The long wail of a conch signals the entrance of Bollywood royalty. When Amitabh Bachchan steps out, everyone stands. The flashes go off; the cameramen defy gravity as they strain for an angle that will give them a glimpse of the star. In the very centre of this three ring circus, Bachchan is almost preternaturally at ease. It’s clear he’s done this many, many times before.
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| Well done: Applause for the bevy of beautiful dancers from Amitabh and actress Jacqueline Fernandez at the IIFA launch |
What’s not as clear is why he should choose to. As the patriarch of India’s ‘first family of cinema’ and a brand ambassador for everything from washing powder to pens, Bachchan’s fortune is considerable. Yet, first with his company A.B.C.L (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited) and now with the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) he has made it his life’s mission to bring Indian films to a global audience. It might even be one of the reasons he’s still an actor.
Stardom never did come easily to the actor. When he first came to Mumbai, he did so with a driver’s licence in his pocket – his plan B was to become a taxi driver. His plight then seemed to be a study in contradiction: he considered Rajiv Gandhi his best friend, yet the actor has said he spent several nights on a bench in Marine Drive, in the company of the “biggest rats I have seen in my life.”
Fortunately, he eventually made his debut in 1969, with the film Saat Hindustani. Despite having to jostle for attention with the film’s six other protagonists (saat is Hindi for seven), Bachchan made his mark – going on to win a National Film Award for Best Newcomer. With Zanjeer in 1973, Bachchan earned the epithet that would dog his footsteps for the next few decades – that of the angry young man of Hindi cinema. The road eventually led to the iconic film Sholay, (meaning flames) and the kind of fame that would enthrone him in the hearts of entire generations of movie-goers.
When a severe intestinal injury threatened his life and disrupted the filming of the Coolie in 1982, Bachchan seemed to be at the height of his popularity. Newscasters devoted precious time every day to health bulletins as a significant portion of the country maintained a prayerful vigil.
Though he lived to finish filming the movie (his character, who had initially been slated for a tragic, but now inappropriate, demise also survived), Bachchan decided to quit films and turn to politics, campaigning for the Congress Party under Rajiv Gandhi. Accusations of corruption led him to resign from politics. Though he was later exonerated, the star would steer clear of politics in the decades to follow. Instead, he decided to devote his time to A.B.C.L., the company he founded in 1996.
Though the company failed miserably, backing a string of box office flops and accruing a debt that ran into millions, Bachchan had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve. In an interview with Vir Sanghvi in 1999, he said: “This is when I thought of the idea of forming a corporation much like international corporations worldwide to get a kind of professionalism and a kind of corporate attitude to the entertainment industry in this country and to be able to exploit it in all parts of the world. That was the attraction. That really brought me back [to acting] again.”
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Today, Bachchan has the same passion for Indian cinema and is the face of IIFA, which has a similar mandate to A.B.C.L. The 68-year-old says his involvement with IIFA, and its commitment to exploring new markets, was inspired by the fans he has met the world over. He recalls being in Paris: “Suddenly I heard someone singing an Indian song behind me and I couldn’t find any connection with India or with Indian movies with the person who was singing it. He was not of my colour, not of my nation,” he says.
Smiling he describes another encounter, this time in Yalta. At a store, he was confronted by a stranger - “he kept doing this, and then this,” says the star, illustrating his anecdote with a hand gesture, “and then I realised he was talking about the coin I flipped in Sholay. All these connections led us to believe that there is something in Indian cinema that appeals to a wider audience.”
Though he once lamented the lack of discipline in the Indian industry, as its current spokesman, he has only positive things to say. Defending its escapist cinema as something that the masses crave, he says he travels the world promoting Indian cinema because he believes it has the potential to rival Hollywood’s popularity. “I’ve always lamented the fact that though we are the largest film-making industry in the world we are unable to convert that into the kind of importance that Hollywood has seen. You know that Hollywood is the second largest export earner for the United States of America after aeroplanes. If they can do it, why can’t we?”
Why not, indeed. The IIFA is only one of several film industry awards, and though it trails behind the likes of the National Awards and Filmfare awards in prestige, it is the only one that routinely holds its events away from Indian shores. Where the IIFA Awards go, follow the fans. As tourism surges and business deals are made, you can all but hear the cash registers sing. It’s no surprise that countries compete to win the IIFA bid and then honour the Indian celebrities who obliging shout out “I love you (relevant country)” for a television audience of millions to hear.
Indian film director Yash Chopra famously had a lake named after him and an honorary citizenship bestowed upon him by the Swiss, in appreciation for all the films he shot there. Bachchan, however, must content himself with being one of most beloved and well known faces on Indian cinema the world over. His stark white beard and his own wax statue in Madame Tussauds have made his lanky frame familiar to millions.
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| In the glare of the flashbulbs: A greeting from Amitabh, on his arrival at the airport |
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| Swamped by security: Leaving the airport |
His blog http://bigb.bigadda.com/ has a faithful readership and the star, who loves gadgets, told the Hindustan Times that Google has approached him to do live video webcasts in addition to the voice blogs he already has. He has successfully fashioned himself into a humble everyman, a champion for Indian cinema.
It’s a mantle that he wears easily, long since having made the transition from angry young man into dignified patriarch. Besieged by journalists, he is nevertheless astonishingly soft spoken, and you are reminded that he once confessed to being intensely shy.
Watching the melee at the news conference at the Cinnamon Grand in Colombo this week, another journalist observes, “There’s no such thing as an exclusive interview with a Bachchan.” Still, there are all these questions that might have had interesting answers - what did Indira Gandhi say in her letter of recommendation that got you your first job?
Did Jaya walk out of the remake of Sholay, as she did out of Mrityudata? How do you find your privacy in a time when your family is a national obsession? What does the name Vijay mean to you? But there is little time for these over cookies and juice.
As the star nibbles on chocolate chips, he answers questions only on IIFA in a deep baritone. He might as well have said, “after me, the deluge,” and have been done with it. In the end, the IIFA awards will make Sri Lanka familiar to millions, but are we willing to be “exploited”? With the government throwing itself behind IIFA, and a fanbase that cannot seem to get enough of Bollywood glamour, the answer appears to be a resounding “yes.”
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