Greetings from the United Kingdom which as you may observe is where I have landed myself this morning BigB

London , U.K       May  16 ,  2011     Mon 10 : 56 AM

Greetings from the United Kingdom, which as you may observe is where I have landed myself this morning.. and which as you will observe in time will be where I shall be launching the Bachchan Bol Vog facility for the UK .. and which in time to come, perhaps not very long, about a month, shall initiate the possibility of connecting to my Vog worldwide … excited !!

This is me languishing on the floor of the photoshoot as per Avinash Gowariker’s very passionate appeal. He felt it would make a great picture, so there .. the dress id KBC, and yes its Rohit Bal .. so good and vibrant with his colors !!

Thats the Sunday crowd, just before boarding for London later in the night .. enthusiastic as ever and now even more so because of the platform I have had built to climb and be seen by those that come in at the back ..

This is kind courtesy the platform which I stand on so others at the back can get to see me. It does look like I have practiced some kind of weird Yogic levitation, does it not …

And here on the streets with the first print publicity of ‘Bbuddah - hoga tera baap’ ..

Bachchan Bol gets all geared up in the coming days. We launch this in the United Kingdom on the 18th of May. Its my Vog, or in simpler terms, my Voice Blog. Did any of you know how the word Blog came about ? Well it was WEB LOG first. Which was a description of something that was logged and retained on the web. So Web log. And then using the last letter ‘b’ from web and ‘log’ from the second word and Boom ! we have ‘lift off’…. BLOG !

The work on the finishing touches for ‘Bbuddah’ has begun in real earnest. Lots to do and times to be met. Release on July 1st is almost upon us and its that time of day when you begin to get all nervous and anxious for the finishing of the film in time. Being away from Mumbai is not a good idea, but what to do, these are commitments that go hand in hand with my work, so we get into it, delegate and hope that all moves well …

The grandchildren and Shweta are here, all grown up and adultish. Taller than I what I saw of them just some days back almost, and more leaner and mature. Such a joy to be with them and be able to converse and share conversation which I would with someone my age ! The kids of today are just not built to be kids. They move from the day of birth within a couple of months to adulthood !

I am keen to share the music from ‘Bbuddah’ with the EF, but need clearance from the music company, so do hold on to your horses for a while. There is a theme song for the film where Vishal and Shekhar have used what they call and what is internationally known as ‘Dub Beat’. Its been done for a Hindi film song for the first time and when you hear it on studio level speakers its like .. WHOAH !! Mix of Rock and Hard Rock, or whatever the terminology for it is .. apparently its very big overseas in the West .. so I am told !!

But really what has been most rewarding for me as an admirer of music has been the soft melodic number composed by the music duo - ‘Haale Dil’ .. they have asked me sing that and, horrid that I sound, I have to say that the tune and the melody and the words by Anvita are beautiful !

Also most rewarding has been a composition by V@S of Rabindranath Tagore’s legendary song written and tuned by him - ‘Ekla Cholo Re’, for a film by Sujoy Ghosh, my director of ‘Alladin’, has recorded for his film presently called ‘Kahani’ with Vidya Balan. It has been historic in its concept from the day it was originally composed by the great man, but to get a piece of it as an opportunity to sing it in a song has to be a moment to cherish forever. The quality of its composition and the words are just incredibly beautiful and it is only when you delve deeper into it that you realize the genius of the work. V@S have done a marvelous job with it and rendered it in a most unusual manner.

Ah !! So much to say and share and such little time to do so ..

But for the moment lets just concentrate on my visit here, its purpose and its great usage in connecting even closer to the fans and the extended family. More later … and much much more in the days to come …

My love as ever …

Amitabh Bachchan

Big B film in profits even before release

Big B film in profits even before release

Heard Amitabh Bachchan's Bbuddha, racing for a tentative July 1 or 8 release, is already in profit. A reliable trade source confirms that the film has been made at 10.2 crore.

"The post production on Bbuddha is happening at break neck speed. Amitabh has wrapped up his talkie portions and is said to be dubbing for it alongside Prakash Jha's Aarakshan that is due on August 12. And the satellite rights of the film have been sold reportedly at 14 crore! In other words, the film is a hit even before it hits the theatres."

Abhishek Bachchan, who is the producer, admits that the film has been made in the right budget. "It is a very sound investment," he says. So Big B's first box office hit of 2011 could well be on its way.

Amitabh Bachchan Akshay Kumar At Ragini MMS Premiere

And the day begins again after the night before .. a night filled with the essence

Jalsa , Mumbai  May 15, 2011       Sun  11 : 11 PM

And the day begins again after the night before .. a night filled with the essence, genius and remarkable wizardry of a poet and musician and philosopher and thinker - Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore ! It has been quite an experience to have been in such close connect with one who we heard and continue to revere. With one we knew of in his greatness, but never had opportunity to study and feel the depth and flow of his thought. What a large portion of my life has gone by and what a large portion of opportunity has flown by the river, without making any effort to read learn and assimilate the greats of the world. Truly disappointed and frustrated with myself in this lapse of effort and desire.

But as they say, there is never ever a time to regret a start ready to be made. So the endeavor shall begin and perhaps now the meaning and the depth that needed to be understood, shall be with us instead.

The earnestness with which we have now initiated the promotions for ‘Bbuddah’ shall hopefully bring in the desired attention and focus to a film made with passion and a lot of energy. There are links now available to access the promotions that are now available and I shall put them down here :

For the posters ..

Facebook page

www.facebook.com/Bbuddah

And for the teasers ..

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http://www.youtube.com/Bbuddahthemovie

I do hope that you shall give me your feed back ..

Another Sunday has gone by, but one which was devoted to constructive work on the post work of ‘Bbuddah’ and for it to be completed by certain time lines because the date for its release has now been desperately cued in for July 1st ..

The promotion of KBC starts simultaneously ans some very interesting stills and acts for the Av have been designed, shot and getting ready for telecast. For example as in the above ..

The Sunday crowds were there again and this as I was on my way back from dubbing some key scenes of ‘Bbuddah’ for the promo and its quite a day in the life of the Mumbaikar, for, he likes the idea of getting by the sea with his family, to beat the heat of the entire day. On their way back they drop by at a certain house called Jalsa, that just happens to be en route !!!

got to rush

Amitabh Bachchan

The day started at 6 am and has just ended

Jalsa , Mumbai   May  14/15,  2011        Sat/Sun  1 : 12 AM

The day started at 6 am and has just ended. There were promos to be shot for Kaun Banega Crorepati, since it goes on air soon. Perhaps by August as against the earlier year when it was in October/November. Its also of a longer duration this time around. Promos are the order of the day today, whether in film or Tv or any other communication venture. Its the promo that makes the difference. Gone are the days when we had faith and confidence in the product for it to speak for itself. Nope. As the young would say often these days. If you do not talk or sell it no one is interested. Marketing has opened up corporate offices where young entrepreneurs battle with circumstances and build plans on how a product a personality should be presented to the mass. A most exciting profession, but one that has never found favor with me, primarily because my sense of all this exalted jargon is miserably poor.

But in our modern era of film making its the ingredient of the promotion that decides for the audience which and what film they wish to see. I really do not think it to be improper at all. With the kind of exposure that entertainment through the various channels of communication, has brought to our homes, it would be most difficult to resist not going to a film, or conversely, deciding somewhat firmly which they would not want to see.

So the entire day was enveloped in shooting for the promos for KBC. In all about 15 to 20 of them were shot, along with Avinash Gowarikar’s still shoot. So you did a shot for the video, stepped down to the still, rushed down to the changing room, improvised in the corner of the floor, changed clothing and reported back for the next film. And this went on with each dress change … and there were quite a few. And when it was finally over drove straight across to Vishal and Shekhar’s studio to record a song for ‘Bbuddah’ and then … to execute a commitment to Sujoy Ghosh of ‘Alladin’ fame, by singing a portion of a song for his film ‘Kahani’, starring Vidya Balan.

One has and had heard ‘Ekla Cholo re’ a million times. Read and reread its words that oozed wisdom, strength, poetry and courage all at once, too. But may I just say that singing Rabindra Sangeet for the first time was the greatest revelation. The beauty of the language, the lyricism of the tune and its ‘dhun’ are outstanding. This particular, world famous number “Ekla Cholo” , expounding to all that if no one came to you on your calling, walk alone !! And what a fabulous song has been incorporated by V@S. Truly awesome and worthy of all award.

Singing for the track today you discover how inadequate you are to handle something created by Gurudev Tagore. Not just in words but also in its tune. It is by far one of the most unique compositions in the world of music. And being associated with it in some capacity has been nothing short of an honor.

While in the middle of the shoot, got a surprise visit from Deepika Paducone, who was shooting next door on another floor and dropped by to wish. She is such a warm person, and she was looking a million bucks. After the shoot of ‘Aarakshan’ she had gone to Tirupati and had very sweetly brought some ‘prasad’ for me and the family.

At the studio a while later, it was Vidya Balan who turned up along with Sujoy, who I think was showing her some rushes of the film they are doing together. Two leading ladies in one day !! That is quite remarkable ! Just got lucky I think ….

Somehow there is a most fulfilling feel to the day. I do not know what exactly is the reason. But I shall not put it beyond the Tagore song and its beauty. Simply so uplifting and …. difficult to find words to describe it !!

Amitabh Bachchan