Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, whose security cover was reduced recently, is not at all perturbed. He is also heartened at the growing recognition abroad for Indian cinema.In an exclusive interview with IANS the superstar said: “Governments do their own assessments. And their assessments say I don’t require security, or it needs to be scaled down. No problem. We’ve to go by their decision.”
On the professional front, Bachchan, who has just returned from the Toronto Film Festival, is happy. “To see Indian cinema getting this kind of recognition abroad is really quite fantastic.”
The superstar cannot make much of the “hullabaloo” over the remake of films. “Remakes are made all the time in the West. This is a free country, one can do what one wants, specially in the field of art. “Sholay” was a take on “The Magnificent Seven”, which itself was a remake of “Seven Samurai”.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: To have your security personnel reduced so suddenly must be disconcerting..
A: Not at all. It was given by the state at their initiative. It has now been withdrawn at their initiative. I’ve nothing to say on this matter.
Q: Your supporters feel the withdrawing of security is a sign of insecurity on the part of the government.
A: Who are these supporters? I don’t know about them.
Q: But it’s obvious you’re more of a vulnerable target without those security arrangements.
A: Obviously the state doesn’t think so. They’ve their own committees making their assessments. And their assessments say I don’t require security, or it needs to be scaled down. No problem. We’ve to go by their decision.
Q: You’ve just returned after a long stint abroad.
Q: How was their knowledge of Indian cinema?
A: The ratio of the western and Indian audience was equal. They quizzed us about the story, performances. It was great fun. Finally, Indian commercial escapist cinema, which faced so much cynicism and ridicule by Western evaluations is being acknowledged and appreciated. The kind of crowd that turned up, the mobbing and screaming in Toronto were far larger than anything we had seen. What can I say except, ‘Hello, this is Mumbai. Welcome to the Hindi film industry.’
Q: And now “Rang De Basanti” goes to the Oscars.
A: Yeah, this is great news. I’m happy for Rakeysh Mehra. It was a good concept, well executed, got a lot of acceptability within the country, almost became a cult film. You had youngsters emulating some of its good points. I think that’s fantastic.
Q: There’s a spate of remakes, a majority of them originally starring you.
A: It’s very complimentary to the films, not to me. It means people still identify with those films and think fondly of them. “Sholay”, “Don” or “Satte Pe Satta” are being remade not because I’m in them. But because people want to see the same stories again. “Don”, for example, is a fantastic script. Anyone would’ve succeeded with that. It could’ve starred anyone.
Q: Are you looking forward to seeing the new “Don”?
A: It’d be interesting to see how “Don” has shaped up. I see its promos and I am very excited by their slickness. I’m excited by how it’s going to turn out. I’m going to start “Sholay” in a week’s time. I’m fascinated by Ramu’s interpretation of the script.
Q: Are you in favour of remakes?
A: Why not? Why’s such a hullabaloo being made about remakes? It’s done all the time in the West. This is a free country, one can do what one wants, specially in the field of art. “Sholay” was a take on “The Magnificent Seven” which was a remake of “Seven Samurai”. A remake is a compliment to the original and truly a challenge to the ones who’re doing the remake. They’ve to prove there was room for a remake.
Q: But do we need them?
A: Sanjay Leela Bhansali made “Devdas”. It was the fourth take on the same story. And he got his due praise. So why are we so sceptical of remakes? It’s just a homage to the calibre of the earlier films.
Q: Yes but the remakes in Mumbai are almost all of your films.
A: Well…that’s fine. It doesn’t matter who’s in the film. We must make up our minds about what we want from our filmmakers. When they adapt Hollywood films they’re condemned. When they’re now remaking our own films they’re being questioned.
Q: Why not more original films like “Rang De Basanti”, “Khosla Ka Ghosla” and “Dor”?
A: Somewhere down the line these films may be made, who knows?
Q: You sound truly galvanized.
A: The development in technique and talent just bowls you over. I’m specially excited by the enormous bunch of new filmmakers and technicians. Ah! It’s a wonderful time to be in Hindi movies.
Q: Your birthday is round the corner?
A: Right now my thoughts are with my mother who’s in the hospital. I can’t think of celebrations now. No birthday.
