B is for Bachchan

The combined force of Amitabh, Jaya, Abhishek and now Aishwarya make up a powerful package. The Big B continues to be the living legend that he is. The angry young man of the 8217;70s has aged into the loving patriarch quite beautifully. Son Abhishek is the rising star who is counted as a major box office draw after the Khans and Hrithik Roshan. As for Ash, she is the reigning queen of the marquee and the global face of Bollywood after her Cannes and Oprah outings and films like Bride and Prejudice, Mistress of Spices and Provoked.

The Bachchans are everywhere: in cinema halls, on television screens, on billboards and hoardings, Rajya Sabha and even Madame Tussauds Big B and his bahu have been immortalised in wax and nobody will be surprised if AB Jr follows suit. Brand Bachchan urges consumers to make a choice every time you switch on the television. They endorse all that they can from paints, pens, chocolates, credit cards, cellphones, soaps, lipstick, cold drinks, watches, diamonds, batteries, suits and even Uttar Pradesh. Honestly, there is no escaping Brand Bachchan.

In the four months of this New Year, the family has dominated all aspects of our lives. Maybe we read television channels have let them do that but dominance is dominance. First came AB Jr and Ash8217;s Guru, a film that scored major brownie points from the critics and masses alike. It8217;s still the most successful film of the year so far. Then came the engagement announcement and the media blitz that followed from New York to Vindhyachal. And then Mr B presented us with Eklavya and Nishabd, two superlative performances that might not have translated to BO collections but were talked about more than the average grosser. Not to be left behind, even Shweta Nanda, the otherwise reticent daughter who preferred to be away from the limelight claimed her stake at celebrityhood with her debut as a talk show host on a business channel.

Post the Ash n Abhi wedding, the power equation of Brand Bachchan will sky rocket even more. Industry estimates claim that a whopping Rs 700 crore is at stake on Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya. The figure includes the money riding on the films starring them as well as their various endorsements.

The Bachchan clique also gets strength from their close proximity to the Ambanis and the Chopras who control a major chunk of the film business. Post the Anil Ambani owned Reliance8217;s acquisition of 51 per cent stake at a cost of Rs 360 crore in Manmohan Shetty8217;s Adlabs, the company will exert control over the production, finance, exhibition and distribution of a high range of films. Already Adlabs has signed a deal with Ram Gopal Varma who will make 12 films with Rs 80 crore investment for Adlabs out of which Nishabd has already released while Ram Gopal Varma Ki Sholay starring Amitabh Bachchan as Gabbar Singh and Abhishek Bachchan as the item boy in the Mehbooba Mehbooba number and Sarrkar 2 co-starring Big B, Ash and Abhishek are soon to follow.

Yash Chopra8217;s Yash Raj Films, which enjoys the status of being the premier and the most successful production house of the country, has signed Jaya Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan for Lagaa Chunari Mein Daag and the father-son duo for Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Even Karan Johar has decided to ride the Bachchan bandwagon and has penciled in the newlyweds for his associate Tarun Mansukhani8217;s debut venture. There is also a World Tour coming up in the summer with all the 3 As. The buzz is that this concert to be held in USA, UK and Canada will be the biggest spectacle ever.

Needless to say, the Bachchans are bringing home the Lakshmi in Ash. And if the script is followed in the same spirit as it is written, this has all the makings of a happy marriage.