‘B Man is raw and real & unlike today’s stars’

By Ram Gopal Varma

On May 11, 1973, Amitabh Bachchan exploded like a bomb in the minds of audiences watching Zanjeer across the country. Whatever language they spoke -- Hindi, Telugu, Tamil -- it did not matter because they just connected to the intense emotions he communicated through his voice and eyes.

As I looked at the faces of people sitting in the theatre, I could see a tremendous sense of awe, admiration, respect and, above all, a connection. Everyone wanted a father or a brother or a friend like him.

Volumes have been spoken and written about Amitabh Bachchan, yet I still think his unimaginable impact not only on cinema but also on the conscience of generations of filmgoers has not been documented enough. I have seen street goondas emulating him during my college days; today's gangsters are equally awestruck by his intensity.

Women used to swoon over his romances then; today they want a life partner only like him. Old people then wanted a son like him; today they see their own life reflected through his performances. The resume of today’s stars and technicians is not complete unless they do at least one film with him.

The B Man is raw and real and unlike today’s stars. He never hid behind massive production values, item songs or exotic foreign locales. Pick any man off the street anywhere, and he will come up with hundreds of his favourite Bachchan scenes and dialogues.

In my several meetings with him, I got to see a different side of him. Behind the obvious power and intensity was a sensitivity and vulnerability. Listening to his thoughts made me see his tremendous understanding of human emotions. I realised that he doesn't act at all. He just feels it. Period. The effect of Sarkar’s performance shook up many primarily because of the shock value of seeing Amitji in such a high-intensity role after a very long time. Though he can essay any kind of a role, power is what people love him for. Subhash Nagre spelt power.

Anyone can dip into the ocean of the B Man and come out with their own flavour. The likes of Karan Johar can draw out a bucket of Kabhi Kabhie or a Silsila, and I might draw out from Deewar and Zanjeer. But that’s what sublimal art is about. You can take whatever you want from it and interpret it in any which way you want.

The B Man is an artiste who like water will allow himself to be conformed, adapted and shaped in any way one wants to mould him, and the final result he will leave in the hands of the director he is working with.

Speaking of water, it was Bruce Lee who said: "One should be like water, gentle and soft but holding within it the power of a typhoon or a tsunami." However harsh this sounds, I’m actually glad that super-muscled epitome of physical fitness died at the young age of 32, because no way in hell would I want to see a 75-year-old Bruce Lee.

But you, B Man, just keep getting better and better. At 75 you are even more effective than you were at 32. Happy Birthday Sarkar. More and more power to you.

(As told to Meena Iyer)