Writing About Amitabh Bachchan, A Magnificent Obsession

Decode motifs and the nation’s obsession with the magnificent Amitabh Bachchan.

Amitabh Bachchan in a still from Sarkar

1990 was a significant decade in Amitabh Bachchan’s career in more ways than one.

Bachchan was pushing 50 and still regarded as the icon of Hindi films. After two decades in show business he was the only actor to guarantee a hundred per cent opening at the box-office. Agneepath, Hum and Khuda Gawah were leading successes of the decade. They called him the actor with the midas touch. For the masses he was the messiah and for the media he was a mirage whom they could only watch on the big screen but never access.

Amitabh Bachchan in a still from Agneepath.

It all began in the late ‘70s. Those were uncertain times. Indira Gandhi’s Emergency rule resulted in a ban on the press. Bruised, the media was quick to boycott Bachchan because of his association with the Gandhi family, beginning an unexpected and perplexing 15-year abstention from the new blue-eyed boy of the industry. The years that followed for Bachchan were golden; success that scaled such heights was never before seen in Indian cinema. But ironically, there are no records of his phenomenal success between 1976 and 1989.

For the masses, Bachchan is a messiah. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@SrBachchan)

As the years rolled into a decade, Bachchan and the media remained reluctant strangers.

During this time, the media often reflected on its decision and secretly longed to make amends but it was too late. The king was wounded and he would take his time to heal.

Looking back, Bachchan’s relationship with the Fourth Estate has never been easy. In the early days from Saat Hindustani (1969) to Zanjeer (1973), Bachchan was struggling for a foothold in films and was of little consequence to the media. Post Zanjeer he zoomed to success and Deewaar onwards he was a superstar hounded by the media. In 1976 he had become the man everybody loved to hate. Throughout this time, Bachchan remained omnipresent in the psyche of the Indian audience through his towering presence in all his films.

Poster of Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer.

In the winter of 1990, Bachchan – astonishingly and unpredictably – decided to break the ice with the media. He dropped the baggage and built new bridges with print and the then emerging electronic media. The media trailed his every move on and off the sets as if making up for lost time and, fortunately for them, there was plenty happening in the actor’s career.

It was in the ‘90s when he took a sabbatical and launched his company ABCL, now AB Corp. He acquired a stake in TV Asia in New York, hosted events like the Miss World pageant, launched Star Track, a talent scouting show for television that never took off and shot commercials for BPL and Mirinda. After a five-year hiatus, Amitabh returned to the big screen with the universally criticized Mrityudaata. He launched his audio section Big B.

Amitabh Bachchan started ABCL in the 90’s which now is AB Corp. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@SrBachchan)

It was the 1990s that valued him as a brand and a few years later declared him bankrupt. His company was in the red, his films flopped and his property, allegedly mortgaged.

In those days, I edited a monthly magazine and we periodically featured the changing seasons in Bachchan’s life and career. This focus led me to write my debut book Amitabh Bachchan: The Legend, a chronicle on the actor. Ten years later, I released Bachchanalia-Films and Memorabilia of Amitabh Bachchan documenting the actor’s majestic 40 year cinematic journey.

Bhawana Somaaya with Amitabh Bachchan. (Photo courtesy: Bhawana Somaaya)

The idea for Amitabh Lexicon in 2011 came to me when I was heading the creative team for a portal to be launched on the actor, probably among the first of its kind in the web world. One day, I was amidst friends and everybody suddenly started conversing in dialogues from famous Amitabh Bachchan scenes. It was interesting that everybody connected with each other through what seemed like an alternate language.

It set me thinking that randomly chosen words from the English dictionary could be illustrated by scenes from Amitabh films. I started trying it out…and it worked! This exercise epitomized – quite literally – the colossal body of work achieved by Amitabh. Not only is his work immense, it is prolific in the range of emotions and actions that it explores.

So try out this fun exercise: open the Pocket Oxford Dictionary and randomly pick any word that is a verb or an adjective or a noun and think of an Amitabh scene that best illustrates its meaning.

Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan in Shakti.

Take a look: When I say the word- Abduct-the scene that comes to my mind is from Shakti : As a little boy, Amitabh is kidnapped by his father’s enemies and though he somehow manages to escape the villains, the episode becomes a turning point in the father-son relationship.

Or when I say the word-Backfire- the scene that comes to my mind is Satte Pe Satta: Amitabh is attracted to a nurse and showers her with watermelon and flowers but his strategy backfires for Hema Malini is not impressed and rebuffs him.

Or say the word-Cab- the scene that comes to my mind is from Khud-Daar: Amitabh is a cab driver in the film and treats his taxi like a family member. It is an emotional moment for him when he has to sell his taxi to recover his debts as he feels he has betrayed a close friend.

If you are a true fan, Amitabh Lexicon can become a fun game that can last for hours because Lexicon is a compilation of selective words from the alphabets of the English language associated with different scenes from the actor’s body of work. This book merely offers a starting place: fans will, I’m sure, want to take it to another level or create their own variations.

Visualiser Indronil Maitra picks key props that work as symbols in Bachchan films and sketches for instance, the Arrow in Toofan…the Horse in Mard…and the Guitar in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Often scenes are repeated as they represent more than one description, action or emotion.

Amitabh Bachchan in a still from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

It is interesting to note that Bachchan’s earlier films feature more prominently in this book than his later ones. Perhaps because Bachchan’s earlier films were fantasy-driven and included all kinds of props like a Crocodile, a Tiger and a Dolphin which, over time, got replaced with more realistic images like a Helicopter, a Typewriter, an Apron and a Turban.

File photo of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan. (Photo: Reuters)

Some characters travel in his career like a motif forming different patterns as a result:

• The soldier of Saat Hindustani became the colonel of Lakshya.
• The obsessed lover of Parwana graduated into the concerned father of a daughter stalked by a violent lover in Aetbaar.
• The erstwhile hero of Pyaar ki Kahani who spoke up for the dignity of women, dared to damage it beyond repair as the playboy in Jurmana.
• In Shakti he failed to comprehend his idealistic father and in Baghbaan his children failed to value their parents.
• He craved for Dilip Kumar’s approval in Shakti and Akshay Kumar longed for his acceptance in Waqt-The Race against Time.

Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar in a still from Waqt- The Race Against Time.

• He was called Azaad in his debut film and after that many years later in Main Azaad Hoon.
• In Deewar, the dock worker sleeps soundly in Abhimaan the singer is an insomniac.
• In Kabhi Kabhie the unrequited lover becomes an embittered man. In Silsila the lover is reckless to restore passion in his life.
• In Anand his terminally ill friend draws him out of his shell and in Mili, Amitabh offers hope to his spirited neighbour now on her death bed.
• In Sanjog he is diffident in the presence of his powerful wife. In Sooryavansham he is proud of her success.

Amitabh Bachchan and Rakhee in a still from Kabhie Kabhie

It was, not just his screen characters but some unforgettable props associated with the actor that over a period of time changed identity. The bus and the taxi made way for the chopper and after Sholay, he drank tea from a saucer in the Sarkar series.

• In Zanjeer the police inspector kicked the chair forbidding the local goon Sher Khan to take liberties, in Sarkar the Godfather ruled the city seated on a chair and nobody dared to dislodge him.
• In Roti Kapada Aur Makaan he was the soldier with a missing arm but the messiah in Shahenshah more than made up for it with his 14 kilogram metal arm.

Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha in a still from Silsila

• In Sholay, Dharmendra and he were nabbed by Sanjeev Kumar on a moving train and in Bunty Aur Babli he nabs Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan hiding in a bogey with their new born.
• In Alladin he fulfilled wishes of his master and in Teen Patti he works miracles with mathematics.
• In Trishul he is determined to destroy his illegitimate father. In Paa he is forgiving of his father’s misdeeds.
• In Silsila he sacrificed his love for his brother, in Mohabbattein, his daughter/ Aishwarya Rai sacrificed her love for him, her father.

A still from the cult classic, Sholay

• In Parvarish Shammi Kapoor has a special relationship with his adopted son - Amitabh in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham he has an extra-ordinary relationship with his adopted son - Shah Rukh Khan.
• In Deewaar he is groomed by a seasoned don. In Sarkar he is the mafia who controls crime and the city! In Agneepath, his father Deenanath Chavhan is the noble man and idealistic guru. In Arakshan he is the ray of hope in darkness.
• In Reshma aur Shera he is mute an unable to express. In Shamitabh he is the voice of a mute Dhanush unable to express.

Amitabh Bachchan in a still from Sarkar

• In Anand he is the shy Dr Bhaskar Bannerjee who prefers his own company, in Piku Bhaskar Bannerjee transforms into a garrulous, cantankerous old man who hates being alone.
• In Dostana when Zeenat Aman lodged a complaint of eve teasing, the cop reprimanded her for leading them on wearing revealing costume. In Pink the senior lawyer says attire is not an indicator of character.

No other actor of his generation or otherwise can claim to his glory or his prolific body of work and Amitabh Lexicon is an endorsement of those accomplishments. This colorful dictionary is a joyride to nostalgia for everyone who has grown up on a staple diet of Hindi films and Amitabh Bachchan.

Amitabh Bachchan in a still from Piku.

(Bhawana Somaaya has been writing on cinema for 30 years and is the author of 12 books. Twitter: @bhawanasomaaya)