Shamitabh, the latest Amitabh Bachchan film from R. Balki, is an ode to Amitabh Bachchan — his voice, his acting prowess and his persona. Even though he appears well after 30 minutes into the film, it is all the way only about him. Nothing surprising since Balki has done what almost everyone else in India seems to be doing: exploiting the name that is Bachchan Sr.

Today, brand Amitabh Bachchan has become so big in India that a child in a remote village may not know the name of the current Indian President but utter the word Bachchan and s/he is likely to shout “Lock kar diya jaye!” from the popular quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati. The show which had its eighth season last year has broken all records when it comes to popularity, and was played on various channels including Pakistan, UK, USA and Canada.

Big B, as he is generally referred to in homes all across India, can now also be seen on satellite TV asking parents not to miss their newborn’s polio dose to endorsing noodles for school-going kids; from elaborating the merits of a hair oil, chocolate, jewellery brands to wooing tourists to Gujarat.

Balki’s 140-minute film loses the plot; had it been forty minutes shorter, the film would have become a cult classic.

In fact, everyone from the film fraternity, industrialists to politicians will gladly bend over backwards to gain a fraction of Amitabh Bachchan’s fame. His name is a currency which has takers far and wide, even beyond India.

Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and Akshara Haasan in a still from 'Shamitabh'. – Photo credit: www.filmbeat.com

Last month, the 72-year-old actor was interviewed on BBC’s Asian Network in front of a ticketed audience and he spoke about the film Shamitabh. Incidentally, this is the man who was nearly bankrupt in the year 2000. Presently, he is one of the highest income tax payers from the Hindi film industry. Last year, according to reports, he paid an advance income tax of INR37 crores!

The film

Shamitabh cashes the movie legend’s persona with the film’s character Amitabh Sinha mouthing: “Iss awaz mein jitna dum hai, utna uska poora body ka wazan nahin hai!” This is also Bachchan’s real-life reputation. Famous for his baritone, Bachchan’s voice has been making waves since the time of the 1975 film Deewar (“Mere paas maa hai”) and 1981’s Silsila (“Main aur meri tanhai …”). His latest film reinforces what every moviegoer is familiar with — just listen to Amitabh singing Piddly si baatein … 

Today, brand Amitabh Bachchan has become so big in India that a child in a remote village may not know the name of the current Indian President but utter the word Bachchan and s/he is likely to shout “Lock kar diya jaye!” from the quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati.

The entire idea behind Balki’s film co-produced by Sunil Lulla, the Bachchans, Shobha and Ekta Kapoor, Dhanush and others, seems to be an exercise in exploiting Big B’s charms, and it is also one of the reasons for a novel way of promoting the film.

Neither Bachchan nor other cast members have been visiting reality TV shows. He has given selective interviews to news channels like NDTV, IBN live and a few reputed newspapers including The Guardian. And now the ageing star will join commentators like Harsha Bhogle and Kapil Dev for the India-Pakistan cricket match for the World Cup 2015 — it’s really very simple: if you can’t get India to Adelaide, bring in the most popular Indian living to the stadium.

The magic created by Balki’s previous two films (Paa, Cheeni Kum) is absent in Shamitabh. His earlier films (starring Amitabh) had an out-of-the-box storyline and clicked with audiences on an emotional level. Shamitabh is about one’s self-destructive ego, definitely an atypical subject but one handled earlier by directors Guru Dutt (Kagaz kay Phool), Dev Anand (Guide) and Zoya Akhtar (Luck by Chance).

Amitabh Bachchan in a scene from film, 'Shamitabh' – Photo credit: india-forums.com

A mute child Danish is brought up by his roadside pakora stall mum. He is a cinephile and his dream is to become an actor. After the only cinema hall in the village closes down, the young lad bribes the local video parlour man with pakoras to watch film DVDs. He grows up (actor Dhanush of Ranjhaana fame) and becomes a bus conductor but his passion for films remains as strong as ever. After his mother’s death, he makes tracks for Mumbai like countless others before him to pursue his dream of making it big in films.

A chance meeting with an assistant director of a film, Akshara Pandey (Akshara Hassan), who for some reason takes a liking to the mute Danish proves immensely lucky. She is the daughter of a doctor whose friend knows researchers in Finland working on a new speech aid technique which would enable a voiceless man to adopt another person’s voice and speak.

After successful treatment Danish returns to Mumbai and together they start searching for a voice for him to adopt. Danish can’t become an actor without a voice. A chance encounter with the washed up, drunk, old actor Amitabh Sinha (Bachchan) gets him the voice he desires. The cantankerous dirty-looking, grey-bearded Amitabh doesn’t like the idea one bit and though has been promised a huge share in Danish’s earnings, he isn’t interested in the money.

You see, he always wanted to make a name as an actor, “Koi pani hai jo charhti hai whisky ke bina? Whisky ko zaroorat nahin kisi ki!” he argues. When the need arises for Danish’s to adopt a screen name, he opts for what else but Shamitabh.

A dialogue here and there bring a smile to one’s lips otherwise the film rarely elicits laughter. This is Dhanush’s second Hindi film and in no way does he get dwarfed by Bachchan Sr. The young Akshara Hassan too matches both stalwarts. If you want to walk away before the titles roll, wait to see Bachchan in the penultimate scene at the graveyard. Shamitabh will always be remembered for it.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, February 15th, 2015

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