Monday, February 27, 2012

Amitabh Bachchan comes out to greet well-wishers

Amitabh Bachchan comes out to greet well-wishers



Mumbai: It`s been tradition for Amitabh Bachchan to greet his fans at his doorstep almost every Sunday morning, and this Sunday was no different. Despite doctor`s instructions in view of his frail condition following his 12-day hospital stay, the megastar came out to meet his fans.


"The Sunday well wishers! Constant and so regular... touched... walked down to greet them," Amitabh posted on Twitter Sunday night.


"Thank you people of love. I have no other expression but this for gratitude... Walking out for the first time after hospital... not recommended, but for well wishers, a must," added the actor, who refers to his social networking mates as his "extended family".


Clad in a white kurta-pyjama and a cream shawl, the 69-year-old waved out to his fans. Among them was a man, who imitated Big B`s ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ style, to which Amitabh wrote: "...and imitations abound ... not too far away from the real i should say... ha ha."


The veteran actor returned to his home from hospital Feb 23. He was admitted to the Seven Hills Hospital Feb 11 and underwent two abdominal surgeries, following which he complained of acute pain and was kept under observation.

Amitabh Bachchan happy India is polio-free



Amitabh Bachchan happy India is polio-free



MUMBAI: Amitabh Bachchan, who is a Unicef goodwill ambassador, is happy India is a polio-free nation now and says it is the result of hard work by some institutions.


The Bollywood megastar posted that Rod Curtis, communication specialist, Polio Eradication Unit, UNICEF India, informed him that WHO and the Unicef wing for the eradication of polio had declared India a polio free nation. He even posted the letter on his blog.


"It is most satisfying to learn that there are some institutions, that genuinely acknowledge the hard work, voluntarily put in towards this campaign. Hours and hours of work, through the years has finally resulted in an outcome of which I feel so proud.


"I feel the pride on two counts. One of course and the most important, that the disease has been eradicated from our region and two, the fact that UNICEF chose to send their gracious thanks to me in writing - we had if you remember made this announcement many months ago at a formal ceremony. WHO giving it the final credit is definitive confirmation. There has been no acknowledgement from the government and one does not expect any either," Bachchan added.


The megastar is now recuperating at home from abdominal surgeries.
News businessofcinema

Amitabh Bachchan back home, upset with paparazzi’s insensitivity


Amitabh Bachchan back home, upset with paparazzi’s insensitivity


Amitabh Bachchan is relieved to be back home after a 12-day stay at the Seven Hills Hospital. However, the megastar says he had a tough time reaching his home thanks to “insensitive” paparazzi, Zee News reports.


“The paparazzi, though kept away from the premises of the hospital, were there at the entrance and throughout the journey home, blocking the movement of the car by standing in front and on top of the vehicle, which was disturbing. I have yet to see them understand the sensitivity of a situation such as this,” the 69-year-old posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com.


Amitabh was operated on February 11 for abdominal issues, and was under observation at the seven-star medical facility ever since. He was discharged on Thursday evening, and several still and video cameramen crowded around his car for footage. This disturbed the veteran star.
“A patient just released from hospital needs to get back to his home and secure from the travel, to it, as soon as possible, but I guess they (media) would rather get their exclusive photograph than have such consideration. A pleasant request falls on dumb ears and anything stronger than that shall be legitimate invitation to their wrath, of being manhandled,” added the actor, who feels his reaction to the media`s behaviour could spiral into another controversy.
“A complicated procedure would then follow resulting in nothing, but a severe negativeness against the celebrity, and more. One has learnt over the years that any thought of controlling them is futile. Better then to tolerate this excessive intrusiveness and move on,” he wrote.


Amitabh also posted a picture of the scenario outside the hospital, and wrote, “Just an example of how media and paparazzi block my car, not allowing it to move, insensitive to the need of its just released ailing occupant to get home secure and as rapidly as possible.”


For now, he is thankful for all prayers for his speedy recovery. “The surgery discomfort and soreness persists, but will take a while to finally erase itself from the pain glands, but in all, apart from a sluggish movement, God`s grace and prayers of the EF (extended family) have put me back on track again. My most gracious thanks to all,” he wrote. daily times monitor.


News .dailytimes

This solitude, this nothingness, this vacant time




The Sunday well wishers, and i walk down or the first time after release to meet and greet them. Not recommended, but how can one disappoint these gracious fans ..
  
This solitude, this nothingness, this vacant time, must I endure till the body grants me leave of absence from them. Instead of the apprehensions of studio visits and scenes and delivering of texts from screen plays, its how many more minutes before the next game starts that shall occupy my time. How rapidly and without asking time changes your life, leaving you groping to find answers and solutions. The ability to accomplish that which gets thrown at you, must surely be the tests that are on offer. Succumb to it now, succumb for life.
So brace up and face up, without complain. Be at it, something will give.

It was sad to see the loss at cricket yet again to Australia, but soon after, to see the massive victory of the Indian team against France in the hockey qualifiers for the Olympics. A drubbing meted out at 8 – 1, and a final confirmation of India’s participation in the Olympics. The jubilation that the team and its management exhibited was as though the Gold had been won. Time was when such qualification was an automatic choice. The early years of the game and the mastery of the great Dhyanchand at International forums when scores reached 20 – 0 in our favor. So great was the stick work of the great maestro, that competition and the judges wondered whether the hockey stick used had glue on it !
Debates and discussions and articles on the disaster that the Indian Cricket team has been facing lately in all forms of the game abound. It is depressing to se2 and hear and read such reporting, and to find how quickly opinions change when performance suffers. Its much like in the movies and with the actors who go through this test with every film release. Expectations, hopes ride high with each product, and when you do not deliver, the dams of resentment and accusation break loose. It is with this in mind that keeping away from celebrations on success is a recommended option – it may, God forbid, last but 7 days. Those then, that create for public consumption, must constantly live it this shadow of fear. A driving force for some, a moment of complacency for others.
I wonder at times what drives those that succeed beyond limits, to continue and pursue. The food is secured, as is the roof and clothing, but yet the penchant to gain more, to grow and expand never ever lets up. I see big corporates and large business houses, relentlessly breaking backs over further profit and profile. Of reaching untouched barriers and still more. And I watch them with astonishment. How do they do it ? And if they are doing it should I too be thinking thus. How do they choose to lend their might and their accumen towards fresh and new ideas. What is the guideline they deploy to hire the right people to run it ? How can they monitor all that transpires in their vast empire, and where do they get the inspiration to do all this. Puzzles me.
Maybe I should not be paying too much attention to this aspect. Perhaps peace of mind in whatever has come my way is sufficient and enough. Best that it remain so.
Better to worry about setting the alarm for 6 am to catch the Oscars !! Something to look forward to …
Amitabh Bachchan

Before all else, it needs to be shared that officially now India


Jalsa , Mumbai                 Feb 25 , 2012                 Sat  11 : 45 PM

Before all else, it needs to be shared that officially now India has been finally declared a polio free nation by WHO, and the UNICEF wing for the eradication of polio, for whom I work as Ambassador, sends an acknowledgement :
 Great news, Amitabh! The Minister of Health, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad has announced that today the World Health Organization officially declared that India has been taken off the list of polio-endemic countries. 

The Minister received the news this morning in a letter written by the WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan at the Polio Summit in Delhi.
Congratulations to India! Now, only 3 countries have never stopped polio transmission and remain polio-endemic: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
But to guard against importation and the prospect of a terrible outbreak we must continue to immunize our children against polio (and all six vaccine-preventable diseases) until eradication is achieved globally.
Thankyou SO MUCH for your tireless contribution to a polio-free India. Thanks to your help and the work of millions of volunteers, we can now hope that no Indian child be needlessly paralyzed by polio ever again.
Thanks again, congratulations, and a speedy recovery,
Best,
Rod
Rod Curtis
Communication Specialist
Polio Eradication Unit
UNICEF India

It is most satisfying to learn that there are some institutions, that genuinely acknowledge the hard work, voluntarily put in towards this campaign. Hours and hours of work, through the years has finally resulted in an outcome of which I feel so proud. I feel the pride on two counts. One of course and the most important, that the disease has been eradicated from our region and two, the fact that UNICEF chose to send their gracious thanks to me in writing – we had if you remember made this announcement many months ago at a formal ceremony. WHO giving it the final credit is definitive confirmation. There has been no acknowledgement from the Government and one does not expect any either.

Being by myself and almost in solitary confinement, is getting contagious. I am beginning to rather like this state. No where to go, nothing obligatory to perform, random timings and the liberty to do what I desire. I eat whenever, sleep whenever, watch a movie whenever and happy doing so. The ‘little one’ comes up to meet me by the evening, wide eyed and now on the verge of recognizing things. There is wonder and amazement about them and all the cooing and cuddling that she goes through, must be a world she is so unfamiliar with. On occasion she smiles and the volume of affection around increases a few decibels. Wonder if she feels why we must change the tone of our sound during our conversations with her, and whether it really helps to connect more effectively. Always a mystery.

I watched a lovely film ‘The Artist’ via the UFO set up in the house and it was a delight to see a black and white, silent movie in February of 2012 !! In an age when color and music and speech and sound play such an important role in cinema today, it was most innovative on the part of the makers to present something like this. I believe it is up for the Oscars, which are out tomorrow on Sunday.
UFO is a company set up to project digital quality latest releases in your home through a process that, once the set up has been installed is akin to pressing a button, selecting the film desired and bingo ! there it is on a separate screen or your Tv. The quality of projection is top rated, over the 700 grade, and a real joy to have the liberty of stopping and resuming film when desired. Modern inventions are astonishing. It is becoming difficult to keep up with them at this rate. Within months an object of great technical desire becomes almost extinct and obsolete, compelling you to buy the next level, that has greater and finer capability. The process now is endless, the competition so hard that I shudder to think what the company’s that are in this business must be going through to ‘keep with the Jones’s’ !
Communication has not just facilitated the speed of communication, but has increased the capacity and the desire to know another. Strangers reduce in numbers. Information is rapid and execution of work related issues simplified beyond imagination. Where are we heading ? For us old timers it is a revelation. For our generation before, it would be frightening. When I handed over the first mobile phone to my Father several years ago to speak into, he almost refused to touch it. And he remained bewildered for days on end. Today my grandchildren introduce me to a new app., and I feel equally bewildered. And to think that the world of research and experimentation does not stop there, is even more perplexing. There seems to be an immediate answer and solution to almost all situations. The fear of the unknown has quietly vanished. Yet the ‘superior force’ that guides us to all this still remains the most important object of our lives. That belief shall over power all, with due respect, to all the atheists of the world and within our own little family.
The hunger to be in possession of that which the ‘other’ does not have shall continue to drive mankind in developing newer models and inventions.
I think gradually the body gains strength. A few movements that were prohibitive earlier, seem to be easing in and I do hope this trend continues. Your prayers and wishes remain with me each moment and I do know that it is their sincerity that drives me towards a quick recovery. Thank you again for it !
Much love …
Amitabh Bachchan