I would like to clarify that I am not a star-struck, silly, Bollywood loving girl who will defend each aspect of it till my last dying breath. I would be the first to take a look at all the problems and mistakes that it has and the stars associated make.
I am also not a die-hard Amitabh Bachchan fan who can see him do no wrong, however, what I will admire and respect him forever is his level of professionalism. This article is not about ‘Amitabh Bachchan: The Star’, instead, it is about him being a thorough and crazy professional with a level of work ethic which I am in such mad awe of that it scares me if I can ever reach that high pinnacle of competence and dedication in my own area of work.
Let us take a look at some incidents that prove exactly what kind of a professional he is:
1. Recording a rap song at 3.30 am
Amitabh Bachchan recently posted this interesting clip of him recording a rap song at 3.30 am in the morning for his upcoming film 102 Not Out. His enthusiasm, nuances and quirks that he shows in this video especially at his age of 75 is just bewildering.
The fact that even with no experience in rap style of singing he is still working hard at such a late hour and producing such results where he could almost give a run to some of the best rappers is something to take note of.
2. Asking/Begging Yash Chopra For Work
In an excerpt from the book Excellence: The Amitabh Bachchan Way by Virender Kapoor, as well as in 2016, for India Today’s Unforgettables segment when Ranbir Kapoor interviewed Amitabh Bachchan taking a look at the financial problems that ABCL brought about, it got known that he eventually went to Yash Chopra to ask for work, and that is how he got his part in Mohabbatein.
When Ranbir asked him whether asking for a job hurt his ego, Amitabh said, “I have never been able to understand what ego is, so it’s ok with me. If I don’t have a job, I will go and tell somebody and if I need a job, I will ask for it.”
I am still stunned and bowled over by his respect towards his profession and that he went to ask for work from Yash Chopra and did not feel small or undignified in doing so, being the mega superstar he has always been. There was no I’m Amitabh Bachchan the superstar of Bollywood, I won’t ask for work kind of usual narcissism that stars have.
This kind of passion towards his work is a virtue that I want to adopt, when in today’s time we see little kids come with so much arrogance in the working sector that rather than requesting for work they are happy to sit jobless and wait for their dream job to come to them without them doing anything.
He also agreed to do KBC at a time when television was considered to be much below the silver screen and an actor’s career was thought to be finished if they went to work in TV.
But instead, Bachchan turned it around and not only skyrocketed his show to an unprecedented success but also set the wheels in motion for other big stars to come to TV.
I till date remind myself of this example when I need to imbibe humility at work.
3. When He Relentlessly Shot For Pink
This is coming from a personal experience and as the last example as to why exactly I revere his work ethics.
For his 2016 film Pink, they shot a few sequences in Delhi, one of them being in the Hauz Khas main market. I happened to be there at that time and due to them closing the roads for that section, I had a front-row seat to the entire shoot.
I was able to see for myself how professional Senior Bachchan was, from arriving to the set before anyone else, to not taking any breaks even while the camera was off and they were adjusting the lighting and other equipment, but how he rather continually worked on bettering his shots.
Unlike others, he did not go back to his vanity, instead choose to sit there in the director’s chair and go over his script, rehearse and get his dialogues right.
I also got to see exactly how easy it became for the director to work with such an actor and truly, he deserves to be called one of the easiest actors to work with because of his ability to give single take or no retake shots with his co-stars having to pull up their socks.
Having taken a look at his impressive professionalism, I often wonder what prompts him to be so eccentric on social media. We recently also did an article on the eccentric social media behaviour of bachchan (read it here: Why Is Amitabh Bachchan Behaving So Erratic On Twitter Lately)
Apart from all these trivial eccentricities, the latest communication from him which actually made me write this article is when he posted a blog about how it was unfair that due to the Copyright Act of 1957 he would only have ownership of his father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan up to 60 years after his death.
And some lines jumped out to me due to how loud they were like,
so who designed 60 years ? why 60 why not 61, or why not perpetuity !!
inheritors that come as natural heirs be natural right holders of creative copyright .. right .. but after 60 years its natural inheritors, after the passing, the heirs become the public at large .. ehh ..?
RUBBISH .. !
I OPPOSE, DISAGREE, LAMENT, DISPUTE, BE IN VARIANCE OF, IN VEHEMENT LOUD SCREAMS OF VOICE .. EVER
my inheritance be mine .. not another’s after the passing of its stipulated time in years .. 60 .. i am genetically my Father’s son .. he be willed to me of all that be in asset of his .. his writings be his .. his heir be me .. his writings be mine .. MINE ! i shall not and will not allow its dilution to general public ..
NEVER NEVER NEVER .. !!!!
One thing I am unable to understand is exactly what happened to make him react so loudly to the Copyright Act, since 60 years is a pretty long time to have ownership of something you hold dear to you.
So mathematically speaking, Bachchan who is 75 years old right now, still has 45 years of ownership over his father’s works who passed away in 2003. Even if Big B lives up to a 100 years old (hopefully more), he would still have an extra 25 years of exclusive rights.
Then what exactly is the problem that prompted this blog post? Is a publishing agency threatening to take away his father’s works? Or is the government asking for it? What?
A thought that could explain his behaviour could be narcissism related to old age and how he is coming down from the hype he’s enjoyed for all these years. And though he’s still working at this age and still receives love, respect, awards, and honours, it is concerning to see how probably, and we are just speculating, his age might be leading him to think only about himself and seem so self centred in his online behaviour.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: YouTube, NDTV, The Economic Times
Other Recommendations:
http://edtimes.in/2017/12/amitabh-bachchan-stepped-on-others-to-move-ahead-in-his-career-high-time-we-talk-about-it/
