Ek Ticket, Ek Black Coffee | Happy Birthday Amitabh Bachchan, lock kar diya jaye!

An unforgettable voice mouthing iconic dialogues in movies since 1969, Amitabh Bachchan’s angry young man has come a long way…

Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati (Image via Instagram)

‘Bangaal. Shonar Bangaal. Mahaan Bangaal. Vichitra Bangaal. Isi Bangaal ke hain Bhuvan Shome. Solah Aane khare. Barso Bangaal ke bahar reh kar bhi jinka Bangaalipan nahi gaya. Bhuvan Som. Ek Vishuddh Bangali…’

Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome begins with the now familiar voice that ruled the big screen for years… Correction, decades. Fifty-three years to be precise. And it began making its presence also felt on the small screen. Kaun Banega Crorepati would not have been the same had someone else hosted this general knowledge show.

I frantically answered questions on the qualifying phone numbers in the early days of the show so that I would qualify and then when I would be in front of him I would ask him if he ever wanted to call up Sony TV and ask them to not show Sooryavamsham any more. I have watched Sooryavansham myself on TV at least five times, each time discovering one more reason to like the family saga, but each time wondering why Heera did not sport a moustache.

As Vijay Khanna or Vijay Verma or simply Vijay, Amitabh Bachchan has been beating up baddies by kicking them with his long legs (ever so often encased in boots). He has romanced everyone from Saira Banu, Jaya Bhaduri, Rekha, Parveen Babi, and Sridevi to Soundarya and in his latest film Neena Gupta.

From ‘Mach gaya shor saari nagari re’ that announced him as ‘Biraj ka baanka’ to the plaintive ‘Yeh kahan aa gaye hum’ in love, from the happy declaration of ‘Pardesiya!’ to a promise in ‘Dilbar mere’, from the loneliness in ‘Aaye tum yaad mujhe’ to the despair in ‘O saathi re’ his movies have explored all the facets of love. No one can stop laughing at his antics in love when he sings ‘My name is Anthony Gonsalves’ or resist sighing deeply when Kishore Kumar sings, ‘Tere mere milan ki yeh raina’... But my favourite song that features Amitabh Bachchan can only be ‘Rimjhim gire sawan’ followed by the quasi-serious motorbike title song of Muqaddar Ka Sikandar.

The first dialogue with swag has to be "Main aaj bhi phenke huye paise nahi leta" and it’s only natural as Salim Javed’s best work was voiced by him. The dialogues in Sholay and Trishul became so huge that record companies put out vinyls of the movies. You just have to close your eyes and hear the needle of the record player connect us with, "Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti!" and "Pyari nahi, bahut saari baatein karti hai" to "Jisne pachchees saal se apni maa ko thoda thoda marte dekha hai, use maut ka dar kaisa?" to "Main panch lakh ka sauda karne aaya hoon aur meri jeb mein paanch phooti kaudi tak nahi." (Don’t laugh, five lakhs was a lot of money then!). As they say, it’s not just the words, delivery counts too. "Jaao pehle us aadmi se sign karva ke laao…" does not have the same effect, the same venom as he does. And yes, only he could get away with calling a dolphin his mom.

How does he still manage to stay relevant for this new generation?

Look, Sholay is too long for this generation who has grown up watching Tarantino. And they wouldn’t understand his professor character in Jurmana either. The values are so different today. A cinema chain has decided to host an Amitabh Bachchan mini film festival in honour of his birthday that includes his super popular films that will draw crowds that are not exactly young.

But I’d love to have film students watch his pre-Deewar films like Saudagar and even an unpopular film like Parwana where you come away hating him. I’m groaning inside when I say that I never liked his drunk dude scenes (putting the band-aid on the mirror, his ‘Meena! From Sharabi…) and also that he dragged his death scenes in movies for just a smidgen too long…

These silly complaints aside, his dad roles like in Baghban still have the power to make even cynics like yours truly cry. And his lesser-known films like The Last Lear have made even younger audiences nod in approval. And who can deny his creepy charm in Gulabo Sitabo? How effortlessly he made the transition from playing Heera in the movies to Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh.

A request, please don’t anyone remind him of that ridiculous hat and guitar busker avatar in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and pretend that we have never heard of Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. Makeup or no Paa was a bit too much for me, but laugh at me all you want, I loved him as a bodyguard in that problematic film Eklavya…

But fifty-three years on our screens? That’s something. And even when I’m mixing up lines, you must acknowledge it too, Shahenshah jahaan khade ho jaate hain, line wahi se shuru ho jaati hai!

About the author:
Manisha Lakhe writes on films and TV shows, is a poet, teacher, traveller and mom (and not necessarily in that order). Could sell her soul for Pinot and a good cheesecake.

(Disclaimer: Views expressed in the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of OTTplay. The writer is solely responsible for any claims arising out of the contents of this article.)

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