Resilience turns 70: Blog # 53

Resilience turns 70 : Blog on Amitabh Bachchan

            The world is celebrating Seven decades of the phenomenon that is Amitabh Bachchan. A television channel played the immortalised dialogues of ‘Agneepath’ and ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ one after the other in the unmistakable baritone. I think that should define the benchmark of versatility.

            In my generation at least, there has been no other actor who has achieved as much cinematic excellence and histrionic brilliance. But, I am not here to comment on those. Rather, I would like to look at the path he treaded all the while – more often than not, the less traversed.

To begin with ,‘KBC’!. It seems he has a penchant for all that which is against the conventional wisdom of the time .Main stream actors being on the small screen is fashionable only now. I believe he was among the early birds when it came to endorsements too.

            There is this ongoing debate about visibility affecting the enigma of an actor. Again, Mr.Bachchan took to social media like a fish to water. And if the hits that he receives on his Face book page and the following that he has on twitter is anything to go by, the enigma has only got more elusive.       

           The kind of roles he adorns on screen at this stage of his career adds to the testimony. Be it the uber cool widower in a multi starrer or the chef who falls for a much younger lady, he has always explored newer horizons. It will be a crime if I do not pause and admire his seminal work in the film, Black.

         It’s often said one shouldn't spread oneself too thin. One should focus on ones core competency. Enter, Mr. Bachchan. By his own admission, his blogs alone can constitute a stack of books without much effort.

The root of all this lies in one single quality that Mr.Bachchan has epitomised by now - Resilience. The urge to rise from the dust. The hunger to keep oneself going. The passion to be at it. I know I speak for a million minds when I say through all this, he has kept the Indian cinema also resilient.

                                                                                                            Arun Babu.

Keywords: Indian Cinema,Bollywood,Hindi Films, Indian films, Indian movies, Indian film industry, Indian actors, Indian actresses,100 years of Indian Cinema,Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Zanjeer, KBC, Kaun Banega Crorepati,Agneepath, Deewar

            

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