Click to play videoToronto: It’s raining stars in Toronto. The on-going film festival in Canada saw Bollywood biggies hobnobbing with their global fans and while Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna got a gala opening, the films stars looked happy with the unexpected response they got from the West.
CNN-IBN correspondent Indira Kannan caught up with Amitabh Bachchan at the festival.
Indira Kannan: Now that your latest film KANK has got a gala opening at the Toronto film festival, do you believe that this indicates Indian commercial cinema starting to being accepted on its own terms in the west?
Amitabh Bachchan: Yes, absolutely. I think this is great recognition for the Indian cinema. We have all been hankering for many-many years and eventually now, the West has realised that there is much potential in the Indian filmmakers to make quality cinema. They seem to have liked it this time. Earlier, people in the West were a bit cynical and critical of our content. But I think now we have our own USP. That is why we are here.
Indira Kannan: Karan Johar, the director of KANK says that he is now under more pressure to make movies, more plausible so that, they have more appeal on the global audiences. Do you think the Indian cinema is trying to adapt itself in order to find more acceptance worldwide?
Amitabh Bachchan: I would not like to disagree with what Karan thinks because that is his own viewpoint. But I believe that India has grown and matured a lot already. I think that the audience is driving us to improve ourselves and bring in quality stuff. Bring in stuff, which is more believable, plausible and has certain amount of professional finesse.
Indira Kannan: You have another fairly non-traditional role coming up, where your character is involved with a much younger women. Please tell us about it.
Amitabh Bachchan: Yes, that is true. I have two films coming up next. One is Nishabd in which an 18-year-old is attracted to a much older, in fact a 64-year-old man. And contrary to a lot of expectations, it is not based on the popular novel Lolita. It is actually a misconception that it is made on the lines of Lolita but actually it isn’t.
The other film is Cheeni Kum with Tabu, which is again based upon a man-woman relationship where there is a huge age gap between the two. But it has been made aesthetically keeping in mind the emotions and the circumstances they experience.
Indira Kannan: Thank you for talking to us.
Amitabh Bachchan: Thank you too.
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