Tuesday, June 5, 2007

What's with Amitabh Bachhan?

Although I turn green seeing Big B holding his guitar in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, the reasons are quite different from the obvious ones. Mainly, the envy is because its a two-neck guitar (a fantabulous invention) and secondly he's in Europe (simply an amazing place to be!!). Besides that, what's with the vivid feathery hat and the ugly salt-n-pepper tresses hanging from behind his neck? As if his repetitive ads for lesser known companies promoting their lesser known products wasn't enough, it looks that he's keen to go a step further.

Amitabh Bachhan is an everlasting legend in Hindi Cinema, but his recent "indulgences" speak volumes of reconsidering this laudatory thought. His taste for doing only quality cinema as evident erstwhile during his stardom, has undoubtedly been diluted over the years distinctively exhibited in his era of life-begins-at-60. Top it up with his recent claims of being a farmer for a Pune land plot, it makes you wonder how an actor like him can do this to himself. Hasn't he been satisfied of bad publicity or rather technically named "black spots on his diligently generated grandeur"?

Even today, I find his yesteryear movies very entertaining. Be it Sholay or Deewar, Big B was always his plain SUPERB!! It really pains me to see him in movies during recent times viz. KANK, Mohobattein, Bunty aur Babli,Baghban, etc. I wonder what made him do it. OK , the answer is money; but still at his position, he needs to think beyond that. An iconic status stretching to an image of demi-God, that too in India where superstars are related with the characters they play on-screen surely should give a second thought while accepting offers. When accepting such offers, the argument of 'being after all a human being' simply doesn't hold true. You then become more than just a mere celebrity. Nevertheless it's always a delight to see him in films like Black, Sarkar or even Lakshya. Such movies which showcase the raw talent of the distinguished actor are welcomed by one and all. Big B has this innate ability to entertain people of all generations leaving behind a legacy for others to follow. And I believe there are still many aspects of him waiting to be unearthed.

I definitely don't want to remember this great personality as a performer in trivial ads and meaningless cinema in the remaining days of his glorious career, but as a king who ruled the Indian film industry giving it an eternal recognition and eventually making a graceful exit. As we see in floor gymnastics, almost everyone begins with a good start, a better performance during the feat, but its the landing/exit that makes the gymnast distinctively different from the others. May this actor get a ten on ten on his entire lifetime performance.