Happy Birthday Amitabh

Today is the Birthday of Amitabh Bachhan, an icon in Hindi movie industry, popularly known as Bollywood (aptly named after Hollywood, the way we love to copycat). There is this dialogue from his movie "KAALIA" - "Hum Jahan Khade Hote Hain, Line Wohi Se Shuru Hoti Hai", meaning, "Wherever I stand the line starts from there". The movie from the year 1982, incidentally the time when Amitabh was the one man Bollywood industry, the unchallenged superstar. He was the no. 1 to no. 10 choice of the watchers of Hindi movies, the rest came way behind. So much so that the popular actresses of that time were scared to be his leading ladies in movies, lest they will be eclipsed by the actor standing tall above the rest. 

Amitabh started his movie career in the year 1969 in a forgettable movie "Saat Hindustani". He struggled for 4 more years and at one point decided to leave acting and become a "Boxwallah" until Zanzeer (1973) and Deewar (1974) delivered him two back to back hits putting him on a pedestal from which he never looked back. By 1980, he had already established himself as the Superstar of Bollywood. Once considered too tall and lanky to play the lead role as an actor, he proved all his detractors wrong. No wonder it is said that a good height always attracts the opposite sex. Those were the days, 6 feet 2 was considered being too tall and Jaya Bhadudi with a diminutive height of 4 feet 8 survived well in the industry (incidentally they were and still are married to each other). 

In year 1980 journalist and Writer Tavleen Singh once met Amitabh at her friend Sonia Gandhi's home in Delhi. As Amitabh was close to the Gandhi family, Tavleen requested Sonia if she could make Amitabh, already a superstar of the time agree for an interview. Amitabh was very warm and agreed. He told Tavleen - "Please talk to my Secretary in Bombay and get an appointment".

When the D-day arrived early that morning Tavleen arrived at Amitabh's home who was about to step out for an outdoor shooting session for movies "Naseeb" and "Do Aur Do Paanch". The previous warmth displayed a Sonia Gandhi's home had vanished as Amitabh barely talked and in a reserved tone told her to follow her as his wife Jaya gave Tavleen a cold stare while handing over the a tiffin career containing simple, vegetarian food. Amitabh was a frugal eater.

At the set Tavleen noted that Amitabh completely overshadowed his co-actors Hema Malini and the Kapoor brothers Sashi and Rishi. In terms of popularity he was way ahead of the rest, mobbed by his fans both on and off the set.

It was a long day. Finally after sunset when darkness set in, Amitabh found some time for interview and open up to Tavleen answering her questions on his way to another set for another shooting session. As mentioned by Tavleen after the interview she ended up with a crush on the tall, charismatic actor.

In late 1960s, days before getting into acting profession once Amitabh visited Mahmood, a comedian and a better known actor of the time along with his close buddy Rajiv Gandhi, the eldest son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who later went on to become India's Prime Minister. Not knowing Rajiv Gandhi, Mahmood told Amitabh - "You are too tall, lanky, devoid of a hero's look. Better try your hands playing the role of a bad guy". Then glancing at Rajiv Gandhi he said - "However, your friend is a handsome dude and got looks fit for a hero. He may try his luck in Bollywood". Fate had its own way. A decade later in 1979 Amitabh was the undisputed king and Superstar of Bollywood after the stupendous success of his movie  "MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR" where he vanquished Vinod Khanna, his sole challenger at that time.

Prior to his first hit ZANZEER, Amitabh reportedly contemplated quitting movie career (Similar to Kishore Kumar who thought of retiring before the success of his songs from ARADHANA). The rest we know is history, as he established himself as the one man industry. So much so that, in the1980s he got away with mediocre performances in junk movies like MAHAAN, JADUGAR etc churned out one after another by the likes of Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra.

The saga of this talented Mega star (he was above and beyond a Superstar) is beyond the scope of this blog. Some, if not all of his movies impressed me enough to make them watchable even today, especially many of them laced with the golden voice of Kishore Kumar who was the playback singer of many of Bachchan's hit movies (its rumored both fell out with each other in 1984 after SHARABI. Kishore Kumar refused to sing for Amitabh after that when Shabir Kumar, not Kishore became his voice).

The other day I was watching one of his movies - NAMAK HARAM (Untruthful to Salt), a movie in which he acted along with the contemporary Superstar Rajesh Khanna. Though Rajesh Khanna hugged the limelight in that movie, Amitabh showed flashes of brilliance with his trademark angry young man acting using his baritone voice. Needless to say, he showed traits for a promising future. He not only became a superstar, but ended up being the Megastar, a record no one has broken since.

The movie has a strong undertone of Socialism, the fad during those days. Rajesh Khanna asks his friend Amitabh, who plays the role of son of a rich business tycoon, the price of "Chivas Regal", a brand of Scotch they were sharing together. It was Rs. 250 a bottle in 1973, a hefty amount these days - more than a MAZDOOR (worker's) salary. The price of a 60 ml shot of Chivas Regal costs twice as much these days in any decent hotel in India.

As the movie progresses, Amitabh is advised by his father not to trust his friend Rajesh Khanna, because the later is from the middle class. He warns his son - "Your friend belongs to the middle class. Folks from that class, though they vouch on their ideology and principles, can also be very ambitious and hence dangerously treacherous. Perennially looking for opportunity to move up, they can easily drop their pretense of ideology cloaked in hypocrisy to do anything to climb up the social ladder. Hence the middle class folks should never be trusted."

Very apt and prophetic statement. Upper class folks born with silver spoon in their mouth, mostly have a smooth sailing in their life. The barely ambitious lower class look forward their next meal. The middle class always have that feeling, "I would love to be there but I am not yet there, may be some day." 

They day dream about reaching the status of those "haves". Competition is cut throat and jealousy is the highest amongst the middle class. Some of them, are capable of doing anything and everything, by hook or crook for upward mobility. 

The burgeoning middle class in last few decades just strives hard to do that, a desire to get rich overnight at any cost. They are the ones who are pretty much mostly responsible for all corruption and scams we see these days.

The tall ambition of the middle class as described by the actor Om Shiv Puri in this movie is dwarfed the acting Lamboo (Tall) legend who delivered his classic closing monologe in the movie. Don't think I will see anyone close to Amitabh's stature during my lifetime. Happy 82nd Birthday to the legend. Hope more to come.