Amitabh@80: An actor for all seasons who keeps getting better

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan turns 80 on Tuesday. But he is going stronger than ever, with the roles rolling in and directors still lining up to sign him on. Bachchan, they say, was and still is an exciting actor, perhaps the best there has ever been.

From the veteran Ramesh Sippy to newcomer Ayan Mukerji, Bachchan is the man for all seasons and all kinds of films.

“What a wonderful innings it has been, and he just keeps getting better. He has played varied roles in comedy, drama, romance, dancing, and songs. He can do anything and everything perfectly. Has there been anybody bigger or better? I doubt it,” said Sippy, who directed Bachchan in the 1975 cult classic “Sholay.”

It has been just four days since Bachchan’s latest release, “Goodbye.” Mukerji, who recently worked with Bachchan in “Brahmastra,” said, “For me, to have Mr Bachchan walk in my film is a big deal. He is the father of Indian cinema. He is the most respected person in the film industry.”

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The actor who kept reinventing himself

Making his debut with the relatively low-profile “Saat Hindustani” in 1969, Bachchan exploded on the silver screen with “Zanjeer” in 1973. There was no looking back after that. Film analysts across five decades have been trying to decode the success of the man who kept on reinventing himself. He could easily be the angry young man of “Zanjeer,” “Don,” or “Deewaar,” the amiable professor of “Chupke Chupke,” or the conflicted singing star of “Abhimaan” in the 1970s.

Then came the films of the 1980s, such as “Shakti” and “Silsila.” The 1990s saw a slump in Bachchan’s career. Many of films, including “Mrityudata” and “Lal Baadshah,” tanked at the box office.

But Bachchan was back in the reckoning in 2000 as a television host in “Kaun Banega Crorepati.” Twenty-two years later, the show is still running. It was also the time Bachchan transitioned into age-appropriate characters in films. It started with “Mohabbatein” and continued with varied roles, such as “Pink,” “Cheeni Kum,” and “Jhund.”

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The start of a dream run

Sippy recalled the casting for “Sholay,” which had Bachchan and Dharmendra play two friends thick as thieves. “I had seen two of his earlier films. (One was) ‘Anand’ in which he played a serious role. It was a difficult role and he stood out. (The other was) ‘Bombay to Goa,’ where he played a lighter and more boisterous role, which had impressed me a lot. We signed him.”

A few months later, “Zanjeer” and “Deewar” released. By the time “Sholay” arrived, Bachchan was the rising star, the veteran filmmaker added. Sippy, who also worked with Bachchan in “Shakti,” “Shaan,” and “Akayla,” said it was exciting to see the megastar recreate magic on screen, both big and small, even after all these years.

There have been a lot of fine actors, and there is absolute respect for all, but Bachchan stands above all, said Sippy.

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The star-struck directors

They may be in awe of him, but all of Bachchan’s directors have experimented with the roles they offered him. R Balki, who first worked with Bachchan on an advertisement campaign, gave him “Cheeni Kum,” where Bachchan played a 60-something arrogant chef romancing a much younger Tabu, and “Paa,” which had the star play a 12-year-old boy with progeria.

“Every filmmaker thinks of Mr Bachchan first; everybody would love to get a chance to work with him. We all came to cinema as his fans. I was luckier than some people. I write my films for him. I have been searching for my next film for some years now,” Balki said.

The filmmaker’s other ventures—“Ki & Ka,” “Pad Man,” and “Chup: Revenge of the Artist”—featured the veteran star in special appearances.

“There is one word to describe Amit ji, and it is ‘Amitabh Bachchan.’ There are no other words… It has become like a character in itself. It has so much meaning. You can say persona, dignity, grace, powerful voice, performance—everything being put together. There is a character called ‘Amitabh Bachchan.’ That character is a rare phenomenon,” Balki said.

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And, the show goes on

For new-age directors such as Ayan Mukerji and Ribhu Dasgupta, the opportunity to direct Bachchan is nothing short of a dream. While Mukerji cast Bachchan as a guru in his sci-fi film “Brahmastra,” Dasgupta directed the megastar in the TV series “Yudh” (2014) and the 2016 mystery-thriller “Te3n.”

Dasgupta has tried hard to keep his fanboy self out of the picture. “I come from Kolkata, and we worship him there. There is an Amitabh Bachchan temple in Kolkata. But when I directed him, I had to keep the fanboy out. Also, Sir knows everything—where the camera should be, what and where the light should be, etc. He sees what the person in front is doing,” Dasgupta shared.

This year, Bachchan has already had four theatrical releases—the Nagraj Manjule-directed “Jhund,” Ajay Devgn’s “Runway 34,” “Brahmastra,” and Vikas Bahl’s “Goodbye.” He is now awaiting the release of “Uunchai,” directed by Sooraj Barjatya.

(With agency inputs)