Benito Z.Swu
If there is anyone in bollywood today whose shoe is not bigger than his feet, it is Amitabh Bachchan. His longevity in the fantasy world of filmdom is legendary, and this can be attributed directly to his connect with his roots and reality. His close shave with death on the set of the film ‘Coolie’ reinforced his belief on the fickle nature of human life, and therefore to value life. His foray into politics at the behest of his friend Rajiv Gandhi was a learning curve because he realized that no man can serve two masters. It was either showbiz or politics, and he knew it was the former.
Amitabh Bachchan also forayed into the cutthroat business world of corporations by floating his own company, the ABCL, without realizing that he could not expect that integrity needed from his managers and executives. Bankrupt he emerged, but having learned the life lessons that came his way.
On the immediate family front too, it was not all smooth sailing. Divergent views with his brother Ajitabh and sister-in-law did not deter him from living that life of truth and integrity. While many actors after giving a few hit films starts behaving like a magician who starts believing in his or her own tricks, Amitabh remained grounded. This helped him stay in good stead, and this is what is giving a run for their money to all the younger superstars of the hindi film kingdom. Superstar he is, as like the many Khans and Kapoors, but only he is the mega star. Neither does he flaunt, nor did he allow fame and riches to go to his head.
The versatility of his role playing the characters in films like Paa and Piku can only be seen to believe. Poor Abhishek Bachchan. Trying his best to atleast, to some little extent, live up to the father’s image is no mean task, and I, for one, sympathize with him. However, good for Abhishek, motivation and drive is never in short supply. And that is something which not everybody gets.
One aspect of Amitabh Bachchan that he has practically kept under wraps is his role as a philanthropist. He is never comfortable talking about it. It is just through the gratitude of the beneficiaries that this side of Amitabh gets revealed. Amitabh Bachchan is closely involved with NGOs which are working with the rehabilitation of farmers all over India. Quoting numbers and figures will be unfair because the philanthropist in Amitabh is multi faceted.
In the light of the many positivity that Amitabh Bachchan is to India, it indeed was cruel of the social media to even speculate that Amitabh took money for rendering the National Anthem before the start of the cricket match between India and Pakistan in the ongoing World T20 championship. It was the unkindest cut of all because when it comes to nationalism, AB’s place is in the top tier and it is not going to surprise anyone if he becomes the next President of India.
Sourav Ganguly, as the CAB boss, did the right thing to put to rest the unwarranted speculation, but such hitting below the belt does not actually even deserve a clarification when it comes to Amitabh Bachchan.
