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Satyam

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1. 

   Comment by satyam on 11 May 2008:

   Satyam says:
   May 12th, 2008 at 5:45 am

   First off I very much like the idea of occasionally providing exclusive pictures from your shooting stints. Your look in Shoebite is interesting and I like the way some of these shots have been framed even as I recognize that these are not actual stills. I think that you should do a proper King Lear at this stage. You would be magnificent at the part. I have not seen the Last Lear yet but I know it is not an actual interpretation of the play. Some of these shots remind me of Lear which is why I brought it up. But I hope you are able to find the right director to attempt such a venture. Vishal Bharadwaj, the obvious contemporary candidate, has always seemed ‘lacking’ to me in his film versions of Shakespeare. This for more than one reason but from a narrative perspective he has not been able to translate the remarkable economy and velocity of Shakespeare. The Bard is often quite electric while Bharadwaj’s films seem to meander on. This is not to deny him his obvious talents of course. I just hope that if you ever do Lear (and I suggest you should take this up as an ambition to be realized in the near future) you do so with the right kind of talent.

   This post of yours is as always most welcome. You have always had the kind of extraordinary and really unparalleled support that perhaps now surprises you to some degree. You should never have doubted this. As I never tire of pointing out (and in fact did so just today in another context) the Bachchan ‘event’ in cinema cannot be reduced to the mere ‘calendrical’. In other words one cannot ‘date’ your career by simply looking at your peak years and evaluate it the way any other star’s career would be summarized. The true ‘event’ transcends traditional norms of dating and analysis. We are still in the ’shade’ of the Bachchan event. I mean this in the proper theoretical sense of the word ‘event’ where the latter is something that establishes an entirely new framework, something that resets all the available co-ordinates, something that reconfigures the field in completely unexpected ways. But for these very reasons it is not easy to critique an ‘event’, not easy to comprehend it by applying the usual critical tools. Whether one agrees or disagrees with your choices as an actor over the years I think the ‘event’ in undeniable and any criticism of the Bachchan signature that is unable to or refuses to recognize this fact will always be necessarily incomplete and even superficial.

   In terms of your responses with respect to the media I have a suggestion. I think you should establish a separate ‘Media Watch’ section on your blog and address the media briefly or otherwise. This would enable you to do so regularly without sounding repetitive in any sense because the very definition of that section would be to combate spurious or malicious media reporting. Meanwhile on the main page of the blog you could address, as you have, your films and so forth. I absolutely believe the media should be addressed each and every time and I completely love your polemics in this regard. But there is often a sense in which I go to your blog expecting something very interesting each time and the media responses are of necessity repetitive even as the quality of your responses here is very engaging. This is your fault. You have spoilt someone like myself by writing so well on other matters with literary allusions, reflective portions and so on. To re-iterate you should absolutely not let the media get away with anything. At the same time doing so in a different prominently highlighted section would serve the same purpose but with the added advantage that readers not interested could skip it and vice versa while those in the media and the industry interested in clarifications on various media pieces could simply visit the section and get the latest update. I hope you will give some thought to this.

   As always anything you write on any matter is welcome. I have found myself personally enriched in being able to become a part of this conversation you’ve started. I have not let one post go by without engaging with it (and hopefully adding to the conversation) and I hope to keep this up as long as I possibly can.
2. 

   Comment by arbit on 11 May 2008:

   satyam - i absolutely loved ur “media watch” suggestion. excellent idea!

   this would surely prevent big b from appearing as a “negative” person while allowing him to forecfully respond to each and every unfair/false allegation in the popular press.
3. 

   Comment by beld o beld on 11 May 2008:

   If bachchan is speaking the truth about him writing all the stuff here, then hats off to his writing skills. I somehow believe he has a ghost writer and the thoughts are bachchans.
   I have a different viewpoint though. If he wants to fight for his right, as he says - let him do it with the right people - and not some small and insignificant artistes. Taking on anbudoss and people of his ilk is what bachchan should do. He has the unique advantage of having the power to change things for the better. I hope better sense prevails and he uses the blog to make an impact on society as a large, rather than delve on trivial personal issues.
4. 

   Comment by akshay shah on 11 May 2008:

   I have no doubts at all this is Bachchan writing himself…
5. 

   Comment by rudresh on 11 May 2008:

   “I have no doubts at all this is Bachchan writing himself…”

   if by chance he does not has the time to type then surely it is being drafted by himself
6. 

   Comment by akshay shah on 11 May 2008:

   yeah, or dictated by him and someone else types!
7. 

   Comment by aby2000 on 12 May 2008:

   I still find it unbelievable that people don’t believe that this is indeed AB that is writing….I guess they feel, how can a “country bumpkin” write so magnificently!
   This is AB writing these blogs and that is a FACT! It shows besides being an awesome actor, his writing is absolutely eloquent…just like the man!
8. 

   Comment by satyam on 12 May 2008:

   Thanks Arbit..

   Beld: Bachchan has written every single word here..

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