New Delhi: Almost anything about India's biggest superstar Amitabh Bachchan makes for interesting reading.
But it's writing about him that's perhaps the toughest, even for a Bachchan addict.
Ask Susmita Dasgupta - a self-confessed Bachchan 'Meera' - who has spent 16 years writing a book on Bollywood's biggest icon and has come up with some very interesting insights on his life and times.
Did you, for example, know that Amitabh Bachchan is a big fan of yours? Don’t be surprised, this is not a typographical error.
If Dasgupta - an economist with Ministry of Steel - is to be believed, India’s biggest superstar is as much a fan of his audience as the marquee-crazy masses are his.
In her recently released book Amitabh - the making of a superstar, Dasgupta - a sociologist with a PhD on Bachchan - explores the significant sociological impact of Big B’s stardom by establishing a connect between his onscreen persona and his offscreen antics.
“Amitabh Bachchan is not just a personality. He is an idea,” says Dasgupta, a JNU grad who was scoffed at by her faculty and classmates for choosing a “frivolous” subject for something as vital as a PhD.
During her 16-year research on superstar, Dasgupta also spent a memorable week at Bachchan’s Mumbai residence Prateeksha upon the actor’s insistence.
"After I finished my MPhil, he invited me to his house and hosted me for seven days. He also introduced me to the industry for my research,” she says.
'He has some very questionable friends'
“What I saw there was the sheer grandeur of Bachchan’s personality. His house, the furniture, the upholstery, everything is very sparse. But the actor himself is so grand that he just overpowers everything.”
In her book, Dasgupta has traced the journey of the actor through four stages, appropriating them to the larger sociological context, categorising several of his movies under interesting heads like Establish (Zanjeer), Persist (Deewar), Entertain (Satte pe Satta), Inessentials (Mahaan) and Comeback (Kaun Banega Crorepati and ad endorsements.)
However, the author minces no words to say that India’s biggest superstar has succumbed to commercialism. “He has certainly given in to the commercial interests and has some very questionable friends.” She quips.
Who inherits Bachchan legacy?
Abhishek Bachchan seems to be the most obvious answer to most. But Dasgupta doesn’t agree. “This is a very tricky question. I am usually confronted by this query by a lot of people and I think it’s Shah Rukh Khan in terms of commercial success,” she says.
What about Bachchan junior? “Naah, I don’t think he is as talented. He lives under the umbrella of his father’s image. Though he has had commercial successes but it’s Shah Rukh Khan who can perhaps take on the legend,” she insists.
Bachchan knows the "trick"
Amitabh Bachchan is known to call himself Gudri Ka Lal (son of the soil). Agreed that he is a cine legend, but why put him on a pedestal? After all isn’t he an actor, who does what the script demands of him?
“Yes, he is an actor. But there’s also a need to document the landmarks and history of Indian cinema. The next generation needs to know and there’s no other way to know about the richness of India’s cinematic heritage except documentation. So, that’s why,” defends Dasgupta.
The author says there's a “clever trick” behind his popularity. "The trick is that he played the roles of huge individuals. If you see, Anil Kapoor is equally suited in his times but he appears as an insignificant actor because he played insignificant roles in his films," she says.
So why wasn’t the star present for the reading of a book that is so closely researched?
“Well, I sent him an invite, but he did not acknowledge it. Maybe because we wouldn’t have been able to pay his fee for the event,” says Dasgupta, tongue-in-cheek.
By the way, the book is dedicated to Ram Gopal Varma for, as Dasgupta puts it, “making Bachchan rock.”
“It’s his best performance till date and much much better that Black, which I think wasn’t great at all. I thank Ram Gopal Varma for it and dedicate the book to him,” she says.
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