The film may have polarised audiences but there’s no denying that even those who didn’t like Shamitabh have come out blown away by the performances.
Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush are the life and blood of the film as friends turned adversaries. They play opposites in many ways. For those who haven’t seen the film yet, suffice it to say that Amitabh Bachchan is the voice of the film, and Dhanush, the soul.
“One has something which the other doesn’t,” says Bachchan talking about the film. “The other has something which this one hasn’t. A girl who observes this gets them together… Because she feels that if they were to come together, they would make a lot of success. But once success is achieved, then ego comes in and how one feels that the other can’t do without him and the other feels that he doesn’t need this one. And that’s how the conflict arises. That’s what the story is about.”
Seems like a tailor-made role for the man known for his voice. In fact, Amitabh used to be the biggest ambassador for dubbing, but he says that has changed now.
“Contrarily, now I feel that… if there’s a particular kind of scene that’s emotional, then sync sound is more preferred and there are many times that I have requested the director or producer that: Let me not dub this. Can you make an arrangement where we don’t have to dub this? Particularly in an emotional scene, it’s difficult to recreate that emotion in a closed atmosphere when you are just alone with a microphone. It’s tough. So there are many occasions when I have put it aside and gone in for sync sound. It brings in a lot of reality. However, having said that, there have been occasions in the past when you watch a performance after the shoot and you realise you could improve on it, and therefore in the dubbing, you make that happen.”
What does he prefer personally?
“I think sync sound is fine with me. But yes, if there are portions after doing the sync sound, which I feel I can do to improve the quality, not just the sound but from the performance as well, I would request the director (to dub).”
In the past, Amitabh and Rajinikanth would star in remakes of each other’s films. But, over the years, their choices have been very different. While Rajini has cut down on the number of films and continues to play the leading man, Bachchan has been content sharing screen space with other younger actors.
“Obviously, I can’t compare myself to Rajini because he’s huge. But this is his personal choice, of course. And God bless him for that because he’s still able to pull it off.”
They still follow each other’s careers, though, says Amitabh, “He’s still a dear friend of mine. We see each other’s films. We talk about many things.”
In many ways, R. Balki’s Shamitabh is an ode to the world of cinema, he says.
“What Balki has tried to convey… is to weave a wonderful story of what cinema means to all of us. ‘ Isshq E Fillum, Junoon E Fillum, Hai Dard Fillum, Dawa Hai Fillum …’ as the song goes in Shamitabh . Life, love and conflict… This is all part of life, but it’s also part of cinema. And I think to weave a story in that philosophy is beautifully done.”
You would think Amitabh has done it all but he disagrees.
“I haven’t done it all,” he says. “I hope that there are many more films and opportunities. I work in films. That’s all I do. So I am happy doing that. And I hope I keep getting work because that’s all I know.”
Why does he want to work, I prod.
“I have to do something for a living. This is what I know. Or profess to know. I still can’t say I know everything about it. Every day is a new learning graph. Everyday there is a need, there is a desire to know how we can improve what we have done in the past and have people to challenge you with exciting roles and situations which you may not have been conversant with earlier on.”
While KBC was a huge success, the fiction series Yudh didn’t quite work, he admits.
“Many people advised me not to do TV before KBC , they said I’m committing hara-kiri by doing this but it worked. Then I did Yudh which didn’t work. But I think it’s all work in process,” he adds ruling out further seasons of Yudh . “But I would want to continue doing something like that.”
