BBC Asian Network recently hosted a conversation with Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan.
On the 27th of January 2015, BollySpice was invited to join a mesmerised audience and witness a spectacular and touching conversation.
Presented by the charming Tommy Sandhu, Bloomsbury Theatre sprang to life as the inspirational icon stepped onto stage. As the crowds welcomed The Big B on stage, it was impossible to contain the excitement. Tommy struggled to get a word in edge ways.
There were roars of cheering, standing ovations and emotional cries.
Yes! Indeed, Mr Bachchan was now centre stage.
However, it was not just the audience who felt emotional. It was moving to clearly see the legendary super star touched by the loving admiration he received upon reception. Mr Bachchan stated that he was overwhelmed and thanked the audience for their continuous love and support throughout the years adding he was “deeply indebted”.
The BBC conversation on stage explored Mr Bachchan’s career spanning over 40 years, including the highs, the lows and the realisations. Golden classics such as “Coolie” were explored as well as the newcoming release Shamitabh.
What was special about the conversation was that this was an opportunity to get to know Amitabh Bachchan on a human level. A moving moment was the great Amitabh Bachchan humbly speaking on how he had to reach out for success when he was left in a dire state – after he had already become a star.
Mr Bachchan stated: “I actually had two or three things that simultaneously went wrong. I started a co-operation which went into bankruptcy…everything of my personal belongings had gone. I was bankrupt. I didn’t have any money. I used to lie at night wondering what’s going to happen… It was a great lesson for me. I think failure does a lot of things. It actually teaches you the value of success. Because if you don’t have failure you’ll never know what success is all about.”
Not only a hero on screen, but a hero in real life too, Mr Bachchan’s strength and courage is inspirational.
The Mohabbatein come back in 2000 has now seen The Big B portray a number of different characters and it seems that the next adventure is one of a kind.
Mr Bachchan spoke on the intriguing Shamitabh, his next venture to be released on the 6th of February. He described his character as unusual and the plot of the film, unique.
Aside from the plot, the production of the film is also unique. The entire script was initially recorded in the dubbing theatre which was then taken onto set; the actors had the task of acting out according to the material after which the film was then re-dubbed to match the facial expressions.
As Tommy Sandhu pointed out, that’s a lot of work and a few films rolled into one!
Well, what else is unique is that we get an extra dose of The Big B as Mr Bachchan lends his voice to Dhanush’s character.
Amongst the audience were Shamitabh co-stars Dhanush and Akshara Haasan.
Akshara was introduced to the audience as coming from a great lineage, the daughter of Kamal Hasaan. She emotively expressed that she could not have asked for better people to share her first film with and that the experience has taught her much.
Dhanush shared that rather than being intimidated by being paired with The Big B on screen, he saw it as an opportunity to learn from the best.
Tommy Sandhu concluded the conversation with a game. As Tommy pulled out props from a box, the song associated with the item had to be guessed.
The duo ended the evening dancing and imitating the moves to “Yeh Dosti”, an Amitabh classic.
Listen to the interview here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b052t03m
Check out the trailer for Shamitabh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eupaz-zTtCo
