HOW KBC REDEFINED THE BACHCHAN AURA

Interesting how the tagline of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) season

11 has virtually defined Amitabh Bachchan’s career. “Adey raho” (broadly translates to ‘be persistent') goes the slogan and, come to think of it, its iconic host has literally symbolised the trait through a career of 50 years.

KBC 11 ended recently and, given the recent health scare that the 77-year-old Bollywood icon has had, fans are keeping their fingers crossed in the hope that Big B will overcome all impediments and return to the hot seat next year.

For, even as KBC 11 ended, speculations took over, mainly triggered by a cryptic blog entry the veteran actor made a few days ago. "I must retire… the head is thinking something else and the fingers another… it's a message…," he wrote in the early hours of November 28, sparking off a deluge of concern.

Was Big B indeed hinting at retirement from cinema and TV? Sources close to the actor soon dismissed such notions, saying he simply meant that he was too tired to type - that it had been a long day and the word ‘retire’ alluded to - going to bed.

Still, guesswork has continued. Most fans feel Big B, given his incredible energy, will continue shooting for films. Film assignments, after all, would let him work at his own pace. The hectic schedule of a five-day quiz show, however, could be more demanding.

The point to note here is those hectic years mark a significant phase in Big B's career graph. KBC marked his resurrection as an icon and a brand, at a time when he was struggling to reinvent himself as a Bollywood star.

The year was 2000. The year before, Amitabh Bachchan had four releases - Lal Badshah, Sooryavansham, Hindustan Ki Kasam and Kohraam. Each of these tried rehashing Bachchan's angry young man image to suit his advancing age, and each fared way below expectation. Coming after a 1998 roster that comprised of Major Saab (lukewarm at the box-office) and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (where he was clearly outstripped by Govinda in the slapstick stakes), and the dud Mrityudaata in 1997, Big B was suddenly looking for a script to reinvent himself in the public eye. His last spate of solo superhits had happened in the early nineties, and his sojourn as an entrepreneur with ABCL has soured.

KBC Season One happened around the time. Over a matter of weeks, Big B's stardom suddenly witnessed rebirth. The angry young man of yore, who had redefined action and drama through the seventies and the eighties, was suddenly redefining home entertainment. The quizmaster par excellence was a charming gentleman with wisdom to share - far removed from the intense avatar he exuded in his heydays. From the larger-than-life action hero, KBC let Big B become the affable guy who would drop by in your living rooms every evening to serve an engaging spell of wisdom.

If the metamorphosis let Bachchan survive where every other actor of his era faded away long before him, the actor too gave KBC - as well as Indian reality television - a defining course. Not only is KBC regarded a cut above most other shows on television, Bachchan's style of conducting it set the gold standard of show hosting in India.

It is a reason why, when the muchyounger Shah Rukh Khan tried hosting season three of the show, he could not quite match up to the Bachchan aura.

For the sake of Indian reality TV, we will hope all rumours of Bachchan retiring from television are indeed unfounded.

How Hollywood Adds Sheen To Bollywood Biggies

Did the trailers of Panipat and Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior remind you of Game Of Thrones? Or the action of War and Saaho bring memories of Mission Impossible? Well, that's because the canvas of Bollywood is getting glossier, with the creative geniuses of Hollywood increasingly working on Bollywood projects.

From action gurus, stunt directors, VFX experts, cinematographers, musicians, make-up experts, technicians to physical trainers, talent from the west is being roped in to deliver world-standard content in Hindi films.

This trend is all thanks to filmmakers acquiring global sensibilities, and the Indian audience becoming increasingly receptive towards foreign content.

"Now that we are used to watching global content, from films to content on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, people have higher expectations. The production value, the look and lighting has to be on par with the Hollywood standard. It works well for all as it improves the whole get up of the project," trade expert Rajesh Thadani told IANS.

Some notables projects with foreign twist include Kesari with Mad Max: Fury Road stunt coordinator Lawrence Woodward, Bang Bang with Thor stunt coordinator Andy Armstrong, Sunny Deol's Ghayal Once Again with Hollywood stunt coordinator Dan Bradley, Krrish franchise, Prabhas' Saaho with Hollywood stunt master Kenny Bates, Taapsee Pannu's Naam Shabana with Hollywood stuntman Cyril Raffaelli and Rishi Kapoor's Kapoor & Sons with makeup artist Greg Cannom.

When not hiring talent from the west, filmmakers are looking for ways to add Hollywood appeal to their project.

"Our technicians are better trained, our facilities have become better, production values as well as budgets have gone up, and then in many cases we are hiring Hollywood talent. In this case, peer competition goes up and everyone wants to learn new techniques and what eventually happens is that everyone is updated. It benefits the film," trade expert Girish Johar told IANS.

Hollywood action director Paul Jennings, who has worked in movies such as The Dark Knight and San Andreas among many others, says the action spectacle in War is on par with films like Mission Impossible and Fast and Furious.

"What I love about Bollywood is I believe you can push the action a little bit further, and this means you can end up with more spectacular sequences," Jennings said, who designed jaw-dropping action sequences for War, his first Bollywood film.

action director Tom Struthers of The Dark Night and Dunkirk fame, whose first tryst with Bollywood was with Nikkhil Advani's 2013 film D-Day. The trend will only grow in times to come.

'ATTACK' FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY 2020

Patriotism has become John Abraham’s thing.

He has ensured that he will keep his date with Independence Day again next year. His upcoming thriller Attack has been confirmed for August 14, 2020.

This will be the third year in a row that John will release a film on Independence Day. In 2018, his Satyameva Jayate opened on August 15, and this year he released Batla House on that day.

Attack is a race-against-time action thriller that also stars Jacqueline Fernandez and Rakul Preet Singh. The film is written and directed by debutant Lakshya Raj Anand.

"Attack is a taut, interesting thriller with a strong storyline and a genre I love! That it is releasing on Independence Day makes it even more exciting. At (John's production house) JA Entertainment, it is our endeavour to push the envelope and produce films that entertain and have something significant to show to the increasingly discerning audience," said John.

Riding high on the patriotism formula that has clicked for him lately, John once again plays a saviour of the nation in the film, which narrates the drama woven around a daring rescue operation. It is a fictional story inspired by true events and set against the backdrop of a hostage crisis situation.

Life Lessons With Anil Kapoor

Actor Anil Kapoor doesn't want to get comfortable with his position in the industry, and says he has a simple plan, which is to be better than yesterday.

"I don't think I ever want to be completely comfortable for fear of complacency.

"I think Bollywood is in a great place right now. They are experimenting with culturally different professionals in the camera, stunts, action-directing departments," said JOHN

It's only when you put yourself in uncomfortable situations that you grow and learn," Anil told IANS.

"So when you find yourself getting too comfortable and too much at ease, kick yourself out of your comfort zone and try something new," he added.

Anil entered the industry with a small role in 1979 with Umesh Mehra's Hamare Tumhare, and then went on to carve his niche by balancing his stature as a respectable actor and his popularity as a saleable star, with performances including Woh 7 Din, 1942: A Love Story, Mr. India, Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Lamhe, Beta, Taal, Nayak: The Real Hero and Pukar.

His versatility is proved by the fact that he was equally at home in these international projects as he was in outand-out Bollywood outings as No Entry, Welcome, Race, Dil Dhadakne Do, Mubarakan, Fanney Khan, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga and Total Dhamaal. Have his goals changed with time? He replied, "Strangely enough, my goals haven't changed much at all! I'm a simple man with a simple plan - to be better than I was yesterday. So that's what I continue to strive towards," said the actor.

We can all learn something from that.

WORTH WAITING FOR? YOU DECIDE!

The Golmaal looks set to continue… Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgn have just announced Golmaal FIVE.

"The franchise is not only the longestrunning one in Hindi cinema, it also happens to be one of my favourites