Amitabh Bachchan endorses RGV’s efforts
He was one of the heroes in the original. Now, he is the most fearsome villain.
From Jai in Sholay to Gabbar’s Babban in Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, Amitabh Bachchan has finally got what he wanted in Ram Gopal Varma’s adaptation of Ramesh Sippy’s classic.
The superstar had always wanted to play villain Gabbar Singh’s role in Ramesh Sippy’s classic because he (Gabbar) had ‘great dialogues and the best scenes in the film.’
Here he talks about the role and the film.
Did you feel sad when Gabbar was christened Babban?
No, actually Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) took the decision that he should be called Babban. I think that Ramu never thought that he was remaking Sholay. It was just an inspiration and he has interpreted the film in its own way.
When Sarkar was released he said that he was inspired from the film Godfather. Something similar can be said for this film too — that it has been inspired from Sholay but with its own contemporary setting.
Ramu has changed the characterisation and has given a new look, a new kind of conversation, new behaviour of the characters and so on. At no point while shooting the film did I ever realise that we are remaking a film neither was I conscious of the fact that in Sholay I did that while in this film I’m doing something else.
I left everything to Ramu did whatever he instructed me to do. Now lets just see how the film fares at the box office.
You just mentioned that Sholay was inspired from few films from the west. Have you seen the films of Sergio Leone (Italian filmmaker)?
Yes, and they all were really good. Those films are also known as ‘Spaghetti westerns’ because most of the films were shot in countries like Italy.
Sholay was inspired from The Magnificent Seven, which in turn was inspired from The Seven Samurai. I think its necessary for the creative evolution of a performer that he should get inspired from several sources.
In this case Sholay was an inspiration and Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag is a small river or a distributary of Sholay.
It’s been many weeks since the promos of the film started. What’s the feedback like?
To be very honest I have not received that many SMSes and I really can’t fathom how I should I take it (smiles). But some of the people I’ve met said that my look in the film is very menacing and fearful.
In most of the films I have played good-natured roles and people normally associate me with such roles. But this role is a deviation from an actor’s point of view.
Through this role I got an opportunity to do something different and it’s a challenge for me. Every actor in his or her career thinks of doing different roles, unique from what he or she has been doing earlier.
You may say that it was an insane act from my side. Viewers may get confused thinking that they have always seen me doing positive roles and now he is doing something wrong, but after all said and done they too should realise that I am different person in my personal life and the roles I portray in my films.
No one is talking about the chemistry between you and Mohanlal.
I have always maintained the fact that Mohanlal is one of the best actors in our country. No can doubt his acting potential. He is from the south where the film industry is far more organised.
I have seen many of his movies where he conveys extraordinary things in a simple manner. He may look very ordinary in real life but whenever he comes on screen, he is simply amazing. He is also very calm and quiet on the sets.
I respect him a lot as an actor and am really happy working with him in this film. But at the same time I felt sad that our roles were opposed to each other and that I had to fight with him.
You have seen both worlds — Thakur’s and Narsimha’s. Which one do you like the most?
Both Hari Bhai and Mohanlal worked in different environments and they are both amazing actors with many national awards to their credit. So it would be wrong to say that one is bad and the other is good.
Tell us bit about your international projects.
Right now it’s just one film, Shantaram, starring Johnny Depp directed by Mira Nair and produced by Warner Brothers. She has sent me the script and I have gone through it. She has also asked for dates from January to May next year.
The good news is The Last Lear would be screened at the Toronto Film festival.
Yes, Rituparna Ghosh has directed this English film, which would be a part of the master’s section over there. I don’t know much about the rules and regulation of film festivals but from what I hear, films which are selected for the master’s section have their own importance and are revered a lot.
Have Jaya and Abhishek seen the film?
They have seen the film in bits and pieces. There was also a trial a few days back but it was in the editing stage. In true sense they have yet to see the complete film.
Also the rights of the original Sholay were sold to PNC. Your comments.
Well, I think it’s purely a business decision. How can I comment on it? I think PNC has bought the rights of the film to either make a sequel or some animation flick.