My participation in Baz Luhrmann’s film ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a mere one scene appearance as a friendly gesture

Jalsa , Mumbai          Sept 11,  2011         Sun  8:15 PM

Its a lazy day. But one that comes but once in a while … like a couple of months. And what does one do .. clean up the desk, watch sports, fill up twitter and write an early post so one can rest early for tomorrow’s first day shoot for Ram Gopal varma’s ‘Department’. Yup ! Doing a small appearance for a few days in the film. And yes I do know that many would say what is with small appearances these days. But that is what it is all about. Sometimes you do take decisions for the sake of relationships and the joy of being involved with a project because you wish to. So there. Earlier today the Economic Times wished to know a few thoughts based on similar sentiment and I said this -

My participation in Baz Luhrmann’s film ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a mere one scene appearance as a friendly gesture. Baz Luhrmann during his private visit to India last year, had dropped by my office to meet me and presented me with some paintings of a prominent painter that was accompanying him. He called last month and wondered if I would do this small role in his film and I agreed. It is a gesture. I have refused any remuneration on this too.

As to why Baz chose to ask me, is something that perhaps he would be better placed to answer. I have gone down to Sydney and had a preliminary reading of the script with the entire cast and done hair makeup costume rehearsals. It has been a wonderful experience to be a part of their system and to observe with what detail and diligence they work.
The West and in particular Hollywood is of course aware of the Indian Film Industry. Whether this little presence of mine is designed to open up ‘flood gates for more actors and collaborations’, would be utterly presumptuous by any reckoning on my part. I would imagine if and when there is a need in their stories for someone from India to be tapped they shall do so ; you have rightly observed some of the artists from here that have.
Whether the presence of Indian actors in Hollywood films shall bring worldwide acceptance for our actors remains to be seen. I do believe that this phenomenon already exists. Indian actors are a recognizable force outside Indian shores as well. I may be wrong in my assessment here, but it has been statistically proven that a larger number of the world population watches Indian movies as opposed to Hollywood – 3.8 billion to 3.2 billion. Indian films have been a significant part of the lives of various countries, prominently in regions that have hitherto remained unknown or unaccounted for –the entire North African belt from Morocco to Egypt down to Kenya, South Africa, Mauritius and the East African coast to Nigeria and many central African nations, the Middle East, Far East, Russia and now China, Japan and Korea as well, not to mention the traditional USA, UK and Europe markets where a large percentage of our expatriates reside.
Stars from India getting global celebrity managers is an individual decision. Perhaps you are unaware, but many already do. Hollywood is a richer entity and has the advantage of a more universal language, but there are several examples that I have been personally witness to, where the Indian star, with all due respect, has garnered greater notice than his Hollywood counterpart.
At the end of the day we must remember a most basic fact. We are the Indian film Industry and they Hollywood from America. There shall always be a prominence to American actors in Hollywood, just as there is a prominence of Indian actors in Indian films. A ShahRukh, Salman or Aamir may well be an unknown face in one of the towns in Mid West USA, but so would a Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise in Yevatmal or Giridih. How many foreign stars have you noticed gaining prominence in Hollywood apart from that odd Omar Sharif, Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee ? Even British artists, which really should be considered, nation wise, as individuals from the same community, have a limited presence. And how many Hollywood stars do we see in our films ? Forget Hollywood, even artists from regional cinema in India have a rare presence in our own films – Hindi film artists in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam or Bengali films and vice versa.

What would you think … makes sense ..?

Love to all ..

Amitabh Bachchan

Yes it is late but having just finished my work at KBC and devoured a meal

Jalsa , Mumbai      Sept 10/11 , 2011           Sat/ Sun  2 : 10 AM

Yes it is late … but having just finished my work at KBC and devoured a meal, have realized that time has indeed flown by and it is time that I should have been in bed. But … that is a hope. Nothing goes to sleep until the EF have been connected with and with whom is shared the thought for the day.

I am afraid there is not much that can be said after my time spent among the ‘bleeding hearts’ on this wonderful programme. Today was the episode played out to help and assist in any manner possible, those of our country that have had to face personal tragedy and are now in desperate state.

Tonight was the lady who’s husband a farmer in the Vidarbha region, committed suicide because he was unable to repay his loan. Suicides in this region have reached alarming proportions. There are so many of them that are resorting to this form of ending their lives because they are unable to repay their loans and are unable to find a remunerative medium in their business of farming to earn and pay off these amounts. They leave behind a family. They have taken the easy and cowardly way out. But they are gone and they have left behind a whole lot of people that now face the consequences of their absence.

Aparna, the lady who came by for the KBC contest as a special guest has two small daughters aged 7 and 3 and no support from any quarter. Her husband committed suicide to save the embarrassment of not being able to pay back his loan. Aparna now is left all alone. She was not even aware that her husband had taken a loan. She has gathered herself together somehow, and works on the fields in farming and making ends meet. She still keeps her ‘mangalsutra’ on her neck - the necklace worn by Indian women signifying her married status, because she fears harassment from other men, who trouble her with threats and envious motives. But she is resolved. She does not want to give up. She will fight her way through she says, bring up her children, earn her living through the hard work on the fields, build a concrete house, for the present one is weak and old and made of mud and broken tiles and give half of what she earns to the other widows in India, who she says are suffering with similar conditions … just incredible !!

She won Rs 6, 40,000 ! She will clear her loan of Rs 50,000 and shall perhaps repair her home and keep some money aside for the education of her two girls.

I did not have words to be able to express my anguish and grief at this state. But there it was. Stark, brutal and honest.

More of this later .. I fear I shall drop if I continued further .. so till then then ..

Amitabh Bachchan

It is late and it is necessary for me to mention this for, many among the extended family lament the fact that I am not resting enough

Jalsa , Mumbai     Sept 9/10 , 2011       Fri/Sat 12:32 AM

It is late and it is necessary for me to mention this for, many among the extended family lament the fact that I am not resting enough. I would tend to agree with that and i do promise that there shall be occasion to do just that the day after -Visarjan on Sunday , when the deity Ganesh ji will be taken on His final journey into the waters of the sea, and bring to an end this season of Ganesh Utsav, and be inviting the Lord to come back again next year in their homes during this festive season.

The land of India so different and vibrant and filled with such divinity and love. The various and diverse religious festivals. The celebrations for them, the customs and rituals that follow along with them, the devotion of all those that believe in them. Their faith and utmost dedication in the matter of prayer and service to the Gods, so human and simple, yet pronounced by their integrity and its outcome.

It has been an important observation of mine and I believe of certain of others as well, how even the most prominent and those blessed with all that life can offer, submit themselves to the feet of the Almighty. In their own world and in their surroundings, they are masters of their profession, confident and at times if I may say so, almost arrogant in attitude. But yet their servility to the divine is nothing different from those not in possession of their virtues - if one can call them virtues.

The very big the affluent the VIP’s all have that similar look on their countenance when in the presence of the divine. It is here they realize that it is here that they shall have to subjugate themselves to a power they are not in charge of, or incapable of handling. It is the most humbling moment in the lives of these super humans and it is most comforting to see them in such demeanor.

The beauty of all this is the fact that they all fall in the same category - equal and devoted to that same being that shall give deliverance and blessing to them. They ask in this condition and seek what they have not to be given to them. In their work they do the opposite, and so the dichotomy of the moment sometimes gives me a moment to snigger perhaps, or just inwardly store all the visuals of these individuals - a contrast in attitude if ever there was one !!

These larger than life luminaries. These bosses of the modern world. These few these merry few, who live and exist through their accumen of business, who have all the answers to all that befalls them, who guide the destinies of millions of others … now suddenly sublimating themselves to a power that even they, are unable to contend with.

When there is so much that is unknown in the world, even those that seem to know, submit themselves to the force that remains unknown. I am not aware of what and where it is or what shape and size it possesses, but this I can say with certain confidence that since there is so much that shall remain unanswered in this universe, that we shall perforce have to understand that that which is unknown shall always invite respect.

I shall always respect the fact that there is much to know and believe and learn. But I shall also not disrespect those that think and have believed otherwise. There are strong arguments in favor of both, and if we are to live and exist in a realm which we are living in, in as democratic a manner as possible, then the opportunity to be given to both must be honored and believed. An atheist does not necessarily give reason to alienate him. It announces that the freedom to believe must be arbitrary and democratic. To each his or her own  but within certain parameters of society and the morals that we grew up with and accepted for our world.

My respect for those that believe … and my respect for those that do not ….

Love

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan to make Hollywood debut with The Great Gatsby

Amitabh Bachchan to make Hollywood debut with The Great Gatsby


Can it get any bigger than this? Ok, let's put it this way - Can it get any 'GREATER' than this? What you are about to read below is unquestionably the biggest and the greatest announcement coming out of our Indian Film Industry.

In what will go down as a defining moment in Indian cinema, the day we were patiently waiting for has arrived.

The Great Gatsby marks Amitabh Bachchan's first ever main stream Hollywood movie to be directed by the Oscar nominee Buz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge). Mr. Bachchan plays Meyer Wolfsheim - a Jewish man Gatsby describes as a gambler who had fixed the World Series. Wolfsheim is a clear allusion to Arnold Rothstein, a New York crime kingpin who was notoriously blamed for the Black Sox Scandal which tainted the 1919 World Series.

The Principal photography began this week on Warner Bros. Pictures' and Village Roadshow Pictures' The Great Gatsby. The film is a new big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel from the uniquely imaginative mind of writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann. The filmmaker will create his own distinctive visual interpretation of the classic story, bringing the period to life in a way that has never been seen before. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the title role.

The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.

Academy Award nominee DiCaprio (Blood Diamond, Aviator) plays Jay Gatsby, with Tobey Maguire starring as Nick Carraway; Joel Edgerton and Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan (An Education) as Tom and Daisy Buchanan; Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as Myrtle and George Wilson; and newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan will play the role of Meyer Wolfsheim.

Oscar nominee Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) directs the film in 3D from a screenplay co-written with frequent collaborator Craig Pearce, based on Fitzgerald's book. Luhrmann produces, along with Catherine Martin, Catherine Knapman, Lucy Fisher and Academy Award winner Douglas Wick (Gladiator). The executive producers are Barrie M. Osborne and Bruce Berman.

Two-time Academy Award-winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin (Moulin Rouge) also designs with the director. The editors are Jason Ballantine, Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond, and the director of photography is Simon Duggan.

Luhrmann said, "Fitzgerald loved the movies and was a passionate believer in the power of cinema. The Great Gatsby has been adapted for the screen no less than four times. Fitzgerald's story defies time and geography. The vision and the goal of our remarkable cast and creatives is to do justice to the deftness of Fitzgerald's telling, and illuminate its big ideas and humanity. This is our challenge and our adventure."

The Great Gatsby is being shot in Luhrmann's native Australia. The filmmaker stated, "The opportunity to make the film in Australia with the Bazmark creative team is very important to us; the assistance from Screen Australia and the NSW Government has made that possible."

The film will be distributed in 3D and 2D by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

Bollywood Hungama wishes Mr Amitabh Bachchan the best of the best in his debut Hollywood venture The Great Gatsby.

including today in particular for Shams, who celebrates her birthday tomorrow the 9th . Happy birthday Shams

Jalsa , Mumbai     Sept  8 , 2011      Thu  11 : 30 PM

Was to work today … cancellation .. and another off day to recover from ailment … but work just springs out of the woodwork and BAM ! .. before long we are in the thick of it, not knowing when it all began and when it shall end ..

Shobhaa De, the eminent writer and columnist, sent across a gentle lady to take my views on ’sanskaar’ and its power in the lives of us as Indians. How does one really begin to describe what ’sanskaar’ means to an audience that does not understand the language. I have no word for it in the language that you now read … I know that I was fortunate to have possessed the virtues of ’sanskaar’ from my family and I hope and pray that generations after me shall, within the family, continue with them.

I am asked how does one develop them, where did they go with the present generation, have we lost them in changing times, how important are they to us in our social standing. I have nowhere to go to explain such questioning. I have not deliberately been given lessons on the subject and neither has there been a concerted effort by anyone, particularly my parents and family, to formally teach me what this aspect of living was all about. But … I observed that when elders entered the room, the young stood up in respect. I observed that the heads of family and those that were given honor and pride of place were the ones that you with regard and servility, touched their feet for their blessings. In a restaurant with my Mother for coffee, I was corrected by her when I stared at an outsider unknown, with more than deliberate intent. A fleeting glance was considered a more aesthetic manner of behavior. I noticed that the ‘ji’ was to be more respectful than a ‘tu’ .. though in some languages of the country the ‘tu’ is considered a more endearing term.

Opening doors for ladies, ushering them on before you, pulling out their chairs and seating them at tables, sitting down after they were seated .. were perhaps more to do with manners and perhaps a kind of discipline that we were initiated into, but does it come under the realm of ’sanskaar’ …? I wonder !

A well mannered attitude was considered as possessing a good ’sanskaar’. How one behaved in public, how one delivered within the morals of agreeable society, was more to do with ‘in possession of good sanskaar’.

I cannot put my finger to a moment when I was taught it - sanskaar ! It was something that simply one acquired over time. Something that was unspoken and unsaid yet said and spoken of. You either had it or you did not. If I am responding to the sms or messages on the mobile and the laptop with a certain degree of promptness, it may not be considered as an act of correctness and discipline, but certainly would go down in the mind of the receiver as an act that emanates from ‘achche sanskaar’.

If I have spoken or written about incidents that have been memorable and of relevance to me in this blog, and they have found some patronage among a few, it is not coming from ’sanskaar’. It is what I picked up from my Father or Mother as a lesson to learn from. To equate it to ’sanskaar’ would not entirely be correct. That I have felt the lesson important enough to work by it and abide with it, could well be termed as one that has a certain ’sanskaar’.

There is however a concern about the changing trends in our society. The oft repeated refrain is, that this generation has not kept up the ’sanskaar’ they should have. Maybe maybe not. Each generation has its own view point and morals and methods of what it thinks to be morally right. They may not agree with mine, but I would, if ever I were to be confronted, give reasonable license to cover the decade change that we have now come to accept. Provided those that asked for it came forward for it in the spirit of understanding and more importantly understood the lasting fact that liberations in behavior does not give them the license to compromise with their ’sanskaar’.

There may be reasonable argument against this as well. Fair enough. But that is the precise understanding that I talk of. Each parent may have a different point of view. And if they are liberal enough to accept the natural change in the decade, then they must also accept the natural exigencies that may occur with the generation that has just stepped into a world where they may not be too willing to accept what has remained with them in the past. Change is a natural equation for progress and development. Not just in the material sense, but also in the manner in which life conducts itself. Yes the youth shall bring about another aspect and we must learn to respect that, but within the boundaries of a ’sanskaar’ that was imbedded in us as the young. Those shall remain - should remain !!

You are polite and generous to the contestants that arrive on the HotSeat in KBC ! Yes I am ! I am so because to me my little technologically proficient region of the KBC set is my home. When you come and sit by me you have entered my home and I shall treat you with the politeness and generosity that I would any other that would come to Jalsa. This is not habit or good manners, well maybe it is, but ideally it would be referred to as being in possession of good ’sanskaar’.

My genetic body tells me to rest now … my mind wishes to stay back with you …’sanskaar’ does not come in here. But if I were to end today by not acknowledging your presence and wishing you well, it would go down as not ‘having good sanskaar’ …

Good night then and may all of you be safe and well looked after … including today in particular for Shams, who celebrates her birthday tomorrow the 9th . Happy birthday Shams … and may you continue to be your delightful self as ever !!! Love

Amitabh Bachchan