Before putting down my thoughts on this page I give the respondents a look

Before putting down my thoughts on this page I give the respondents a look

Jalsa , Mumbai       April 24,  2011    Sun  11 : 02 PM

Before putting down my thoughts on this page I give the respondents a look. Their numbers at the top of the page give me an idea of what the value of the post was. I notice therefore that for the past few days the numbers have dwindled, which indicates that the BlogPost has been insipid and not worthy of a read ! Hmmm !!

With that in mind and a sense of defeat I resume my daily chore of addressing all those that are part of the EF and who have so diligently remained with me.

The purpose of the blog is not to reach some exciting figure, as in Sachin’s million on the twitter, but to be able to reach out to as many as possible. To share our mutual thoughts and to exchange ideas and impressions which we generally allow to go by. Someone twittered somewhat bitterly that Sachin had got to a million on twitter with just about 270 tweets. And I with over 7000 tweets was still struggling at 700,000.

I am not quite sure about the reason for that remark, but there it was. And if it was meant to show me what it was meant to, then it could not have been more correct. Of course Sachin will and should have a larger number of tweets than I. He is SACHIN Tendulkar, the God of cricket ! And I cannot even fake-hold a cricket bat. End of argument debate and discussion.

Abhishek has reached Murmansk in Russia on location for his film, Players. When I asked him where this place was he told me it was North of St Petersburg, erstwhile Stalingrad. When I persisted he asked me to Google it. I did. And its a stones throw away from the Arctic !! When we Skyped we had a laugh because he was in his  Siberian head gear, protecting his head and ears from the biting cold and he looked odd and funny.

But look what this world has come to. Talking with picture with your relatives and friends. Such a pleasure and joy.

A Sunday today ! A day of rest ! But I had to work on the health program of the UNICEF for which I have been brand ambassador for some years now as also the ambassador for the protection of the girl child. The SouthEast region of the world has not been able to rid itself of this dreaded disease, Polio. But I am happy to state that when I came on board there were over 700 cases of polio, and from recent reports the figure has come down to single digits, which is exciting to know. At least something that I was associated with came through correctly.

Very sophisticated equipments now exist in the medical field and timely medication and care does and can save your child from this ailment. So do your bit spread the word as much as possible. Do take the prevention medication during the first five years of the child to prevent the onslaught of this dreaded ailment….

Satya Sai Baba passed away. A saint, a generous soul, a builder of society. I had opportunity to be with him on an occasion. He had graciously sent me some of his famed ‘vibhuti’ to be put on my tongue during the time I was struggling for my life after the Coolie accident. When I recovered, I went across to his ashram near Chennai. He met me in a side small chamber and blessed me by procuring more ‘vibhuti’ virtually from the air. During his years working for the society through great amounts of work concentrating on building institutions and infrastructures to help the poor and the deprived, he built up a massive following and believers that were completely in awe of the man and his work for the masses.

Our prayers for the departed soul !

During the last few days we have been doing the action climax of our film ‘Bbuddah’ and have been working with the Stunt Coordinator from the South. Interesting how well organized and gracious they are in their work and dealings, despite the fact that they are handicapped by language. I do hope when the film is released and the action work comes through you will be able to appreciate the work done. The point of mentioning this was to also bring forth the fact that all those Master Stunt Directors of the past, still remain in our presence despite that fact that no longer work. Among the stunt ‘fighters’ that work along, there is no one that is above 30 and so is unaware of the films I did. They are all sons and cousins of the fight masters of yesteryear and keep reminding me of their Father or Uncle that had worked with me in most of my films that had action.

They, much like the ‘junior artists’ that I had spoken of in the past, lead a very difficult life too, but are the ones that show great will and strength to rescue the leading man of the film they work in. I have often been obstinate in doing stunts that involve a stunt man, myself, with the sole aim of somehow protecting another soul from getting hurt because of me. I have seen the many that worked with me get seriously injured doing an action sequence. Some are still around but a majority of them have just passed on or are now too old to be able to conduct a portion of action in film.

They have always led a dangerous existence, with the minimum of protection. It is indeed a sad circumstance. Many of those that get injured, have no means to repair themselves, for, keeping away from work would mean a daily meal at home lost. Its a sad situation. Very sad !

More later.. I shudder from the anticipation of tomorrows song and dance routine .. of which I have to admit I am most petrified.

Love to you …

Amitabh Bachchan

Up at 5am and off to pay my respects at various spots of divinity Haji Ali dargah the Babulnath Temple BigB

Up at 5am and off to pay my respects at various spots of divinity Haji Ali dargah the Babulnath Temple BigB

Jalsa , Mumbai       April 22/23 ,  2011        Fri/Sat  1 : 20 AM

Up at 5 am and off to pay my respects at various spots of divinity - Haji Ali dargah, the Babulnath Temple and another small dargah on Worli sea face. And it is cliched but, there are such a large number of people that are up and moving about at that hour of the morning it is difficult to comprehend. All of them it seems are most conscious of their health, for they all seem to be either on a brisk walk, or something more adventurous like a gym, substituted by the pathway of the road that embraces the Arabian Sea ..

And soon after .. it was back to the action work on the sets of ‘Bbuddah’. It is written that man shall earn his bread through hard work and women to bear child in pain. The work is the adrenalin, the power, the motivator for all that encompasses us in our little world. Without work we would all be lethargic, restless and bored beyond thinking that now it is time for our grandchildren to take over, look after us and for us, to lead a retired life. But that does not decidedly interest me or those that come under our family umbrella.

Abhishek leaves for Russia tonight for the shoot of ‘Players’ - a film that has taken him to the extremes of the hemisphere. It was New Zealand not so long ago and now from one end to the other, in Russia. He flies in to St Petersburg on the northern fringe of erstwhile Soviet Union, a city that has fascinated me no end. It is one of my most favored places. Its structures, its ambience and its people such a delight, to be in their company.Yes it is largely influenced by Italian architecture and has followed civic planning and structure through to an extreme of beauty and relevance. The Hermitage Museum is a delight to watch and visit, even if there is a limited time limit to it. But what is fascinating is the period of the White Nights, when for a certain number of days the parabolic movement of the sun, brings on days which remain days. There are no nights - the curvature of the earth and the presence of the sun and moon determine such phenomena . But the beauty of this natures blessing is that the city never sleeps during these nights of white. They are all in the streets, laughing and enjoying this unique feature and bringing in happiness and joy all around.

Another poignant feature that I visited when I was there was the monument in memory of all those young soldiers that laid down their lives for the country and in particular for the city they so loved, to protect it from being overcome by the Nazi Germans during WW II. The Russians have many things to be proud of, but by far the most distinguishable aspect is that, they never gave in to any invasion. And the way they protected their land was most unique too. Napoleon landed up in Moscow to find that the city hade been evacuated. He had nothing to conquer and had come out so far without proper provision that the deliberate delay on the part of the Russians, brought Napoleon’s troops in battle with the harsh winter. The Russians in panzer like moves dug deep away, away from comfort, attacked the German lines as they struggled in the winter, breaking their supply lines and causing the Russian troops a psychological victory, eventually turning the tide of the Nazi war. And one of the most heart breaking stories that come out from St Petersburg is that that is a certain age group of men that does not exist in the land. Its the age group between 17 and 20 years. They were the men fighting for their country and they all sacrificed their lives for that cause. It was Stalingrad until recently, and it became St Petersburg. But that honorable sacrifice is remembered by that memorial on the outskirts of the city, where through immense fighting and defense they were able to stop and push back the force of the mighty Germans. I had been there in 1985 and found the people there much happier than what I had comparatively seen in say Moscow. I have no credible answer for this.

How the memories of days gone by and the encounters that we have with them, stays with us for years to come.

Good night dearest EF … more tomorrow …

Amitabh Bachchan

Slowly but surely the tenor of speech in the medium of social networking is taking BigB

Slowly but surely the tenor of speech in the medium of social networking is taking BigB

Jalsa, Mumbai        April  21,  2011        Thu  10 : 24 PM

Slowly but surely the tenor of speech in the medium of social networking is taking on a character of its own. When it began it was looked upon by the purists as an invasion upon a territory that they seemed to rule over. For ages the writer or the person from the estate was the considered voice. A voice that informed, analyzed, brought notice to, had opinion had detail and had believability. It was the ‘newspaper’ ! A metaphor for all that needed confirmation.

“Hey ! how you doin’ ? read in the papers that you weren’t doing too well ? Hope all good now !”

” Did you know that there was an explosion in the city and many got injured ? Read it in the morning papers !”

And so on. It had its importance and value and presence. It was an integral part of our social existence. It still is, I believe. You miss the paper in the morning. It has become synonymous with all mornings, irrespective of Google and the Net. Only now there are alternatives. Several of them. There is a choice much greater than what was. And that choice is the variants available on the internet, the wire, the wireless. And this I believe has made the issue more liberal, democratic and society friendly. The right of securing information does not just lie with the traditional spreadsheet, there are buttons at your command that provide similar results. And these results are devoid of any deliberate opinion making by another. These are your own individual thoughts. There were opportunities to express them earlier too, but not, I believe as independent as they are now.

Initially when the blog began there were severe apprehensions from the estate. For the first time ever their indulgence was bearing the onslaught of being questioned. Or in some cases, named. This was not what they had ever expected. It was anathema to them. For those that had served their entire professional careers in commenting on daily affairs of the world, were now in the opposite side of the fence. They were being commented upon and they just did not like it. No one would, in their situation. Some retaliated and countered back through the medium that they controlled. Some expressed anger and others fear. Fear not of being written about, but just the discomfort of being righted when all along they had only dealt with those that had wronged.

Many a member would be brave enough to admit that they ‘did not wish to be mentioned in the blog’. This isolated group of people, around 8000 of them in a population of 1.2 billion, remained in exalted position. They were the decision makers, the prediction makers, the force that changed thinkings and minds of an entire nation. They were now vulnerable to the new inventions that were moving at the speed of sound and they felt threatened by it. For what, I have no reasons for it.

Many things then begin to happen simultaneously. When they could not beat the invention they decided to join it. Now you have both options. The paper and the net. And it is not always that there would be a difference. Both were interchangeable. One borrowed from the other. Write on one, get written in print on the other and vice versa. And the beauty is that both are equally powerful for their masters.

What to me seems a problem is the fact that those that are individuals and who have been expressing themselves independently, do not have the circulation that the standard media has, and therefore have a limited reach ; as opposed to the vast distribution of the other. But with time and spread, the medium of independent expression has been recognized. ironically by the same estate that opposed it. Views expressed individually on a medium that has portents of belonging only to party A, have the strong ability to be picked up by the traditional and expressed through the strength of their medium to parties ABCD … And because theirs is a much stronger institution, the belief factor is stronger than that of the ‘new kid on the block’.

The ‘new kids on the block’ having realized the potential of their strengths, have mastered the art of how best such a situation can be exploited, and have shifted a few gears to be in a superior position.

Let me take a modest example of a certain Mr Amitabh Bachchan. His blog generates 3 million hits a month, not to mention that sincere and great relationships that have been formed through it have a number value that will never be possible to be valued. He has another 700,000 followers on the Twitter and his Vog has 24, 00,000 subscribers. Each medium is catered on Mr Bachchan’s take for whatever he deems fit. Out of the 24,00,000 if there are 5 that can be counted as genuine and if they find themselves in a position of information where what they get from these mediums is better than the traditional, then a great amount of change has been executed. Or at least initiated. This 5 then grows and multiplies and soon there are a sizable number of people who could be in the possession of a different opinion than what has been carried by the ‘newspaper’.

A strange yet very believable act has also started to take place. The non traditional that wish to be carried on the traditional can now devise a method whereby they can put up their news, independent and individual and expect that a news hungry estate shall willingly pick that up and carry on their own medium. Perfectly normal and acceptable. But has a thought been given to the fact that what if the non traditional is using this wonderful device to deliberately put out something on their space knowing fully well that it shall be picked up and expanded on the traditional. Its a win win situation for both. The non traditional, wary of the fact, that what he wishes to say may not find favor or representation if he were to go the traditional way, cleverly puts it out on his own space and hopes it will get picked up. The traditional gets a lot of spare labor. They do not now have to go seeking information. Information comes to them at their doorstep. And free !

Many examples of what I extend are there for many to see. And they come faster than that ‘morning doorstep newspaper’ … such an important tool of our daily existence ..

My love to you ..

Amitabh Bachchan

Thanks all the extended family members for their warm greetings to Abhishek and Aishwarya for their anniversary of marriage

thanks all the extended family members for their warm greetings to Abhishek and Aishwarya for their anniversary of marriage

Jalsa, Mumbai      April 20/21,  2011     Wed/ Thu  1 : 19 AM

….. and so one thanks all the extended family members for their warm greetings to Abhishek and Aishwarya for their anniversary of marriage. Its been 4 years !!

….. and so also does one thank those that show expectation from my work and films which as they lament has not appeared on the horizon for an endlessly long time !!

‘Bbuddah’ moves rapidly, inconsequentially, without any fuss or strain, without delay and unpunctuality and within the budget assigned to it. A most nominal figure compared to what figures one comes across from all the ‘biggies’ !

It is restraining to mention any other detail, for fear of it being picked up and speculated, televisioned, broad sheeted and headlined in to yet another millionth breaking news ! Restrain and refrain are the two most devoted and well advised actions in the times today of every move and breath being captured for posterity and who knows for eternity as well. How words shall be picked and juggled around to make them sound the exact opposite of what they were meant to be is an admirable art. And how soon the creatives take place is one of the miracles of Tv. A master class in management and intelligent minds !

On the twitter and often on the blog at times, one gets criticized for promoting self or family members. Perhaps we do. The media themselves often do not shy away from doing it. I have all the senior editors of all things prominent in society, on my followers account on my page and they keep reminding us without a break, how important and interesting it is to see the 9 o clock news, or a debate on Face the Nation and so on … they use this medium well ..

It is indeed quite fascinating to be able to achieve that moment - a moment when the answer to a question is looked upon as being more questionable than the question itself ! Happens at times. But since the fourth estate is without fault and so heavily protected, it is in the best of interests to leave them alone. And so we do ..!!

Vishal @ Shekhar that wondrous musical composer duo are such a joy to spend time with in their studio. Its a very relaxed atmosphere, lounging around with all the gossip of the day and reminiscing moments of our Concert Tour. And then suddenly a burst of creativity. Somebody picks up the guitar, another the keyboards and yet another the complicated computer system, that records and tunes and finds information so essential for any song recording.

That ’sleep induced’ condition approaches at a fair trot and before I succumb to it I must deliver my sincere thank you’s to all the members of the fans clubs and blog masters of the day.

It does become difficult to do this routine when you have your brand new ear phone system firmly encompassing your ears and the song being belted out is what V@S have just sent a rough scratch of, to ascertain whether  their line of approach is in the right direction or not. You’re damn right it is ! In the right direction and pumping ..

Good night … love and more ….

Amitabh Bachchan

Tanishq’s new campaign emphasises importance of 4C's

Tanishq’s new campaign emphasises importance of 4C's
Also reiterates brand's commitment towards trust
Tanishq’s new advertising campaign carrying a unique message – to educate consumers about how to assess the purity of diamonds through informing about the basic 4Cs of a diamond - cut, clarity, color and carat, is also noteworthy as it is being endorsed by Bollywood couple Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and Mrs. Jaya Bachchan. The brand believes its purpose to make consumers more aware stems from the fact that diamonds continue to be the most desired gems and a symbol of commitment. And is also growing as a popular gifting choice. Mr. Sandeep Kulhalli, Vice President, Tanishq said, “Understanding the lack of awareness amongst customers in choosing right diamonds, we conceived the idea of educating our consumers through the ad campaign.” He further added, “For this ad campaign we needed someone who would reflect the brand's stature and standing, someone who would connect with people across a wide spectrum. We zeroed in on Mr. and Mrs Bachchan for this ad, whose combined fan following varies across 6 to 60 yrs of age, and will be desired personalities to reach out to the people easily spreading awareness on this precious jewel.”

Talking about his association with the brand, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, said, “This campaign has helped me discover the finer details on buying diamonds besides giving me an opportunity to create awareness on this rarest and most beautiful form of the precious stone.” Adding the same line of thought Mrs. Jaya Bachchan, said “While working in this campaign I got to know that the genuinity of a diamond depends on the cut, clarity and carat of the diamond, irrespective of the size. It is important for each one of us to know these intricate details, especially if there are any inclusions or spots in them. Tanishq has brilliantly conveyed this message through the ad campaign”.

The campaign is scheduled to go on air in the mid week on April 2011.

NEWS diamondworld