How does Amitabh Bachchan stay relevant at 80 ?

It was a day of idol worship on Tuesday – across India and in the virtual space – as the one and only Amitabh Bachchan turned 80. A milestone in the iconic actor’s journey as in terms of sheer longevity, there have not been too many of his age as active and still so acceptable in the context of Indian cinema.

There are, of course, no dearth of such examples in Hollywood – but then, the work ethic of the two industries are like chalk-and-cheese. Someone like a Anthony Hopkins – older than Bachchan – may have taken a whole year or more to shoot The Father while the collaboration of two of the greatest ever – Robert De Niro and Al Pacino – for the marathon effort of  The Irishman had taken a lot of perseverence from director-producer Martin Scorsese.

‘Big B,’ or the Don or Shahenshah of Bollywood if you like, can hardly afford such a luxury in an industry which is a record producer of films globally every year. It was on the cusp of his 80^th birthday that his latest film, Goodbye was released even as the first look of Uunchhai, (The Summit), his upcoming project – made a timely appearance.

To make his 80^th birthday gig an affair to remember, Bachchan had shot a special episode of his chartbuster reality show Kaun Banega Crorepati with Jaya Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, his wife and son, respectively. And yes, he still gives the likes of a Ranveer Singh or Virat Kohli a run for their money when it comes to his myriad range of endorsements, which includes being a brand ambassador of even an upstart T20 franchise league.

There is, hence, never a dull moment in the daily routine of the man – who has , acted as a bridge between at least three generation of Indian actors and of course, their fans. In a thoughtful gesture, the PVR Cinemas had organised a countrywide Restrospective of 11 of his timeless hits – handpicked from an era when anything he touched became gold.

His meticulously posted tweets (how many celebrities have you seen numbering them?) show that much as Bachchan belongs to an earlier generation, he spares no effort to feel the pulse of what’s going on around him. His verified Instagram account has 31.4 million followers while his blogs on Tumblr.com are always under scrutiny. The PR machinery may be doing it’s bit, but the veteran actor is known to often brave chronic physical ailments (just recall how many times he has been in and out of the hospital in recent years) to be at the top of his game.

It will, however, be interesting to do a sample survey though whether the likes of a lost-and-found story like Amar Akbar Anthony (a staple formula of those days) or the puerile Satte Pe Satta can strike the same chord with today’s audience. The aura of  Bachchan is such that it has still not sharply polarised opinions about his greatness – but one is aware of the veiled criticism from some quarters if he is past the sale-by date as  an actor. Unlike some of his peers, Bachchan 3.0 had started playing his age and evolved as an actor for almost the last two decades, but the emphasis of quantity over quality strikes a jarring note off and on.

May be, he ought to have been little more selective with his roles to refrain from repeating himself or cut down on his endorsements – but then as outsiders, we are not really qualified to comment on his personal choice. One feels there is this tremendous urge to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world which has set the octagenarian (yes, that’s right) apart from those of his generation.

This is precisely what has prompted him to take up enormous professional challenges, like slipping into that heavy prostetheic make-up for Paa, the effervescent centenarian in the comedy 102 not out or the dapper, middle-aged lawyer against Tapasee Pannu in the gripping thriller Badla. The list is endless. It will hence be no exaggeration to say that despite his sentimental favourites from the ‘70s and ‘80s, Bachchan the actor had been largely successful in moving with the times in his new avatar.

His meticulously posted tweets (how many celebrities have you seen numbering them?) show that much as Bachchan belongs to an earlier generation, he spares no effort to feel the pulse of what’s going on around him. His verified Instagram account has 31.4 million followers while his blogs on Tumblr.com enjoy a consistent following. The PR machinery may be doing it’s bit, but the veteran actor is known to often brave chronic physical ailments (just recall how many times he has been in and out of the hospital in recent years) to try and be at the top of his game.

The other celebrity whom I have seen from close quarters to take such pains to not let his visibility quotient suffer is Sunil Gavaskar, the cricket legend. Now 72, it’s often somewhat painful to see him line up at unearthly hours with far younger panelists after a routine bi-lateral T20 series or a IPL game to sum up the day’s play – but then that’s his conscious choice.

I remember another incident when on the eve of 2014 edition of IPL in the UAE, Gavaskar had to step in as an interim BCCI president on the Supreme Court’s orders. During an informat chat with the media, Gavaskar revealed on that occasion that it was for the first time in 28 years that he had to interrupt his hugely popular fortnightly column due to the call of BCCI duty.

It takes a lot of heart and discipline to emulate men like them – and one is not sure if it’s always about the money!