All the fans standing outside 'Pratiksha' waiting for his darshan did not translate into money when Amitabh was down and needed it most. When Amitji lay in financial ruin, the magic was lost. The money was gone. Fans deserted him in droves. Amitabh was alone. (Mein aur meri tanhaayi)
Just when all looked lost, in walked a starry eyed Amar Singh and introduced hope, and the Ambani connection into Amitji's life (and those large superstitious rings on his fingers.) The success of KBC that followed, rekindled his celebrity, fan following, and brought endorsements, movie offers - and wealth - back into Big B's life.
It may be difficult for us fans to comprehend but most of Amitji's assets today are essentially post KBC (and post ABCL bankruptcy). All the block busters - including Deewar and Sholay - from his golden years, and nostalgic dewy eyed fans like us, dont translate to money on his balance sheet. We are mere Goodwill! ("Oof tumhare oosul, tumhare adarsh. Kis kaam ke hai tumhare is oosul jo ek waqt ki roti tak nahi bana sakta?")
The hard knocks of life taught him that we fans are fickle. Here today, gone tomorrow. It is money, that keeps his - much like our - life going.
Amitji strode the world of cinema churning blockbusters for the best of 4 long decades! He left us spell bound all these years making us feel like Alice in wonderland. Every time we went to the theaters and looked at the silver screen he gave us one magical performance after another. He rarely failed us. He gifted us some of life's greatest moments. And some of our fondest memories.
At 64, and with time running out, Amitabh realizes that his best years are behind him. He has more years lived, than left.
All good things in life come to an end. However hard he tries, he may never be able to produce another Deewar or Sholay. Not even one last time. Not even for us.
All the great dialogue writers, sriptwriters and directors of his hey days are no longer around. Some passed away, others packed and left. The hey days themselves have long gone by. Times have changed. Tastes have changed. People have changed. The industry itself had changed. Even the reigning Shahenshah of Bollywood has changed!!
All good things in life come to an end. Amitabh has accepted this reality.
One thing, however, hasn't changed - our expectations. Perhaps it is time we changed too.
Lets just enjoy Amitji's talents, voice, songs, his mere presence, the happiness of seeing him on TV and films while we still can. In addition to being his, and our, passion - his acting also happens to be his livelihood. Lets not begrudge him that by holding his every role against our stringent moral expectations.
Lets celebrate and enjoy Amitabh while we still can.
- Setu Madhavan, Florida, United States (floridabronze@yahoo.com)
It can be non other than BIG-B. He just marvelous whether in Ads, KGB, film, or just a call like this interview. One can feel he just talk his heart - non of the responses to the question put by the interviewer are answered with so much of care, dignity, and love for other. The words "carrying debt on shoulders" make him one of the Chivalrous persons one can come across in life. Neither I or anyother person will not hesitate to pay for Big-B's health. We cant wait for long to see him back in action... but first is that we would like to see him return with good health.
This is the same old humble Mr bachchan. If you have observed/ read his interviews over a period of time, effectively he never says anything. If you talk about his success, he says he is just plain lucky. If you talk about the problems he would have faced, he says everybody is right in their own way and its alright. Many years of experiences seem to have made him like this. Wise, calm and politically correct !!
