Shahensha

Hi everyone. Had a good Easter weekend, although, nothing to do with Easter. I am going to start this post with the Song of the day, from the 1988 movie Shahenshah, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Meenakshi Seshadri.

I spent most of the weekend watching youtube videos. Most of them were interviews with the Bachchan family. Believe it or not, I did not think much about Amitabh Bachchan, till recently. Now, remember I was not introduced to Hindi movies till I was around 18 years of age. By that time, the Amitabh era was over, and the Khans were ruling the industry. When I got married and came to the US, I made a friend who is a die hard fan of Amitabh, like most Indians are. The minute, my friend and I had some free time, to talk about "nothing" she would start talking about "Big B" as Amitabh is fondly called today. She said that she would have pleasant dreams about this great personality called Amitabh Bachchan.  She would endlessly talk about his affair with the gorgeous actress Rekha. She told me if there is an text book example of "chemistry' between two individuals, then it was that of Amitabh and Rekha. At that time, the stories she told me was all that I had to go by. I had never read or heard about it before. I had never watched a Hindi movie starring Amitabh. (and I claim I am an Indian! ha, ha). My friend told me to watch Silsila for starters. I did. Then a whole new world of Hindi cinema opened up for me. Like , every other Indian, today, I am in awe of this tall, entertainer called Amitabh Bhachchan. His trademark deep baritone voice, tall, brooding persona and intense eyes, made him the ideal “Angry Young Man”, setting him apart from the cluster of Bollywood’s lover boys.After watching an interview of his today, with his family on this show called Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. I was convinced that he is the real shahenshah of Bollywood. When he speaks, he makes you wish that you had a father just like him. I was so moved by this interview, I cried so much. He sounds genuine to me. An intelligent, strong, brave and humble man. He is not just an actor, he is an institution by himself. He was born on 11 October, 1942, which makes him 70 years old. Long live Big B ! I have posted the interview, for those of you who are interested. Enjoy!