PremiumHere's how Amitabh Bachchan influenced Thalapathy Vijay's Leo
Amitabh Bachchan, who turned 81, inspired the Naa Ready song in the upcoming movie Leo, starring Thalapathy Vijay.
Last Updated: 11.58 AM, Oct 12, 2023
Iconic actor Amitabh Bachchan is celebrating his 81st birthday today. He continues to be an influential presence in the Indian film industry. Many may not know that director Lokesh Kanagaraj also took inspiration from Amitabh Bachchan's sprawling cinematic legacy to rev up the commercial appeal of his upcoming movie Leo.
In an interview, Lokesh revealed that the dance number Naa Ready was born out of his efforts to create a Jooma Chumma De De-like song from Bachchan's smash hit Hum (1990). He gave the reference of that iconic song to composer Anirudh Ravichander to create a party song that captured the same energy and beats as the iconic track.
Amitabh Bachchan's influences on South cinema
It's noteworthy that Hum also served as the inspiration for Superstar Rajinikanth's landmark movie Baasha. Hum follows the story of a man who's on the run from his violent past. Incidentally, it's also the basic theme of Leo.
Judging from the trailer, in Leo, Parthi's (played by Thalapathy Vijay) life turns upside down and his peaceful life is torn apart when he grabs a wide media attention. A group of notorious criminals hunt him and his family to settle the past scores, forcing the protagonist to face his past.
Leo is said to be the official adaptation of the graphic novel A History of Violence. Lokesh has reserved his comments on the movie's original social material till the film's release on October 19.
Amitabh Bachchan's upcoming South Indian movies
At 81, Amitabh Bachchan is still in demand across the Indian film industry. He has a slew of big-budget movies in the South Indian languages. He will be sharing screen space with Rajinikanth after a long gap in the upcoming movie, which has been tentatively titled Thalaivar 170. He will also be seen with Kamal Haasan and Prabhas in Kalki 2898 AD.