It matters not what time may have in store for you

Jalsa , Mumbai              Sept 15/16 ,  2011                    Thu/Fri  2 : 31 AM

It matters not what time may have in store for you .. it matters what you have stored for time ..

It matters not whether you shall be deprived of sleep at this late hour of closing ..

It matters more that there shall be many that shall anxiously wait to not be deprived of a post ..

I may seem philosophical and somewhat insane, but it is the insanity of beings that brings us life .. life to live to work to share and to deliver in the end, with commitment hope and sincerity. I shall always wish that I shall have sufficient strength to be able to live up to all three. But even if a singular were to be taken into account, I would feel satisfied. Yes I do read comment that I work too hard. Hard work is difficult to describe. I am at a loss to describe my feelings when I hear the immaturity of comments which state ‘how hard they have been working’ ! How does one really measure or gauge what ‘hard’ denotes. Does ‘hard’ have points written on it or percentages that determine for us the degree or measure of what they represent. I would tend to side with a ‘no’. Then how does one gauge ? It cannot. Because ‘hard’ is subjective and shall differ from each. Each individual shall have his or her own recognition of the abstract ‘hard’. I loathe it when I hear expressions of ‘the amount of hard work put in’. Its rubbish for me ! When you express the amount of hard work you are doing, you have given it a measure. That for me is ridiculous, because hard work is one that cannot be measured or mapped or given points for. Yes I begin my day from 6 in the morning and its getting close to almost 3 now. It shall mean in a few hours that there has been work for an entire 24 hours ! So … would you describe this as ‘hard’. And if yes could you also give reasons for it. Your yardstick shall never match mine ! And I am happy that it never shall. We all present ourselves with similar yard sticks which determine for us, what our measure for individual act is. Indeed the very fact that you have desire to measure work, is defeatist in my opinion. If you have the capacity to define your work then you are quite unconsciously providing it limit. I disagree most strongly with the notion, that there can be a limit to work. And that ladies and gentlemen is the reason for my attitude.

My body or my situation could limit my ability to work. But that in no way is a yardstick to work. Work is constant. Or perhaps not constant at all, depending on how you wish to look at it.

‘Man shall sweat and work for his bread. Women shall bear child in pain.’ It has been ordained and it shall remain. And not a single element of the universe shall have the capacity to change this idiom. So help me the maker and creator of this universe.

We are all lost in expression for that which beholds us … until we overcome this hurdle we shall remain subservient and perhaps lost …

I am too … lost in manner and mood .. and who knows in indescribable work !!

Amitabh Bachchan

The first day of any film shoot is the most terrifying experience ever

Jalsa , Mumbai          Sept 12 ,  2011             Mon 10:00 PM

The first day of any film shoot is the most terrifying experience ever ..!! And i wonder if there are other colleagues of mine that face similar sentiment .. I am certain there are many !! Its such a peculiar feel .. I mean even though this is the 6th film with RGV, its never as though there is some comfort in that .. its always .. a fresh character, a new environment from the story point of view, a new set of assistants and crew .. fresh and new colleagues … and just no satisfaction in whatever is being done .. and by the end of the day, you come home destroyed with the thought of a most futile effort at the sets ..

So I have just sent an sms to my director friend … no … not to say that I do not wish to work in the project because I am not getting it right, but to tell him how we could possibly improve or redo or some such thing to ease off this horrid feel of incompetence …. so I actually did that and while I was writing this he has replied and … well … I shall have to wait for the film to release to be able to share or disclose what exactly he had to say .. but … this I must say .. that there is a new kind of technology that RGV is using in this film and its revolutionary …

There are no lights or cutters or filters or screens of reflectors … and … hold … there is no traditional camera either… yaaa .. its just natural lights whatever is available and … no DOP .. thats Director of Photography. Its just a bunch of guys holding digital 5D cameras, which really are normal still photography cameras, and they are being maneuvered randomly from different positions and angles by six or seven youngsters, moving about in as normal a manner as possible, without coming i the way of the artists as they perform… its .. what can I say .. a most unique methodology ..

I have always felt that … and this I can say for myself only .. whenever I have rehearsed in the solitary confines of my room or van, the results have been far far better than when the camera starts to roll.

Here .. today, in front of all these new cameras, the feel is as though you are not working for a camera per se, but almost in real time with a real situation .. I mean the feel is just unimaginable !! This is fascinating and some of the instant results that one gets to see in these situations is just incredible !!

So .. it is quite possible that a sense that prevails in normal shooting conditions, because it does not prevail here, is why I may be feeling despondent .. So, my director just tells me … And I have no answer for it but to believe him and move on .. !!!

But … and sorry to keep getting back to the shoot .. the feeling of this experience is quite quite remarkable. No typical instructions on set, no commands of ‘lights, start sound, camera, clap, action’ .. nothing. You just keep doing what you have to do, even while rehearsing and the cameras, almost unseen are recording all and in a couple of days shall be edited and put up before us to reckon whether what we did was just or not …

A new film a new character a new environment and … a new technology !!! I am blessed to have the opportunity to be alive and working when I can be at the other end of an invention, a trend that shall hopefully bring about a change in the way we work or have been working till date …

I fear I was too apprehensive when I started, but feel much the better now and indeed more hopeful than just lamenting the fact that I have gone horribly wrong …

Okkaaayyyy … so this is a new film and one in which I am doing a friendly appearance for some days and that shall be it … More on this as we proceed but suffice to say that todays first day was full of apprehension, but different …

The shoot was conducted in a studio, which must have been a part of an Industrial Estate, tucked away behind commercial structures and most unlike regular floors in a studio complex. It is a structure bang opposite what was once Mohan Studios, a most remarkable location where we spent most of our early years with Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Prakash Mehra on films like Anand, Parvana, Guddi, Chupke Chupke, Abhiman, NamakHaram, Mili, Alaap, Jurmana, Bemisal, Kalia, Muquaddar ka Sikander and gosh just an endless list of fantastic times with some of the most accomplished directors of our time. The great Bimal Roy shot most of his films at Mohan Studios … !!!

What a location … lost today to the concrete commercialisation of the city. It has now grown huge skyscrapers on and about it and has buried in its deep basements the dynamic artistry of great film makers and technicians and artists. What an end to such talented creativity ..!! The scourge of most artists and their genius the world over .. from time immemorial .. !!!

Good Night !

Amitabh Bachchan

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