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Amitabh in Sydney

“…the Sydney Opera House out of my window, an iconic symbol of this city... and the rest a cleaner version of Manhattan…”

With these words, Amitabh Bachchan described on Twitter his first night in Sydney.

Yes the Big B was in town briefly in late August. There was a rush of phone calls at the Indian Link office as the news went around. Where is he staying? Where can we get a glimpse?

The latest is, he’s back in Mumbai now, but Hindi cinema’s best-loved personality will be back shortly for an extended stay. Amitabh will be working here until Christmas, and that too on a Baz Luhrmann film – the remake of the iconic film The Great Gatsby

He will join Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan in the $120 million production. A host of Australian stars are also part of the feature, including Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jack Thompson, model Gemma Ward, Triple J’s Brendan Maclean and teenager Callan McAuliffe.

And what role will Amitabh be playing? Well, rumours were that he would play ‘dad to Leonardo’, but according to a recent SMH report, “the Bollywood veteran… plays Gatsby’s shadowy business partner Wolfsheim”.

Amitabh had stated to an interview with Indian Link a few years ago, that while there certainly were a few offers for him from film-makers outside of India, they were all too minor for him to seriously consider, and that he would do so if something substantial were to come along. Looks like one finally has come his way now.

There was some confusion in the mainstream press about the Bollywood star lined up by Luhrmann. An earlier report in the Daily Telegraph (dated 23 Aug) obviously got the wrong Bachchan: Some fresh casting news has also emerged with Bollywood leading man Abhishek Bachchan set to join the cast. A bonafide movie star in India, Bachchan is also famed as the husband of fellow Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai whom he married in 2007. He has appeared in more than 50 films but The Great Gatsby will be his biggest Hollywood film role to date.

However the SMH report got the right Bachchan, even quoting Luhrmann as saying Amitabh’s films, especially Sholay, had made a lasting impression on him.

He didn’t say anything however about Amitabh’s last embarrassing connection with Australia – when he refused a 2009 honour by the Queensland University of Technology in protest against the spate of attacks on Indian students here. The Indian community in this country had at the time lamented that Amitabh had missed a golden opportunity to do his bit for the students here.

The Great Gatsby will be the first 3D live action movie to be shot in NSW. The filming begins this month at Fox Studios and continues for 17 weeks. The film is slated for a Nov 2012 release.

Of course we can expect Amitabh to take a leave of absence some time around November, to welcome the arrival of a rather special baby. But for the coming weeks, desi folk in Sydney can keep their necks craned to catch a glimpse of their all-time favourite film star in their very own city. Amitabh-spotters, get to work… and send in those pics to Indian Link!

Rajni Anand Luthra

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