Amitabh Bachchan acts for free in Baz Luhrmann's 'Great Gatsby'

Amitabh Bachchan has described his single scene in The Great Gatsby as a "gesture" to director Baz Luhrmann.

The actor has refused any payment for the role of shady businessman Meyer Wolfsheim, who helps Jay Gatsby accumulate his mysterious fortune.

Bachchan wrote on his blog: "Baz Luhrmann, during his private visit to India last year, had dropped by my office to meet me and presented me with some paintings of a prominent painter that was accompanying him.

"He called last month and wondered if I would do this small role in his film and I agreed. It is a gesture. I have refused any remuneration on this too."

Bachchan, who will appear with Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio in the adaptation, cautioned against seeing the role as a breakthrough for Indian actors.

He said: "We must remember a most basic fact. We are the Indian film industry and they Hollywood from America. There shall always be a prominence to American actors in Hollywood, just as there is a prominence of Indian actors in Indian films.

"A Shah Rukh, Salman or Aamir may well be an unknown face in one of the towns in Midwest USA, but so would a Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise in Yevatmal or Giridih."

24 star Anil Kapoor recently said that appearing in Hollywood films has given his acting career a new lease of life.

Bollywood star Bachchan in first Hollywood film

MUMBAI — Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan will appear in his first Hollywood film alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in a new adaptation of classic novel "The Great Gatsby", according to Warner Bros. Pictures.
The 68-year-old star of 1970s hits "Sholay" (Sparks) and "Deewaar" (Wall) joins DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan in Australian director Baz Luhrmann's version of the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Warner Bros. said in a statement from California on Tuesday that shooting started this week and Bachchan will play Meyer Wolfsheim, a shadowy organised crime figure who helps the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby make his money.

Bachchan was in Australia last month, where most of the filming will take place, but he did not disclose on his daily blog whether the trip was to finalise his appearance.

Instead, he wrote cryptically on August 29 as he was about to return to India: "Time has been spent well and hopefully judiciously. Days ahead will tell us whether it was fruitful or not."

The "Big B", who has a fanatical following in India and among fans of Hindi-language cinema abroad, has starred in some 150 Bollywood films. In 2008, he released his first English-language film, "The Last Lear".
Maguire, star of the "Spider-Man" franchise, plays Nick Carraway, the would-be writer and narrator of the novel, who comes to New York from the US Midwest in 1922 to make his fortune.

DiCaprio plays the lead role of Jay Gatsby, while Britain's Mulligan plays his lover, Carraway's cousin, Daisy Buchanan.The film is being made on a $150 million budget and due for release next year, according to the imdb.com website.

"The Great Gatsby" has been adapted for cinema four times previously, including in 1974 with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.

Luhrmann, a fan of Bachchan who has said that Bollywood's trademark song and dance routines influenced his Oscar-nominated "Moulin Rouge", described Fitzgerald as "a passionate believer in the power of cinema".
"The vision and the goal of our remarkable cast and creatives is to do justice to the deftness of Fitzgerald's telling, and illuminate its big ideas and humanity." Source AFP

Amitabh Bachchan to open museum in father's honour

Amitabh Bachchan is reportedly planning to open a museum dedicated to the poetry of his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

The actor explained that he felt the speed of modern communication had diminished the importance of classic literature and language.

"I do believe that the richness of our language is getting lost. We used to spend a lot of thought and lot of energy behind what was written and spoken. Perhaps it was a lot richer in earlier times," Bachchan told IANS.

"I don't want to blame today's generation. The time has changed, communication has become very rapid and very quick."

The 68-year-old, who is an advocate of social networking site Twitter and has his own blog, said that he wants to preserve the richness of the Hindi language.

"I've been thinking for a long time about opening a museum where I could store my father's well-known works that can be used for research work. I hope we are able to fulfill our plans to open a museum soon and preserve his iconic works."

Harivansh Rai Bachchan, who died in 2003, is credited with works such as Madhushala and Agneepath, and is regarded as one of the greatest Hindi poets of the 20th century.

Amitabh Bachchan has been actively promoting his father's works internationally.

"I didn't know that my father's work is popular in not only India but also abroad," he said. "On the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of my father, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in New York had invited me for the recital of his works at the Lincoln Centre and there were at least 3,500-4,000 people who had come as an audience."

He is now planning to travel the world reciting his father's poems.

Amitabh Bachchan creates new record by singing title track in 'Acapella' style

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan created a new record by singing the title track of his forthcoming film 'Bbuddah - Hoga Terra Baap' in 'Acapella' style -- the first ever in India.

Acapella music is a solo or a group vocal or singing without any instrumental sound.
Interestingly, music directors Vishal-Shekhar had been planning to do something unique with Mr Bachchan since quite sometime and they came up with the idea of using the acapella style to create a memorable number for ‘Bbuddah’. When the duo approached Mr Bachchan with this suggestion, the actor immediately agreed to do it, a release said here today.

Music director Shekhar Ravjiani said ''We wanted to try something new with this song. We did the basic setup and then Mr Bachchan replaced every track with his voice. He recreated the sounds of approximately 10 to 12 instruments, from drum to bass to the snare to the chorus. In a nutshell, he did everything required to make a song.'' Produced by Viacom18 and AB Corp, ‘Bbuddah-Hoga Terra Baap’ is written and directed by Puri Jagannadh and also stars Hema Malini, Raveena Tandon, Sonu Sood, Sonal Chauhan, southern actress Charmi and South Indian baddie Prakash Raj.

‘Bbuddah’ releases on July one, the release added.

'Illegal' Amitabh Bachchan set demolished

A film set constructed for Amitabh Bachchan's new production has been demolished over claims that it was illegal.

The structure, which was part of the Bhopal set of Aarakshan, was pulled down following a court order, AFP reports.

Director Prakash Jha commented: "It would have been dismantled within a month. Everyone in Bhopal knew it was a set.

"Shooting had taken place between January and March but the film's schedule was now disrupted. Now we have to work out alternative arrangements."

The film was originally scheduled to take between 60 and 70 days to complete.

An earlier film shoot by Jha in the Madhya Pradesh city was cancelled following protests over shooting in a hospital.

Amitabh Bachchan wants to ride this beauty!

After riding what he calls the "beast bike" for "Bbuddah - Hoga Tera Baap", megastar Amitabh Bachchan is eager to buy his own Harley Davidson.

"What is it with men and the sound of a mean machine. The roar of a speed car, the rush of air and sound in a double exhaust bike, that kick of acceleration as you push the pedal flat, that jerk of change on the Concord, when it was functional, as it went from normal to Mach 3 at 55,000 feet in the air! Is it the same with the ladies too?" Amitabh wrote on his blog bigb.bigadda.com.

"Soon after it was the adrenalin pumping beast bike, the Harley 'twixt my legs. And what a monster it is. I have to say though that having done it, and for the first time, it is an experience that now coerces me to have one of my own.

OOOOO! Baby!! It is another world as you stride all the leather and studs and white metal that surrounds you. Quite something!" he further wrote.

Meanwhile, age seems to be taking its toll on the 68-year-old.

"Running at 70 is a bit of a bother! You feel you can move with some fluidity, but no! The legs do not respond to what the mind is telling it to do and you suddenly realize that the weight of your body is not that lithe anymore," he wrote.

"So as I sit down on my 'blogespherechair' to fill in my adventures, I am cushioned with hot water bags and electronic heating devices to ease out the numerous folds of muscles, that had remained dormant and in retirement for a very long time," he added.

Bachchan to tattoo Aishwarya’s name

MUMBAI: It looks like Abhishek Bachchan is off on the path made by Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan. Apparently, the actor has planned to express the love for his wife, Aishwarya by tattoeing her name on his wrist.Abhishek is planning to ink Aishwarya’s name permanently on his body but he is confused about the design.

Abhishek Bachchan revealed his desire to ink Aishwarya’s tattoo during the promotional event of ‘Dum Maro Dum'. He said that he wanted to express his love for Ash by flaunting a tattoo.

India's World Cup victory breaks Amitabh's superstition

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan's belief that India loses a cricket match whenever he watches has finally been broken, thanks to the World Cup final that he watched on TV and saw India defeating Sri Lanka.

"Yesterday (Saturday), that age old superstitious finicky belief, that if I were to watch a game it would result disfavourably for us, broken and shattered for good I would imagine," Amitabh posted on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com late Sunday night.

Amitabh's son Abhishek had admitted recently that they do not watch India's matches, and get constant updates on phone instead, due to the superstition. But neither could resist the temptation of watching the final.

"Yes, I did not see the India-Pakistan (match), I did not see the India-Australia (match), and for most of the time resisted this final too. But I have no idea what prompted me to switch (to) the game on after we were 33 for 2 (sic) and tottering. And when Dhoni smacked that six for victory, it smacked my superstition too out of my life," added Amitabh.

The father-son duo, along Aishwarya Rai, came onto the streets late Saturday night, after the match to celebrate India's victory.

Bachchan's wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong

Amitabh Bachchan is the first Bollywood actor to get a wax figure at the world famous Madame Tussauds museum in Hong Kong. His statue features in the Hall of Fame section and was unveiled by award-winning actor Moses Chan.

With a successful career spanning 40 years, Amitabh has four National Film Awards to his credit. The 68-year-old's wax avatar sports a black sherwani with red buttons, teamed with a white pyjama.

"There are more and more Indian visitors taking the star-studded journey through Madame Tussauds Hong Kong. We are sure that the new Amitabh Bachchan wax figure experience will appeal to our Indian visitors, who will get to meet their legendary star here, as well as other local and international visitors," Kelly Mak, general manager, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, said in a press statement.

The wax figure was unveiled amid a group of Bollywood dancers, who struck an Indian pose along with Chan and Mak later.

The statue will be displayed against an Indian style facade, highlighted with light bulbs. The guests will be able to enjoy a theatre-style lighting show inspired by Amitabh's movie "Aladin".

So far no other Bollywood actor has a wax figure in the Hong Kong museum.

Amitabh also has a wax statue each in Madame Tussauds' London and New York museum, respectively.

Big B's Save Tiger programme in controversy

The 'Save Tiger' programme, hosted by superstar Amitabh Bachchan for a TV channel in Madhya Pradesh's Pench Tiger Reserve, has sparked off controversy with a NGO claiming the event had violated wildlife laws.

NGO Uday has complained to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the central environment and forest ministry and the state's chief wildlife warden that the 12-hour telethon Dec 12 committed gross violations of various sections of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 for violating sound limits in the tiger reserve.

"The campaign targeted profits and more TRPs regardless of the ill effect on wildlife... although it's a good move to start awareness among people and unite them for a global cause... but pros and cons should be kept in mind before organising such an event," Shehla Masood of Uday told IANS.

The programme had generated about Rs.5 crore for tiger projects in India.

Masood also said that the NTCA has informed her that they have forwarded the complaints to authorities concerned for further action.

State Chief Wildlife Warden H.S. Pabla told IANS that the complaint was "not much of a serious issue".

"The programme had been organised outside the park, so we have to see the legalities of the jurisdiction," he said.

Amitabh-Shahrukh-Hrithik walk the ramp for KJ

All the three Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham stars walked the ramp for Karan Johar. Amitabh Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan were the showstoppers for Karan and Varun's fashion show on men's wear on Thursday evening.

However, the show was stolen by KJ's lucky mascot Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh was not walking the Couture ramp this year, he was seen sitting at the front row and cheering for his designer friends. When the showstoppers Amitabh Bachchan dressed in a black overcoat with aviators and Hrithik Roshan in a military jacket, took a final bow with the designers, Karan insisted that King Khan should come up the ramp.

The showstoppers of the day Amitabh and Hrithik, walked back to SRK and Big B pulled Shahrukh onto the stage. The atmosphere was suddenly electrified with all the powerful and enigmatic personalities gracing the stage.

The sounds of claps and cheers hovered the entire venue. The audience were full of joy and enthusiasm after seeing the trio Amitabh, Shahrukh and Hrithik of Karan Johar's film Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham on stage. It was a bonding atmosphere between all the biggies of Btown. SRK hugged Amitabh and Hrithik on the stage.

Bachchan to replace Khan on 'Millionaire'

Amitabh Bachchan has reportedly been asked to return as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? after replacement Shah Rukh Khan was dropped by its producers.

The Bollywood veteran hosted the first series but was forced to give up because of a serious illness.

Khan then took over hosting duties for the third series of Kaun Banega Crorepati?, as it is called in India.

Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, an insider said: "Bachchan and Shah Rukh, respectively, brought their distinct individuality on the table, but frankly speaking, Shah Rukh’s histrionics did not do go down well with the audience."

The show has been off the air since 2007, after the third series received a poor response.