Amitabh Bachchan on his Cannes debut and The Great Gatsby

One can’t possibly skip a question about your appearance at Cannes Film Festival this year. How was it to be present at the world’s most prestigious film festival with a Hollywood film?

I have been to Cannes earlier with Aishwarya (and the family as official guests),but this time I went there for The Great Gatsby,which was the opening film for the festival. Normally Cannes does not open the festival with a film that has already been released,but they made an exception (I don’t know the reason) for Gatsby,which had premiered in New York a week earlier. So it was nice.

Cannes is hugely popular; it has respect and regard in the film community worldwide. Apart from the ceremonial protocol that happens,there is a very huge market,which opens simultaneously. They have all kinds of distributors,stalls and a lot of commercial activity happens. They sell their films. It’s quite thrilling because even Indian films that don’t go to Indian markets have a huge presence in some of these markets.

We didn’t get to watch other films because our own schedule was so tight. There were many activities — press meets and conferences— that the cast and crew had to be involved in because there is a special kind of introduction for the film that is going to open the festival. I couldn’t even spend time with Aishwarya and the little one (Aaradhya) because she was landing the same day as I was leaving; I could barely meet them.

Our procedure this time was so full of protocol that we never really got to get out. The cast and crew were staying at Antibes,which is about half an hour from Cannes — it’s a beautiful place on the coast. All our activities were controlled minute by minute; all very systematic but I didn’t really get much time though some of the others stayed back because they were visiting other places—Monaco is just next door. I have been there before and because I was shooting,I had to come back.

Was there a lot of pressure to get into the right outfit?

No,none at all! I think it’s got a lot to do with the ladies because they represent a brand,which dresses them up and decorates them because whatever gets written about the actresses when they are on the red carpet,becomes some kind of an endorsement for the brand.

It has always amazed me as to why so many people are interested in this talk about what you are wearing (which is in our media as well now). (Laughs) You are wearing clothes,that’s it! It’s quite funny. You have entire magazines with these beautiful ladies of the film industry in different dresses with comments at the bottom—‘Don’t think the shoe is quite right but the skirt is right’.

Every little thing is being made a part of coverage in the media. It makes life very difficult for us because every time you step out of the gate,you can be sure there are going to be a billion cameras that are going to follow you. Everybody has a mobile that can take a photograph and send it to a million websites.

It has made us all very conscious of what we should wear every time we step out of the house. One is always careful to not wear those shoes again because they’ll go,‘He’s got this pair’. Big deal,I may have only one pair of shoes! What to do?! (smiles bemusedly)

You have been a part of several film festivals around the world,so what sets Cannes Film Festival apart from the rest?

I have been to Morocco. I have been to Toronto,which I think was for Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna that was invited/shown there; Shah Rukh (Khan) and Karan (Johar) were there too. I have been to Berlin around the time when Jaya (Bachchan) was the Chairman of the Children’s Film Society,which is in charge of all the children films that went from here to the festival; I happened to be in Europe at the same time so I dropped by for a couple of days.

I first went to Cannes for Cheeni Kum,it was one of the films invited to be shown there. Eros International had a stall there. It’s like opening your shop where you sell the wares. And because it’s such a large festival there is a large film community from all over the world,present in one city,one place at the same time. There is a lot of opportunity to meet people you’ve never met before and to exchange views. It’s a wonderful atmosphere. There are hotels and restaurants around the festival venue,all within say,50-60 yards of each other. It’s like a huge fair.

Variety magazine was rather complimentary in its praise of your role in Gatsby… Did you expect that?

That has been a bit of a surprise because it’s just a cameo,just a couple of seconds — it’s very difficult to expect anyone to kind of notice it,but when somebody comes up and talks to you about it and says nice things,it’s a little embarrassing because you haven’t really done much. I saw some of the interviews of Leonardo (Di Caprio) and Toby (Maguire) and they were all saying nice things. I think,they were just being nice (laughs). It was wonderful spending time with them. Even during the time of their shooting,they were all very normal people — very helpful,very co-operative and collaborative.

What was the best compliment that you received?

Once the shoot was over and we were all going home,Leonardo asked,‘You know,in the book there is this reference that Wolfsheim makes and I didn’t find that in the scene. Don’t you think it’s important for Wolfsheim to say that?’

And Baz (Luhrmann) says,‘Yeah,you are right but we deliberately kept it out because it would just be extending the scene.’ To which,Leonardo said,‘No,I think it’s nice,maybe we should keep it.’

For him,who is such a huge star in the universe,to suggest something for somebody who is just doing a couple of seconds just shows the involvement in the interest of the film and the character.

What swung the decision in Baz Luhrmann’s favour for you to agree to a cameo? Also,would you venture forth in another Hollywood film?

Baz Luhrmann just called and said,‘I know it’s not big enough Amitabh,but I want you to do this role.’ So I just did it as a friendly gesture. And if there are opportunities,something worthwhile,I will explore it.

Speaking of opportunities,tell us something about your forthcoming show based on social issues in the the fiction space on television.

Endemol came with a proposal which,in a sense,is initiated by me. This (television serial) is one area which I felt I wanted to explore. I have been wanting to do it for a long time,and I just felt that working in a television serial would be nice just for the experience of it,so I shared it with Endemol. And then I spoke to Anurag,who’d been wanting to do something of this nature for many years. In fact he had shot some initial portions,and he was very excited about doing this so that’s how we got together. Now that we have some kind of content in our hands,hopefully we will begin shooting in 10-15 days’ time. I don’t know when it’s going to be broadcast —that’s for Sony to decide. We just want to make it look as authentic as possible,bring in good production values and hope that it has the appreciation of the audience. It is very difficult to judge what the audience wants. You may have the best brains that say this is going to work or not going work,but it doesn’t always come out right. However,there is no harm in trying.

Films and television in particular are seen as huge influencers. So should they exercise greater care on matters like item numbers,risqué scenes and bawdy lyrics etc which are being cited as reasons for incidents such as rape?

One of the greatest values of Indian cinema has been that you get poetic justice in three hours of which we have spoken of many times before. And you and me will not get that in a lifetime perhaps,or several lifetimes. So irrespective of what we show,whether it is of negative quality,we do make sure that it is punished,and taken care of. When we sit in the darkened cinema hall,we never ask the caste,creed and culture of the person sitting next to us. You see the same film,laugh at the same jokes,cry at the same emotions and sing the same songs. In a world fast disintegrating with all kinds of problems,this is one institution that can integrate communities and I feel very proud to be a part of that. These are some of the better things that cinema does. Cinema is a 20th century phenomena,and to say that these problems didn’t exist before the 20th century and before cinema was born is unfair. Just because it is a popular medium,does not mean that you can put the entire blame on us.

As I said we have a Censor Board that corrects,deletes and bans. We don’t do our own censorship. We do take precautions in what we are doing and make sure we don’t cross barriers or limitations that our culture provides us. I talk about myself,because sometimes I feel I should not be speaking a certain kind of language or do intimate scenes,but that is my own,personal thought. Maybe,it isn’t with the younger generation. Today I see a lot of liberty in films and maybe that’s pretty normal. To suddenly put all the blame for what is going wrong with society and culture on cinema,would not be entirely correct. If there are faults within us,I say,yes,we should correct ourselves.

Can entertaining cinema also send out a message that may be socially relevant or are they at odds with each other?

The reason for going to cinema is entertainment. And unlike other nations that perhaps have a different notion about the way they make their films because they are a more educated society,here in India where the common man who probably earns 10 rupees a day with hard work,wants to get out of the squalor of his life to watch a nice story. He wants to spend that money to see something which is escapist and fantasised. I guess cinema in India was designed along those lines,and we still have that,but we do have films where principles,culture and morals of society are all looked into. Among other virtues we have always had a huge amount of respect for minorities whatever they may be — Christians,Muslims,Parsis. We have stories woven around them. In the end as I said,poetic justice prevails. And that’s the good part.

The enviable success of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC),anchored by you,encouraged mainline actors active in films to join the television bandwagon,so much so that television actors are no longer the undisputed stars on their home turf. Your comment,since you started this whole trend.

It’s an individual opinion. I can’t really say I am responsible for it. I feel awkward talking about it,but it’s something that I did and I am happy that it worked to some extent. I think as artistes,we should have the liberty to work in all facets of the medium. We welcome any kind of competition as any creative people should. We are not entirely going to take over their space,and we don’t work with that intention. Their (television stars) contribution is massive and I am a great admirer of many of their talents. I am very honoured that sometimes I meet them on the sets of KBC and get to spend time with them. It’s a difficult medium,and for them to excel and find the kind of popularity and glamour that they do,is fantastic. The roar for a star when they enter a public area and that for a television star is almost the same. That’s the public indicator of how they feel about television stars. So I don’t think that this (advent) is a threat to them. Tell them to go to the movies then (laughs) and be a threat to us. I am sure they will do much better.

Which serial do you watch on television,and who are your favourite actors?

Now and then I watch Bade Achche Lagte Hain. I like the lead actors — Ram Kapoor is from my school and I am a fan of Sakshi Tanwar because she is a brilliant artiste. There are many other brilliant artistes who have done extremely well.

What is your opinion on the younger generation of actors?

This entire generation is so good. I see their films and feel,‘How can a guy do this in his very first film?’ It’s remarkable. It’s the factor that if you are not at that point of acceptability in your very first venture,you know that there are hundreds waiting to take your place and they are equally good,equally presentable or talented. Which is what is so exciting about today’s generation. That they are willing to accept a new girl or a new boy so long as the story is good,and there is talent.

There are 350 million Indians between the age of 18 and 35,so you have to respect what they like. You may not like their kind of music,and then it is right on top of the charts and you say,‘Ok’. But that’s how it is with every generation. When we came in the sixties,the forties and the fifties generation thought similarly about us. ‘Why does this guy get angry at everything? Fal lene jaata hai woh bhi naraaz ho kar ke!’ There were all kinds of things that one heard at that point of time,but I think it’s something that’s generational.

I am just fortunate that I am getting to be in their company. I am going to be 71 and to be on a set where the average age is 25,is peculiar. They are my grandchildren’s age (laughs)! But they are all very sweet,respectful and gracious. I see a lot of their work and feel so happy about the incredible new ideas they have. Why,I can’t even operate my computer properly,but my granddaughter functions her own iPad and she is only a year and a half old!

priyanka.sinha@expressindia.com