than persuade them to come to theatres to see his product.

This should be the norm. We have made a certain product and now the ball is in the audience's court. What will we get by defending a film? We have made a film; why do we need to defend it? If we were to defend it, we should have never made that product. A thought came to our mind and Ram Gopal Varma took it further. It was he who determined what clothes I should wear in the film, what I should say, and what expressions are to be emoted. Based on these parameters, we succeeded in making a product and now we have it thrown it to the people. Now, it is for the masses to tell us whether they liked the product or not. Some liked it while some did not and we respect their views.

Are there camps in the film industry?

I don't think so. I have been asked this question several times. We are all educated and bright people with elements of humanity. And trust me on this -- the humanity, which is prevalent in the industry, you wont find it anywhere. Ours is a nationally integrated industry and we are proud of it. You need to know when people criticise Nishabd , they also say that such things should not be permitted in society. But why don't you discuss these things? We avoid showing riots on celluloid but all said and done, riots do happen. Then, why don't you blame society? Why don't you advertise the fact that the film industry has maintained a distance from such things and they should be applauded for it?

So camps don't exist in the industry.

No.

Do you think your performance in Nishabd is better than your performance in Black? People have been saying this.

Now when people are saying this, I can't afford to argue with them. In fact, they are saying good things and are not booing me. Even if they were to abuse me, who am I to argue with them? If people believe my performance, I am thankful to them. Even Abhishek said something similar. I accept it.

It is being said that you and Vinod Khanna will soon be seen in a film made by your friend S Ramanathan. How true is it?

Yes, even I read something similar in the newspapers. But I have not received any news as such; no such proposal has been forwarded to me.

Are you open to acting with Vinod Khanna in a film?

If the role and the filmmaker suit me, why not?

Any update on the Abhishek-Aishwarya wedding plan?

How can I update you when there are no any fixed dates?

Any final words on Nishabd?

I believe Nishabd is a good film. I believe it is different. I also believe that this film was never expected from Ram Gopal Varma as he has been synonymous with the gangster genre of films. By this film, he has not made anyone unhappy.

I got an opportunity to portray a difficult character. Some journalists have praised my performance. I got phone calls, messages and letters about my performance. I thank everyone and wish that in the future too, I will keep doing such roles.


Edited by monika.goel - 18 years ago
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Posted: 18 years ago
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Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai were engaged on January 14, ending national speculation about their romance. Their wedding will be one of the biggest events this year.

As they get ready for better times ahead, rediff.com brings you news, photographs and much more about Bollywood's dream couple.

Features
Ash, Abhishek engaged
Tracking the Abhiwariya saga
Ash-Abhi puja has Varanasi agog
Ash, Abhishek may wed on Feb 19
Photos
Six steps to a shaadi
The Ash-Abhishek love story
The Bachchan bahu
Spotted! Ash, Abhishek in Paris
Message Boards
'They should understand each other'
Wish the couple
Edited by monika.goel - 18 years ago
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Posted: 18 years ago


Six steps to a shaadi

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai surprised everyone with their sudden engagement, Sunday January 14. The signs, though, have been visible for a while now -- partly in the increasingly frenzied media speculation, partly in the increasing public appearances by the two, looking very much the content couple. Think back to February 5 last year, when Abhishek walked in for his birthday party with Ash's hand in his. Shortly thereafter, Jaya Bachchan was seen introducing Ash to all her friends. The cake was cut, and after feeding his parents, it was to Ash that he turned, cake in hand. The two danced up a storm that evening, with Abhishek refusing to let Ash leave the floor.

The Bachchans were due at the music launch of Guru -- and they detoured to Ash's home, to pick her up so they could all go together.

If there were increasing signs that Ash and Abhishek were an item, it did not in itself signify marriage -- after all, Abhishek had once been engaged to Karisma, and Ash had been seeing first Salman Khan, then Vivek Oberoi.

'Wedding' entered the media vocabulary November 28, when Aishwarya joined Abhishek and his parents on a visit to Varanasi's famous Kashi Vishwanath and Sankat Mochan temples. Eyewitnesses suggested that Aishwarya sat on the left side of Abhishek, as a wife would under Hindu rituals, and took part in the mangala aarti followed by the rudrabhishek puja, which is usually performed by married couples.

Aishwarya, traditionaly clad in a white salwar-kameez with printed dupatta and a pashmina shawl, looked very much a part of the Bachchan family.

Abhishek Bachchan came with his father for the premiere of Baabul, December 7; Ash arrived later with her family.

The Big B was quick to receive Ash, when she arrived; from then on, Ash and Abhishek remained together through the evening.

A hint of awkwardness materialised when former beau Salman Khan, who stars in Baabul, crossed paths with Aishwarya -- the first public meeting of the two after their much-publicised split.

Reader Tanuja Bhosale bumped into the pair last month, when Ash and her mother Vrinda Rai dropped Abhishek, who was on his way to Paris, off at the airport.

Not too long before that, Abhishek was shooting for Shaad Ali's film Jhoom Barabar Jhoom in London, and Ash decided to fly over and join him.

Before she did, she went to the Bachchan residence for a long chat with Jaya Bachchan, and among other things asked if she wanted to send something for her son, who had been away from home for a long time.

January 5 -- Dabboo Ratnani's calendar launch

The unveiling of Dabboo's calendar marked the second time that Amitabh, Abhishek and Ash came together in a same car. A laughing Ash was seen seated on the backseat while Amitabh was seen driving the car with Abhishek seated beside him. Throughout the evening, the couple were inseparable. Abhishek saw to it that none of the media people came close to Ash.

Don't Miss: Tracking the Abhiwarya story

Afer keeping a low profile about their relationship, the couple came arm in arm for the premiere of Guru. Toronto's Mayor David Miller personally invited Abhishek, Ash and director Mani Ratnam for the premiere.

Ash and Abhishek were last spotted together for Guru's premiere in New York. This was their last public appearnce before their engagement on January 14.

Don't Miss: 'Brangelina would've been jealous'
Edited by monika.goel - 18 years ago
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Posted: 18 years ago
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'A very little bit of Amitabh goes a long way'

It's one of those things you can never do well enough. Writing about Amitabh Bachchan is hard, especially for a British academic who doesn't quite 'get' all the Hindi yet. Jessica Hines is quite the character, a woman who likens Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham to 'a cola advert' and shrugs off a tremendous amount of tabloid scandal with a smile. Her book, Looking for the Big B: Bollywood, Bachchan & Me, currently on shelves everywhere is half biography, half memoir, telling of her travails following Amitabh around the world, trying to get him to answer questions while he rapidly channel surfs. One scorching Mumbai noon, as Jessica sat poolside with her beloved coconut water, Raja Sen was around to ask some questions. Both your Bloomsbury bio and the back of your book mention 'clown school' in a very offhand way. So what was it, really? Okay, clown school was a very serious occupation. I went there when I was just out of school, about 20. At school what I really loved doing was physical theatre. My teacher at school was amazing at physical theatre and her brother ran a great Marx company. So I was influenced by this, and I went to Canada to pursue that. I loved doing that but I left my clown partner back in Toronto, and nobody ever really filled her shoes -- her big, floppy shoes. And I did Clown for, all told, about three years.

In the picture: Amitabh in Don. Inset: Jessica Hines

And now you're writing books about big-name movie stars. Do you miss the clowning?

Well, basically, I carried the principles of Clowning with me -- they're very good ones to live your life by. Clown is religion. Basically, a lot of people spend their lives trying not to be laughed at. And actually, you can find strength through humour. Things that we often shy away from, are things we can learn from and be strengthened by. Clowning is brutal, painful. And what kind of Clowning were you good at? We did theatrical clowning. I didn't have an exploding car, which I always wanted, and I didn't have any floppy shoes. My costume was ripped up plastic underwear, polyester camisoles and French knickers. And you have to have your funny nose -- smallest mask in the world. Soon as you put that on, you become a clown. And your hat, which is very important, because that's your connection to the Clown gods. So how'd you go from funny noses to studying film? Or is that a smaller jump than one would imagine? When I came back, everyone I knew pretty much was graduating from university. I really was enjoying writing for Clown and theatre -- and a lot of torturous poetry at the time. Graduates from English Literature seemed paralysed by it all, Deconstructionism and yadda-yadda-yadda. Most of them lost the ability to write, so I thought that I wanted to have a way of learning stories, and different ways of seeing the world. So I started studying Comparative Religion, because I figured that'd be a lot of different perspectives, and structuring your life view. And one of my courses -- a free course, you can do whatever you want -- was Indian Cinema, which just happened to be on offer in the University. And then I bumped into Rachel Dwyer, who's gone on to write lots of books about Indian cinema, and became completely hooked. Why Indian cinema in particular? Had you seen any Bollywood films before that? Yeah, I'd seen one in India when I was 18 and really liked it, and watched a couple more when I came back. I remember watching Maine Pyaar Kiya on television in England and thinking, 'that poor pigeon!' Remember how the poor thing kept trying to get the note off, the one that was glued to its leg? Bollywood kinda meshed together my love for physical theatre, and the things that I liked about storytelling, and the things that I liked about spectacle and not being afraid of being larger than life. Truth can win, there are heroes. And the songs. God, yeah! The songs are great. What's not to love?

In the picture: Amitabh, in a still from Deewar

So how good are you with them now? Can you follow them without subtitles?

I got to a point where I almost could. But my Hindi is pretty poor and I miss the lines. I'm not a linguist. I really tried, I took tons of courses, but I can understand better than I can speak. Because truth be told, the subtitles are pretty bad. Yeah, they're pretty bad but I can get enough from them so that I can get the Hindi, you know what I mean? You can differentiate enough to put it in context. If someone says something very Bombaiyya, there'll be just enough for me in the English translation to understand what he must have said, and how rich it is. But if there's a flood of language, it's quite hard to pick up the individual sentences. While I can read the English, I can hear the Hindi, which is good. And this Amitabh thing started way back then? Yeah, I was very lucky because I came in right when the whole Indian academic thing was starting. So when I asked him for an interview, it was novel enough that he said yes, much to my surprise. I think he was very amused that someone would possibly find Hindi cinema academic. And he has great respect for academia, his father spending a lot of stress and strain getting his PhD in Cambridge. So he said yes more out of disbelief than anything else -- it certainly wasn't because of my credentials. And then, like a dog with a slipper, I just wouldn't let go! Has he read the book? What does he think? Yeah, he's read it. He thinks it's 'cool.' Which I found hard to believe, but there we go. As you see at the end of the book, we had a lot of to-ing and fro-ing about stuff, but we ended up at a happy, um, medium. Did he make you take anything out of the book? Did you make him read it before you published it? No, he didn't. And yeah, out of courtesy, I did. I gave it to him to read, which was pretty useful because he corrected certain things and suggested certain others. He never said, 'Don't write that.' He might say, 'Is that word a bit harsh?' And I'd say, 'No.' (Laughs) You know what I mean? It wasn't a collaborative process in any way but I did let him read it. Were there bits you were afraid of writing about him? No, I don't think I was exactly afraid of writing anything. He was a friend. I was harangued by one interviewer who said there isn't anything new in this book, and that he's stonewalled me. And I said, 'Y'know, whatever.' I mean, if you read it subtly, there is some stuff between the lines. And why should Amitabh bare his soul to everyone? It's like he'll never be able to give enough. So my aim was not to write about big scandals. I don't think that's a way of illuminating someone. As I say at the end of the book -- which I guess you'll get to in about two hours; it's a really light read -- that I went about it the wrong way. I was so fixated with the images and the myths of him that I tried to get them to line up to find the small guy inside; the man behind the curtain, you know, like in The Wizard Of Oz. And actually what I should have done -- which would be the more radical and feminine way of doing it, and not something the haranguing interviewer would have liked -- would have been to actually start from the guy that I know, and reach out to the myths from there. It would have been smaller, gentler. In the picture: Amitabh, in a still from Kala Pathar

Also Read: Bollywood's Sexiest Actresses

It is important to note that your book isn't a biography, though.

In the West, biography is really macho. There's this one biographer, who did George Orwell's biography, who went to his widow and demanded that he have carte blanche, to go through and write whatever he wanted, whatever he saw as objective truth. I'm sorry, but that's not objective truth. Julian Barnes wrote a great book called Flaubert's Parrot, where he wrote that biography is like a net, and you catch some fish -- but the water, the life, is gone. So whatever you do, biography is a series of facts chosen by the biographer. It's not a story, and there's no definitive story. And that's what I'm trying to get across in this book, in my random, goofy way. It's a book about biography as much as it is about Bollywood, and about Amitabh. It's also about the process of biography, and the pretentions of writing a biography. How forthcoming was Bollywood to you, overall? Well, it was over a long period of time, and not just about the book. And I've put in the time, been patient. People ask, 'How can you do it, being white?' Can you imagine? Or as Indian journalists ask, 'How can you get such access? Is it because you're white?' There's copy that says 'another fair skinned...' Can you imagine if any newspaper in England said 'another brown skinned chap?' It'd be total uproar! It's just that sometimes people were forthcoming, and sometimes not. And a lot of people would tell me, off the record, how Bachchan had ruined the industry in the 1980s, but then it's stunningly absent when it came to me writing things down. Was the whole process like you'd expected it to be? I didn't have any expectations when I first came over. It's like walking into an entirely new planet. So it was as bizarre and as random. Yeah, I do like it. It can be infuriating and draining, but it's very rich and a great culture. I think you have to have a really good sense of humour to get by in Bollywood. It's sublime, ridiculous, moving... I am laughing at it, but not in a cruel way. Sometimes it's funny. And God knows, Indians laugh at it; Bollywood laughs at itself. Who were the people you met, over your Bollywood years, who you'd term really interesting? The people that I found interesting, that I gelled with, were people around my own age. Manisha (Koirala) and me became friends, and she's just lovely. She had enough worldliness in her that we understood each other. I'm very loyal to her. What I find interesting about the industry is that people have a particular kind of energy, a Bombay-film energy, which I don't have. I don't have the ability to keep going until 4 am. I don't have that kind of drive and energy which they have. And I find it fascinating, that single-minded devotion and ability to live, eat and sleep films. It's a drive to create, and the people I've met (here) who have it are Ashu(tosh) Gowariker, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Javed Akhtar. Those are the people I really enjoyed the dynamic with, and their worldviews. And Ashu is especially great, because he responds well to criticism. In the picture: Amitabh, in a still from Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Also Read: Women of many faces

Edited by monika.goel - 18 years ago
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Posted: 18 years ago

Originally posted by: umi82990

Btw...Fan_of_Big_B...great to see u active here...we are really very happy that more n more members are getting active😊

😛😛 thx

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