In times of the new breed cinema spanning Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan continues to hold his ground. He still continues to be a superstar above the others, and recognised as the best actor ever; surpassing every genre in the creative cinematic scene in India.

Keeping with his sixty second birthday (Oct 11), Sony Max (TV Channel) is currently celebrating Amitabh Bachchan Film Festival. The remaining films are from Monday , 11- 10 -2004 upto 15 -10 -2004. It will show on 11 -10 Trishul , 12 -10 Satte Pe Satta , on 13 -10 Mukaddar Ka Sikandar ,14-10 Kabhi Kabhi , and on 15-10 Kaliya. The shows will commence from 5 p.m. everyday. Amitabh Bachchan is the most famous and successful actor that Bollywood (the Indian Hollywood) has ever seen. And he continues to be strong even when he is past 60 years of age. He still attracts packed audience for his acting skills.

Amitabh Bachchan has gained a stature of a brand so that his name sells. His previous films have not faded from public memory over the years and have not become old and are still a crowd puller. These films that are two-three decades old are still refreshing to watch. I have not forgotten the long queues snaking outside the gates of the cinema halls and public struggling at the ticket windows for the tickets of those films in the past. Public coming for one show would have to wait for the next show for a ticket for his films. The generation which has grown after AB films, have equal craze for his films as for those who have reached the age of fifties and sixties at present.

He has seen ups and downs in his life. But he is going strong even at the age of sixty plus. It is said that his rise is due to the sapphire that his father poet Bachchan had given to him. There is a history of that sapphire. One day poet Bachchan, when he was a professor of English in Allahabad University, went to Dr. Amarnath Jha, then VC of Allahabad University. Dr. Jha asked Bachchan to buy a gem as some dealer of gem was present there. Bachchan was a man of very meagre means. He was reluctant. But another Professor who was present there came to his rescue. Bachchan liked the sapphire. That same stone adorns the finger of Big B and it is said that the same is the reason for his meteoric rise in his acting career. Today even temples have been built to worship him and Madam Tussod has built his wax statue in her gallery, the most prestigious event that many famous people desire.

Is it not wonderful that a sapphire can do such wonder. Of course nobody can deny his extraordinary talent. Amitabh says that if he gets what he wants , he feels good and if he doesnot get what he wants ,he still feels better. I do not know that he is speaking the truth about the second part of the statement because nobody feels better if one doesn’t get what one wants. He has achieved whatever a man can possibly achive in his life, riches, fame,national and international stature and what not. He may say so at this stage. But it is not so with ordinary common people who is struggling everyday for his living and to meet their bare necessities.

You cannot know the truth in the mind of the people because it is the darkest zone of a person and deeper you go it even more darker. Mind has shades of grey and is never in black or white. It is said that Fyodor Dostoyevsky was the only literateur to have explored the extreme dark side of the human mind. Psychologists and Scinetists continue to work for unravelling the mysteries of the mind, yet they have not been able to do so with any ease. The mysteries of the mind continues to provide fodder to writers, film-makers, scientists and others. Now-a-days the psychological aspects of war has become even more important than fighting the real war. Media, television, internet, all these continue to impact the mind and mesmerise humanity in their daily existence, thereby shaping values, ideas and opinions.

In many of his films Amitabh has done the role of a criminal - smuggler etc. However it is the values of those characters for which they stood coupled with his acting skills that have made those films evergreen. These films I understand would continue to entertain and enlighten people for long. His most famous films however continue to be Sholay, Deewar, Janjeer and Silsila - of which Deewar has already been shown. In these times of Bend it with Beckham, Hyderabad Blues, and Bride and Prejudice, the Big B’s mystic continues both on the big and the small screen, and he continues to charm and entertain the movie buffs all over India.

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