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Director Anurag Basu (Gangster, Murder and Metro) is not known for making controversial statements, so one has to wonder what provoked him to say uncomplimentary things about of B-Town’s biggest superstar Amitabh Bachchan.Excerpts from Anurag Basu’s Stardust interview, ad verbatim, “Sometimes, people ask me who is the actor I would like to work with; and everybody expects Amitji’s name as my reply. I have been a huge fan of Amitji; the reason why I am a part of Bollywood. I’ve grown up watching his films.” He further adds, “I think the whole magic of Amitji has gone now. I think he should gracefully retire.According to me, he has become a little mechanical since quite some time. There are many films which I wonder why he did. I understand that a man of his stature must have had his own reasons for doing such films but I still prefer to watch Kaala Patthar, Majboor and his other brillant films a hundred times than watching Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. I am scared of watching any of his forthcoming films because I don’t want to degrade his image that I’ve carried in my mind for so many years.”Here’s what Amitabh Bachchan had to say in reply to Anurag Basu’s comments: “I took no one’s advice when I wanted to enter the film industry and shall take no one’s advice, as to when I should leave it! After the release of Laawaris in the late ’70s-early ’80s I think, a queen of film journalism, may God rest her soul in peace, had loudly proclaimed that ‘The sun of Amitabh Bachchan has begun to set.’ In the mid ’80s to the ’90s, a prominent national weekly did a cover on me titled ‘Finished!’ Around 2000, a prominent and acclaimed filmmaker declared, much like Mr Anurag Basu, that it was time to put the last nail in the coffin of Mr Bachchan and give him a decent burial.The honorable lady journalist has since passed away, the weekly has shut down and the acclaimed maker has stopped directing! I hope and pray that similar fate does not engulf Mr Anurag Basu, for my colleagues inform me that he is a director of great talent and promise!”
Archive for the 'Amitabh Bachchan' Category
Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha are at loggerheads once again. This time the reason seems a little more personal. Bachchan who has taken his job as a blogger very seriously has posted a sharp comment on his website. The legendary actor has reacted to a comment made by Shatrughan Sinha over the nominations of a forthcoming award ceremony, which Bachchan endorses. Sinha had reportedly stated that the award does not really have any credibility and it was alright that Taare Zameen Par was not nominated.Bachchan writes: “I read a comment from my colleague and friend and neighbour, Shatrughan Sinha. It reportedly quoted his reactions to the nomination list of the awards, wherein he has purportedly stated that ‘Sab kissika beta hai, ya kissiki bahu, ya kissiki biwi’ , and the media adding their interpretation to it by stating that Sinha’s comment was directed to a particular family of the Guru fame.”Bachchan adds: “I believe what is being insinuated is that there is partiality or some ‘fixing’ in the choice of the nominations carried by the awards committee. And as the report concluded, the indication was towards one family, not difficult to guess which one.”Bachchan goes on to write, “I am surprised at this observation, especially since, during the time of the National Award selection for Best Actress in one of the past years, when the award went to Raveena Tandon, it was alleged that Mr Shatrughan Sinha’s wife, the lovely and graceful Poonam, a great friend of Raveena’s mother had recommended the appointment of MacMohan, the brother of Raveena’s mother, on the board of the Jury ( Structured by the Government in power - in this case the BJP, of which Mr Sinha was a Minister of State ) in order that he may cast his vote in favour of Raveena Tandon. If this alleged story is true then I do value Mr Shatrughan Sinha’s alleged statement
Continue reading ‘Big B picks on Shatrughan Sinha in his blog’
The film that will also star her father-in-law, Amitabh Bachchan, and her husband, Abhishek Bachchan, will hit the screens on June 6, the film’s director said at a press conference Monday.Sarkar Raj is loosely based on the controversy around an Enron power plant built in India’s western state of Maharashtra a decade ago.Director Ram Gopal Varma however defended the movie as original.It “has no reference point and was a completely original script,” Varma said, according to the Press Trust of India.Yet the promos of Sarkar Raj show a striking similarity between Rai-Bachchan’s role and that of Rebecca Mark, former CEO of Houston-based utilities giant Enron, who pushed the power plant project.Enron was mired in a political storm in the mid-1990s over the building of a 2.9 billion dollar private power plant, India’s largest at the time.Majority share owner Enron closed the plant in 2001 after its lone client, the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, fell behind on payments.Enron went bankrupt in December 2001 following an accounting scandal. “I am representing a power company in the film that wants to set up a power project,” Rai-Bachchan told media in a video conference from Miami, where she was celebrating her first wedding anniversary.
Bachchan expresses his unhappiness on the Aamir Khan film not being under contention for the awards. The movie industry has been unanimous in its approval for Taare Zameen Par. It has even won countless awards but the film’s producer-director Aamir Khan has consistently shunned all of these ceremonies because they go against his principles. Now, however, because of Aamir’s refusal to apply for the IIFA, TZP will not even be a contender. Brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan tells us more…
Taare Zameen Par hasn’t been nominated for the IIFA’s what’s your reaction?
IIFA rules and procedures, approved by the governing body, states that it is mandatory for a producer seeking nomination for an Award category, to make a formal application. If the formal application is not made, irrespective of the status and merit of the film, it does not become eligible for a nomination. Aamir as a producer did not put in that formal application making it very difficult for IIFA to consider TZP in any category.As a brand ambassador did you think of inviting him personally?
IIFA and I also as its Brand Ambassador spoke to Aamir personally on this issue, because we did not want his film to go unrecognised and possibly unrewarded. But he told us that it was against his principles with regard to award ceremonies. He wished to be excused and I think we should honour that. Much as though we would have wanted to accommodate his film, it would have gone against the principles of the IIFA regulations. It would have set a wrong precedent unfortunately, for producers, who were following the regulations of IIFA. I have expressed to Aamir how immensely we shall miss his presence.
Continue reading ‘Big B: I wanted TZP in IIFA’
Wizcraft, the people behind the Bachchan’s World Tour, have said that they intend to sue Bipasha Basu for breaking her contract.Says a source from Wizcraft on condition of anonymity, “What Bipasha did was completely unprofessional and in bad taste. It’s not just unethical but illegal too. How could she back out from the tour after signing the contract?” Continues the source, “When we refused to pay her that astronomical figure, she backed out. Not just us, even Mr. Bachchan tried convincing her but she didn’t budge. We had no option but to sign bigger actors instead. Though we’re too caught up with the tour, we can’t take it lying down. She can’t take us for a ride, now we have decided to sue her.”
