Bachchans FC--Happy Birthday!! (Page 148)

Big B shakes a leg again

View Big B Launches Dev Anand's Book Picture Gallery

If you have been missing Amitabh Bachchan getting into a dancing mode then your wait would be over soon. If your neighborhood theater screens Bhojpuri films then you would be lucky enough to witness vintage Amitabh Bachchan in his upcoming film GANGOTRI.

A sequel to his successful Bhojpuri film GANGA, GANGOTRI is produced by Deepak Sawant, Bachchan's makeup man for years. In the film, he shakes his leg with Bhojpuri superstar Manoj Tiwari for one of the songs put to tune by Ashok Ghayal. Promos of the film are on the air and Big B and Tiwari match dance steps which are rooted and rustic in appeal.

Directed by Abhishek, the film is slated for a Diwali release along with OM SHANTI OM and SAAWARIYA. The film also stars Hema Malini, Bhoomika Chawla, Aroona Irani and Kunal Singh amongst others.

Amitabh is my guru, says Rekha
Mumbai, Oct 19 (IANS) Bollywood's inimitable diva Rekha has spoken candidly about Amitabh Bachchan, saying he taught her the nuances of acting. She praised his performance in "Last Lear" as "very Shakespearean"."He's my guru. I learnt so much from him," Rekha told IANS.

Commenting on Amitabh's role in "Last Lear", she said: "Seriously I think Rituparno Ghosh is like Utpal Dutt. And I believe Bachchan is very Shakespearean in 'Last Lear'. Together I believe the two have paid a very proper tribute to Shakespeare. I'm looking forward to it.

"I seriously think Bachchan is more Bengali than any one I know. He's a true Bengali dada. And I'm not saying that because he has a Bengali wife or has spent time in Kolkata. There's more of Rabindranath Tagore's legacy in him than anyone else."

Is she aware that Preity Zinta in Rituparno Ghosh's "Last Lear" has been styled, a la Rekha in "Silsila"?

"Has she? Is it an imitation or a tribute? We've to make that distinction very clearly," said Rekha, who turned 53 Oct 10.

Asked about her birthday celebrations, she said: "I didn't notice. For me every day is a celebration, every moment a blessing from god. I don't need to visit temples on my birthday. There's a temple right here in my house and that's where prayed, as I do every day."
How does she manage to remain so positive in spite of so much negativity around her?
"I don't think about negative things. There's so much beauty, love and excitement to be savoured every day. People can get to us only if we allow them to. Besides, I don't believe people are negative without reason. Even the cobra that bites you has a reason to do so.

"At Dev Saab's book release, I had to rush in and rush out because my pup Shiva was waiting in the car. I've five pups and all very dear to me. They're my children. I left Shiva in the car. Yes, I did trip but I went right into the car! So it was a perfect trip.

"People ask me about the way I conduct my life. Sorry, beautiful music is conducted... Lives cannot be conducted. At least I've always gone with the flow, risen and fallen with the rhythms of existence without, tripping over seriously.
"My current high is bonding with Shah Rukh Khan. Of course, I've known him for years. But lately we're connecting more profoundly. I've done a blink-and-miss appearance in 'Om Shanti Om' and that's when I got to know him seriously. He has a sharp mind."

Rekha then spoke about Tagore.

"Do you know Tagore was a true woman's libber? He started (the university in) Santiniketan for women long before feminism was conceptualised. I like the thought of women being given philosophical and emotional sanctuary by a man who isn't threatened by them.

"Today, I find we're too obsessed by superficialities and surface gratification. On the news channels all we hear about achievers is their financial assets, homes, villas and parties. There has to be a spirit that supports dreams. I dream all the time. My life is a dream and I dream a new dream every day."

Is Rekha going to the West?

"No, where did you hear that? I've no such plans. I've never planned anything in life, certainly not my career. Mira Nair's 'Kamasutra' happened to me by chance. Maybe something will come up. At the moment I'm excited about the debut of my nephew which will happen next year."

Rekha is now preparing for her role in Hema Malini's film, to be directed by Revathy. Esha Deol will be seen with her in the film.

"Hemaji has the most radiant and goddess-like face I've seen. When Lataji called me a reincarnation of goddess Laxmi, I was over the moon. But really, she was just being so kind. I don't really want to be a goddess, or a diva or whatever I'm called. I just want to fulfil my responsibilities. If you ask me to assess myself, I'm an okay actress and a good human being. But I'm not content. I still have a dream. Don't ask me what it is. I don't know."

Edited by fan_of_Big_B - 19 October 2007 at 9:26am

Maya plugs Amit escape route

Amitabh at Siddhivinayak temple on Friday. (Fotocorp)

The Mayavati government today blocked Amitabh Bachchan's efforts to strike a deal with a panchayat to escape criminal prosecution in the Barabanki land case.

Bachchan had accepted an offer from the Daulatpur gram sabha, which owns the plot he is accused of buying through forged documents, to give up his claim on the land and escape criminal charges.

The government, however, threw a spanner in the works, saying the gram sabha was not authorised to decide whether the actor should be prosecuted or not.

The Faizabad commissioner had cancelled the land allotment to Bachchan, ruling the plot had been bought through forgery, but the high court had stayed the order on an appeal from the actor.

As the case dragged on for four months, gram sabha lawyer R.N. Gupta yesterday offered Bachchan the deal as a "birthday gift".

"The land belongs legally to us. In case Bachchan stakes no claim to it, it will come back to us. In that case we will not file any criminal case against him," Gupta told the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court.

Bachchan's lawyers filed an affidavit today that said: "Honouring the argument made by the gram sabha lawyer, we would make it clear that our client Amitabh Bachchan would not stake any claim on the land any more."

The affidavit also sought permission to withdraw the appeal against the Faizabad commissioner's judgment and end the lawsuit, Bachchan's counsel Gaurav Bhatia said.

When the case came up for hearing this afternoon, Justice A.N. Verma asked the gram sabha lawyer if his offer still stood. Gupta said it did.

But around 3pm, state government counsel D.K. Upadhyay filed another affidavit.

"The land might have been owned by a gram sabha in Barabanki but the records that were tampered with in connection with the alleged sale belonged to the state government," it said.

Amitabh Bachchan all set to play Gambler next


Over the years, Amitabh Bachchan has made his characters immortal. And never mind his age and experience, the actor is still experimenting. He is playing different kinds of roles and also appearing in interesting 'get ups' that fit his character to the T.

Bachchan played a royal guard in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya - The Royal Guard. In his more recent Nishabd , he dared to romance a 16-year old. Similarly in Cheeni Kum he played a 64-year-old chef who is elder than his prospective father-in-law. He sportingly sported a pony tail, and wore those funky glasses that made quite a style statement. Also, in RGV Ke Aag he played a dreaded gangster Babban ' the very filthy, nose-digging, negative character.

After playing such varied roles, Amitabh now is all set to play gambler in Leena Yadav's forthcoming film titled Teen Patti . Leena, who directed Sunjay Dutt and Aishawarya Rai in Shabd , is happy to have an actor like Amitabh Bachchan in her second film. Produced by Ambika A Hinduja, who also produced Being Cyrus , Teen Patti will have Bachchan in a completely different avatar. When contacted, Leena confirms, "Yes I will be doing a film called Teen Patti with Amitabh Bachchan. I can't talk about the film as it's in its initial stages and it's too early to say anything."

It is believed that the film will commence some time next year. Now, let's wait and watch how Amitabh experiments with his character and look this time round. Will he gel his hair behind in ekdum casino gambler style, or what? Let your imagination take over...


Edited by fan_of_Big_B - 19 October 2007 at 9:36am

One of the principal wages of movie superstardom, as any Bollywood luminary will tell you, is the permanent loss of privacy. A film icon is a public figure and every move he or she makes is open to mass scrutiny.

And when the personality in question happens to be as phenomenally charismatic as the Big B and the masses over whom he lords belong to a cinema-crazy nation like India, he cannot ever hope to keep his personal life out of the gossip rags.

For a better part of his career as a leading man, Amitabh Bachchan could not evade the unwanted focus that the media trained on his relationships. Of the three lead actresses who figure right at the top of his list of most regular co-stars during his heydays - Rekha, Parveen Babi and Jaya Bhaduri - his name was romantically linked to two. The third, of course, escaped the net because he actually married her, thereby sparing her the ignominy of receiving undue amount of play in the gossip columns.

On his part, Amitabh always chose the path of dignified silence vis--vis his alleged and much publicised liaison with one-time favourite co-star Rekha. But that did not stop pen pushers from pursuing the story relentlessly. Even as it put untold pressure on his marriage, the persistent rumours no doubt helped his on-screening romantic pairing with Rekha flourish to the advantage of the many of the films that had them together.

The stories were probably apocryphal but they propelled the combo into the realms of Bollywood folklore, adding to the mystique of the two stars.

The Amitabh and Jaya marriage was the culmination of a longish courtship. They had been paired in as many seven films, including Bansi Birju, Ek Nazar, Zanjeer, Mili, Abhimaan and Chupke Chupke, before they tied the knot in mid-1973. Post-marriage, the gifted FTII-trained actress went into retirement.

Amitabh and Jaya had entered the Hrishikesh Mukherjee unit at around the same time - the former with Anand, the latter with Guddi. The two superhits were released in the same year, 1971. By the time they were signed up together for the lead roles in Abhimaan (1973), their relationship had taken on serious enough undertones for the two emerging stars to contemplate marriage.

The Amitabh-Jaya marriage has weathered many storms and the biggest one of them, if the rumour mills are to be believed, answered to the name of Bhanurekha Ganesan, a.k.a. Rekha. The first film that Amitabh did with Rekha (Do Anjaane) was at least three after his marriage to Jaya. They went on to co-star in numerous other films. The Chinese whispers not withstanding, there was never any concrete evidence from any quarters that Amitabh ever crossed the line.

Rekha had been in the industry for six-seven years, starring in numerous potboilers like Saawan Bhadon, Kahani Kismat Ki, Rampur Ka Lakshman and Gora Aur Kala. It was her professional - and some say, personal - association with Amitabh that altered the course of her career. It transformed her from an ugly duckling to a graceful swan. That Bachchan-inspired makeover set the tongues wagging.

The rumours of an extra-marital affair swirled around Amitabh until the early 1980s, when Yash Chopra pulled off a major casting coup in Silsila. The film starred Amitabh, Jaya (this was her first ever on-screen credit as Jaya Bachchan) and Rekha in a love triangle that was believed to mirror their real life. The publicist and the fans of the three stars could not have asked for more.

The expected commercial success of Silsila, surprisingly, laid all ghosts to rest and Amitabh never shared screen space ever again with Rekha, an actress with him he done the maximum number of films (nine), including some of the biggest hits of his career - Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Suhaag and Khoon Pasina.

While Rekha has often given her true feelings away in the course of television and print interviews in the 20-odd years since then, Amitabh, as always, has maintained complete silence, neither confirming nor contradicting the allegations.

That is the very posture that he adopted when Bollywood gossip rags went to town in the late 1980s with Parveen Babi's bitter recriminations against what she described as a "betrayal" by the Big B.

Amitabh and Parveen had worked with each other in successful films like Deewar, Khuddaar, Shaan, Kaalia and Amar Akbar Anthony. Thanks to the linkage with the megastar, Parveen's career soared beyond all expectations. Her decline is understood to have been triggered as soon as Bachchan dropped her like a hot potato when the rumours mills began to work overtime regarding their alleged affair.

The attention that Bachchan got in the gossip columns wasn't surprising, though. That is how journalists on the trail of juicy stories have treated most successful stars down the years. While in certain cases - notably that of Dharmendra and Hema Malini - they were proved right beyond an iota of doubt, in others they had to scurry for cover soon enough in what were essentially hit-and-run operations.

From Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, Raj Kapoor and Nargis, Rajesh and Sharmila Tagore to Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, Aamir Khan and Preity Zinta and Govinda and Rani Mukherjee have all found themselves at the receiving end of the febrile imagination of gossip columnists. It would have been too much of an effort for these obsessed, star-struck journos to leave Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha alone.

Life's a song for Big B

Amitabh Bachchan records two rap songs and a ballad for a ghost and a djinn, all in the past week!

At 65, Amitabh Bachchan remains indefatigable. Even as he continues to shoot for a number of films, juggling dates between Mumbai, Goa and Delhi, in the last one week he also found the energy and time to record three songs for Vishal-Shekhar for two different films.

AB plays a ghost in Sharma's film. "I've sung a rap song for my ghost's character in Bhootnath and another rap song for my djinn's character in Alladdin. Plus, I recorded a soft lyrical number for Bhootnath. As soon as I return, I'll record one more song for Alladin," he added.

Vishal-Shekhar, who have composed this carnival of crooning for Big B, have been working on a non-filmi, hip-hop album for Abhishek Bachchan, for producer Rohan Sippy for the last one year. That too will have singing inputs from the senior Bachchan.

"It looks like the music composers are thinking of an alternative career for me. They obviously don't think much of me as an actor," Bachchan Sr joked, before flying off to the London Film Festival for Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear, a film in which the actor's vocal prowess has been praised a lot.

Edited by fan_of_Big_B - 19 October 2007 at 10:07am