I am not a method actor: Amitabh Bachchan
(A still from Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap More Pics )
He might be 69, but he's surely not the Bbuddah of Bollywood. The man who made his mark in the industry as the 'Angry Young Man' is back with the same image, after a gap of 40 years, with his forthcoming movie Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap.
What is this film all about?
My character in the film is called Viju, he's an ex-gangster from the city. As far as his character is concerned, he's flamboyant, arrogant and edgy, but at the same time, he is a very cool and relaxed kind of a guy. He's been living in Paris and runs his own clubs. Until he's called back to Mumbai for a mission. It's a lighthearted entertainment film; there's song, dance, humour and action. It covers everything I've done in the past, except that there's a difference of almost 40 years!
Would you term this film as a complete action film?
Everybody calls Deewaar an action film when there was just one fight scene in it (Laughs). It's about one's perception. It does, however, have all the elements of a commercial film.
Did you have any inhibitions about the audience accepting you in this avatar?
I would rather pay more attention to the script, to the maker, to my own role and then worry about what the audience thinks. There have been few instances in the past where I have gone wrong. When I did Nishabd and RGV'S Aag, people didn't watch the films purely because my roles were negative and they can't imagine me doing something like that. While I enjoyed those roles, I think these factors do count. As an actor, I will have a desire to play many diverse roles but sometimes when I do something against the audience's temperament, they do get disturbed.
How necessary is it for an actor to relate to the kind of roles he plays?
There are two different schools of thought as far as acting is concerned. Either you go through the methodology of method acting where you believe that you are in the character you are playing. And then you are reminded of this fantastic instance from the film Marathon Man where Laurence Olivier said to Dustin Hoffman "You should try acting, my boy. It's much easier". I don't know how to get into method acting. There were few occasions in my earlier films when I perhaps tried something like that, but it didn't work out.
Do you think the information overload about films during releases creates fatigue for viewers and readers?
The medium of communication has increased and everybody wants to use it. Earlier, it was only restricted to advertisements on screen-paper and hand-painted posters. Today, a destiny of a film is revealed within six hours after its release. With all due respect, none of the films are remembered more than a week or two later. It's the rapidity with which communication is increasing that's changing the way we think. Today, viewers don't want to hear two-page dialogues, one line is enough.
What are your views on escapist cinema?
I went abroad for the first time in 1973 and since then Hindi cinema has been described as escapist. I feel (pauses) irritated. I want our country to be known as a developed nation. And often enough, everywhere you go, everybody in the west will pronounce our language in a manner that is convenient to them. It is always a comparison to somebody in their hemisphere. They call Shahrukh Khan theBrad Pitt of India. Why should they? He is the Shahrukh Khan. Period. Tumhara hoga yaar koi Brad Pitt, humko kya maloom. Usko bolo ki India mein aake Chinchpokli mein ghume, koi pehchaanega bhi nahi (You may have a Brad Pitt, we don't know. Tell him to walk on the streets in India, nobody would even recognise him). I hate the word 'Bollywood' but now since it's been registered in the Oxford dictionary, I guess, we're stuck with it.
How do you keep yourself updated on the internet?
When people respond to me on twitter, blog, etc. and if I do not understand a particular word, I ask Abhishek (Bachchan) and he guides me through it. You know young people use words like "LOL and ROFL". Kabhi kabhi toh pata nahi chalta ki yeh bol kya rahe hai (sometimes I do not understand what they are saying). And I need to be updated because if tomorrow somebody writes to me like this, I want to make sure he/she is not abusing me (Smiles).
And how is the grandfather-to-be feeling at the moment?
There is a feeling of continuity as my grandson/daughter is going to be a 'Bachchan'
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he wrote a letter for me. i could faint. i am serious :D
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