At a time when stealing a heroine’s mind means singing off the branches of a tree or a driver’s seat while competing with the speed of a train in an open car or mouthorganing bumping into a train compartment, came a lanky man who thundered: …Main hnu Don.
Yes, he has been donning the Bollywood from the fag end of sixties till now. The bell-bottomed man, bouncy hair parting from the middle and falling over both ears wavily, baritone voice, expressive eyes, sometimes cigarettes dangling from the lips, stole the heart of the nation.
He could pounce on villains, punch, kick and aim his bullets at them while he could engage in some romantic scenes involving songs and dance with his heroines. He became the voice of the underprivileged. Their anger, frustrations, aspirations, dreams found a due space in his dialogues, acts, and actions. He angry young manned them.
Time is unforgiving. So is Bachhan. He competed with Time. So the hero in him has turned to character roles. And has been doing it with aplomb. From a conscientious politician to a lawyer–his journey has been covering different roles of civil society. In between, if an old man’s obsession with a young girl is emoted in one film, the other could portray a teacher’s devotion to duty to his blind student. He could act a patient of constipation; unheard of, unseen of in the Bollywood world, where glamour matters over and discounts reality.
Amitabh Bachhan can be a successful quiz master. If speaking English is elitist, no less is speaking Hindi. It can be even more riveting. This can happen when Mr. Bachhan has his way. He has “locked” the entire length and breadth of country with his first-ever T.V.-host role. He held the life of the nation to a halt between 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., every night, unfailingly, with his enchanting eyes, absorbing voice and mystifying hand-rubbing.
From Amitabh Bachhan to Big B is an odyssey which few, only few can dream, let alone emulate.