Thursday, March 15, 2012

Shoojit Sircar to release documentary on Big B

Shoojit Sircar to release documentary on Big B

Mumbai: Director Shoojit Sircar is putting together a documentary on Amitabh Bachchan, which he says reveals the megastar in moods never seen before. The film is based on the extensive tours of Gujarat that the director undertook with Big B, the brand ambassador of the state while shooting 14 films promoting the state tourism.

"Mr. Bachchan and I travelled to nearly 25 towns cities and villages of Gujarat to shoot these films. Initially, I was excited by seeing facets of Gujarat that I had never seen before," said Sircar known for his directorial debut 'Yahaan'.

Shoojit Sircar to release documentary on Big B

"Then I realised I was traveling across Gujarat with the coolest co-traveller in the world. Mr. Bachchan's energy level, his poise in front of 50-60,000 fans and most important of all, his inner tranquility in those rare moments when he was without hordes of people staring, cheering, demanding his time...I was simply blown away by the way he approaches life and people," he added.

Luckily Sircar, who made the unreleased "Johnny Mastana" with Amitabh, shot ample footage of him and these are now being put together in what promises to be a rare insight into the heart mind and soul of India's greatest actor.

The footage would be accompanied by reflections from the Big B's personal diary.
"We shot the 14 films for Gujarat tourism in five phases, the architecture of Gujarat, the Buddhist culture (which no one knows about), the handicrafts, the religious rituals and the festivals," he said.

"In Ahmedabad when we shot the kite-flying ceremony, he (Big B) was surrounded by 50,000 people and still jumped right into the milling crowds without a fear. In a remote part of Gujarat Mr. Bachchan drove a phat-phatiya (three wheeler) with a bunch of villagers...He hopped onto a bike and drove down a highway...It was an amazing experience."
The most heart-in-the-mouth moment, captured in the documentary, was when Amitabh insisted on going into a 300-feet deep well.
"We wanted to shoot one of the deepest wells in the country. Mr. Bachchan suggested he climb down to show just how deep it is. We thought he was joking. But no. He actually went down the iron pegs inside the well right down to where even the camera couldn't see him," said Sircar.

Rumours rife on Twitter about 'Beti B' being named Aaradhya

Rumours rife on Twitter about 'Beti B' being named Aaradhya

The newest entrant in the Bachchan family, nicknamed as Beti B, has send the media and fans into a tizzy following reports that she has been finally christened as 'Aaradhya'.

Fans on Twitter were abuzz with rumours about Bollywood star couple, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's daughter finally getting a name yesterday, after four months of her birth. But megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his family has neither officially confirmed nor denied it, keeping the guessing game on.

A user posted on Twitter, "Trending in India, other than the rail budget is #Aaradhya Bachchan. Yeah the kid got a name, finally."

"The Bachchans did well naming their daughter Aaradhya. With a 'aa' name she'll be on top of most alphabetical lists," said another user.

A joke went as, "2033 Breaking News: Karan Johar to launch Azad Rao Khan and Aaradhya Bachchan as lead pair in 'Oi Tweetiye!'. Music by debutant Alim Rahman."

"What will Aaradhya learn first -- KBC or ABC?," another said.

Ever since the reports of Aishwarya's pregnancy came out, gossip mongers were engaged in all sorts of guess works on whether it would be a boy or a girl for the Bachchan family.

Then after Aishwarya delivered a baby girl, there were talks of photos of little one getting leaked online.

Also, grapevine said that American talk show host Oprah Winfrey would reveal the picture and name on the daughter on her talk show. Later, various names like Aaliya and Abhilasha started doing the rounds following which father Abhishek Bachchan recently confirmed that they have zeroed in on a name for their daughter.

Abhishek had clarified that the baby girl was not named Aaliya and that the picture of his daughter would not be 'revealed'. And that one can catch a glimpse of her when she naturally begins to go out.

According to him, releasing a picture of his daughter and making it an event is rather a pompous thing to do.

Earlier, when superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek had held a press conference after the baby girl was born, they had said, "There would be no naming ceremony for the baby, as the families don't believe in naamkaran."

The Bachchans have been fiercely protective of the latest member of the family ever since Aishwarya gave birth to a girl on November 16 last year.

Haunting lines from Julius Caesar by Shakespeare

Jalsa , Mumbai             Mar 14 , 2012           Wed  11 : 45 PM

  

" Beware the ides of March"

" The ides of March have come "

" Aye Caesar, but not gone " !!

 

Haunting lines from Julius Caesar by Shakespeare .. remembered every time the 15th day of March approaches ..

The impact of great writing remains with us, the weak and the decrepit dissolve, never to be remembered. Why does it happen, one has not been able to find a scientific solution, but they do. The impact of its existence was perhaps because the modes of communication were never as acute as they be today. Perhaps the oft repeated, loses value and presence and if I may say, patience. Are we then in our need and desire for rapid information and far greater speed of rendering it, destroying value …

But surely value would be recognized if valued it was. Is the need to be able to depend so largely on Google as our encyclopedic mind robbing us of something larger. Do we have the time and intent to give space to what we feel transpires in our lives. Is the present need important enough for us to ignore what should be given greater value. I cannot say. I am not this generation. And if I did show concern would it be a laughing matter. I cannot say this either. People and purists ask often if we are fast losing our values and ages old culture. I honestly cannot say. What may seem debasing to me, could be the highest point in another's life. And it is quite probable that I shall find myself in minority here. Debased minority is an area of confusion in today's times – it may never have voice. Or not enough voice to withstand the majority that enjoys what we may think to be debasing. Majority succeeds in all modes of life. Once painted with success, it would be nigh impossible to taint it – if we were to take an extreme step. But we dare not ! Its consequences would be far too severe to bear. So, one languishes in minority and dissatisfaction ..

 

We spoke of religion the other day on this platform, and a dear friend made some very pertinent remarks. I have sought permission to put it up here, and while it takes time for that to come I cannot but resist the temptation of posting the thoughts here tonight. I hope and pray that they shall not mind its presence, even though it was meant for me in a personal capacity .

 

"Equally, there is much of value, as you say, in religious texts. But not wholly so. Most religions and their texts have perpetuated the injustices of their birth: the prejudices, vagaries of diet – the general peculiarities of their writers – and chaotic historical incident of their times. The iniquity and cruelty of caste, misogyny, slavery, violence, domination – all these things are there too in these texts."

"The point is that everything is in the texts. Both good and bad. We have absolutely no choice but to read them embodied in our own selves, with compassion, generosity, critical judgement and condemnation. That is wisdom, the realisation that wisdom cannot ultimately be lent, borrowed, given, taken from others. The wisdom of others is the greatest blessing we have in the world, that it can act as partial guide to our own singular pursuit. But ultimately it is singular: we must strive for it alone, we can only search for it alone, and then we cannot hope that it will be there ever to be found. It is simply the striving and searching, without hope of its gain, that is our life's pursuit, and one of solitude. Your father's striving for wisdom will bring great guidance, but his striving for wisdom and yours must be, by the very nature of our singularity as human beings, forever separate and different."

"How we eke out our lives in solitude and uncertainty, stumbling with reading between the lines, for all things, all names, are shorthand for what we cannot know. Your father's words are shorthand for the unknowable world inside of him. As are dreams, whereupon one might then see that all our shorthands are in the end only read well by ourselves, not by others – and even for ourselves, who knows what they mean? Consulting Freud in order to interpret our own dreams may be interesting for historical and cultural reasons, but it is nothing beyond someone else's suppositions over yours, Amitabh. One makes one's own meanings: when you consider your dreams, only then do they mean."

 

Simply wonderful and written with such depth and truth .. I loved the 'singularity pursuit', for in the end of it all we are but singular. I also liked the concept of the 'shorthand' .. it was such a novel way of portraying that which we may never ever know or feel or observe. There is a meeting point in the singular and the shorthand .. but put out with novelty of expression ..

I leave you to dwell on all this, with love ..

Good night …

Amitabh Bachchan