Amitabh Bachchan emerged the winner in our Favourite Star of All Times poll. What does the icon himself think of stardom?
He is 65 years old, with more than 150 films on his resume. His latest, Bhootnath, hits the screens this weekend. Next year, he will complete his 40th year in the Hindi film industry. In what, for others, would be the twilight of their careers,
Amitabh Bachchan marches on—splendidly. He emerged the winner in our Favourite Star of All Times poll, beating his usual competitor Shahrukh Khan, by a huge margin. | | | | 'I am not an icon by any stretch of imagination. I don't accept the term stardom as well.' | | | | |
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What does the icon himself think of stardom? Well, he thinks he is not an icon at all. Excerpts from an e-mail interview from London with
Namrata Joshi:You have emerged the winner in the Outlook poll—by a big margin. Your response.After four decades in the business, it surprises me that the poll conducted by
Outlook should make me emerge as a winner! I am obviously humbled and terribly flattered. I would have imagined that the younger stars of this generation would have featured higher up than me, particularly since most sections of the media, in the recent past, have repeatedly expressed their opinion on my declining status.
How would you define star quality in general and your own star appeal in particular?I guess star appeal and quality comes from the desire of the audience to love, appreciate and support their favourite. When the audience expresses their love and support, it translates into better commerce, better box office and star rating.
What has been the single biggest advantage and disadvantage, for you, of being an icon?I am not an icon by any stretch of imagination and this question therefore is redundant.
How does stardom impinge on your daily life?I do not accept the term 'stardom', but even if I were to, why do you assume it would impinge on daily life? At the end of the day, we are all normal human beings, having an equal share of normal human faults, desires and shortcomings. If these were to impinge on the lives of normal humans, so would they on ours.
The ladies in cinema you've admired?Waheedaji, Meena Kumari, Nargisji, Jaya.
Who are the young actors/actresses you can see as stars of the future?They're all very talented and impressive.
How has the notion of stardom changed over a period of time? How have you adapted to it?Not admitting to stardom myself, it is difficult to comment on this, but I believe each decade and each passage of time brings about changes, as it should. The mystique of film stars, their larger-than-life image, primarily due to the larger-than-life acts they performed on screen was, in times of limited access to communication, perhaps greater than today's, because of instant availability, through the media—both print and electronic. And with time, adaptation is important (for an actor). That is if there still is a desire to continue. So, whatever medium prevails, you accept it, contribute to it.
There is a complaint that the younger stars don't have the aura of the older stars; that they are spread too thin and are all over the media. Does it cut down their star appeal?The aura came from mystique: the mystique, from limited information on the stars and, even greater, non-visibility. With changing times and technology, and access to greater mediums of communication, it is rather unfair to state that the stars of today have a lesser aura. All the top stars of today—Shahrukh, Akshay, Salman, Aamir, Hrithik, Saif—command huge fan following and hysteria. It is wrong to imagine that there has been any cut in their star appeal.
When it comes to defining your appeal, people talk of your longevity, the fact that you could reinvent yourself. How did you work at it?Never believed in it; never worked at it. Things have just happened. People have been kind; God, kinder.
Everyone has a favourite Amitabh persona: the angry young man, the romantic poet, the funny man, the entertainer, the
KBC host, the patriarch of Baghban.... What's your own favourite Big B persona?A little bit of all of them!
Who are the people who have had a hand in the making of the Bachchan persona besides you yourself?My personality was built by my parents, both genetically and through their upbringing.
What would you consider the turning point films in your long career?Every film of mine has led me into respecting the medium, its fraternity, its endless craft, its vulnerability and the acceptance, of how meagre our contribution has been in this vast field.