Archive for October, 2008
Amitabh Bachchan: After 2000
(Originally published on PassionForCinema.com)
Amitabh Bachchan (AB) was admitted to Lilavati Hospital on his birthday due to complaints of abdominal pain. I sincerely hope that he recovers soon and gets back to what he does best i.e. acting.
I thought of writing about his work after 2000. Many would say that it has been far less illustrious than compared to the work he did in his hey days. This may be true as many of the films he has done have not been up to the mark. But in terms of his own performances, I think he has done reasonably well, infact in some cases, exceptionally well. Here’s a list of AB’s work post 2000 that I simply loved.
(The list is sorted according to the release dates)
KBC as AB himself.
KBC was the best thing that happened to AB after Deewar. Not only did it resurrect his career but also presented his persona to millions of viewers like never before. AB was at his charming best and the streets would be empty at 9pm. ‘Lock kiya jaaye’, ‘Sahi jawab’ and other such phrases used by him became a part of daily conversation. People were brushing their GK knowledge including yours truly and it was such a high to answer correctly before the contestants did.
AKS as Manu Varma
The first thing that comes to my mind about Aks is the first trailer. AB sitting on a throne with a mysterious smile on his face and his hand gesture coupled with the excellent background music. One of the best trailers I have ever seen. The movie sadly fell short of greatness but I think it’s quite an underrated movie. AB’s performance in the movie was outstanding. You get to see a very very different AB in the movie. Watch him emote in the ‘Banda yeh bindaas hai’ song or in the scene where he imitates Nandita Das after she refuses his passes. It’s a treat.
KAANTE as Major
The first time I saw this movie I loved it. I became an instant Sanjay Gupta fan. Of course I wasn’t aware of his DVD roots then. AB in a never seen avatar, playing a stylish Bank robber and kicking some ass atleast verbally was an instant hit for me. Well, even Quentin Tarantino loved his performance (courtesy: Srinivas@PFC)
BAGHBAN as Raj Malhotra
The movie went over the top at times but still is immensely watchable. The best thing about the movie is the chemistry between the lead pair. Hema Malini looked absolutely gorgeous. AB gave an earnest and sincere performance. Also, he sang a wonderful song for the film ‘Main yahan tu wahan’
KHAKEE as DCP Anant Kumar Srivastav
Arguably his best performance after 2000. This one has him playing a character in the same mould as his angry young man roles. The movie packs a punch and so does AB. Some of his dialogues were resonant of his 70’s films. The scene where he gets an asthma attack, his outburst against the system in front of a cop, his final encounter with Ajay Devgan are all high points of the film. Overall, a very accomplished performance indeed.
BUNTY AUR BABLI as DCP Dashrath Singh
The movie I feel had great potential but it didn’t make the cut. However it had two things that I simply loved, Kajrare and AB as Dashrath Singh. As a rustic cop from UP, AB got everything right from the look to the dialect and ofcourse the performance. Only complaint is that he should have had more screen time.
SARKAR / SARKAR RAJ as Subhash Nagre
Though his performance as Subhash Nagre is not my personal favourite, but he excels immensely in some of the sequences especially the Rashid entry in part1, the scene where he mourns Vishnu’s death in part2 etc. I personally feel his role was better in Sarkar Raj than in Sarkar though the latter is a superior movie according to me.
VIRUDDH as Vidhyadhar Patwardhan
A very highly underrated movie and a very highly underrated performance by AB. Sharmila Tagore and AB made a great couple and gave great performances. AB’s expression while watching John die in the ICU through the door moves you to tears. Ditto for the scene where he forcibly tries to laugh (post John’s death) like he used to before. He conveys the pain of losing one’s son and the fight within to move on with his life very well in that scene.
NISHABD as Vijay
I have seen bits and pieces of this movie and I have liked what I have seen especially AB’s performance. The last scene where he decides against committing suicide wanting every day to live a day more thinking of Jiah, has been enacted very well by him. I cannot forget to mention ‘Rozana’. This song has become a part of my life. AB and Vishal Bhardwaj have created magic together in the form of this song. I simply cannot thank them enough for it. I sincerely wish and hope that the duo create magic on screen as well.
THE LAST LEAR as Harry
It was by fortune that I saw this movie and fortune it was coz not only I got to see a wonderful movie which otherwise I might have missed but also I won a Last Lear t-shirt (yeah!!). Pratim D. Gupta describes this movie very aptly in his post ‘Lear stirs, he lives’ and also AB’s performance as ‘I had started believing Bachchan and Harry had merged into a single soul. I mean it, I couldn’t differentiate’. I second every word of that.
AB is my most favourite actor and I am eagerly waiting for his upcoming films.
Happy belated Birthday Amitji..
And Get Well soon……
P.S: Some would notice the glorious omission of BLACK. Truth is I don’t remember BLACK. I don’t remember much about it as I have seen it only once that too on the day it released with 30 fellow college mates who had anything but watching BLACK on their minds. And I don’t feel like watching it again.
Add comment October 25, 2008
too much….
Too much is happening around us, most of which we cannot control, some of which we can but we don’t. Below are just a few lines that came into my mind…..
too much of bad news around
too much of bad views around
the unaffected are silent
the misled are violent
if you are not a local
you cannot be vocal
divisions are abound and unity is rare
thank god that atleast they haven’t yet communalized the air…
1 comment October 24, 2008
