Why, Mr Bachchan?

Dear Mr Bachchan,
Why are you telling us who you are and how big?
You think by putting your KBC ratings and Shahrukh's Paanchvi Pass ratings side by side, you will end the debate that who is the bigger star?
You will not.
Because there was no debate in the first place.

The only competition you ever had was yourself. The debate was never Amitabh in Shakti or Dilip Kumar in Shakti. The debate was actually Amitabh in Shakti or Amitabh in Trishul.
The debate was never Amitabh in Mohabbatein or Shahrukh in Mohabbatein. The debate was always Amitabh in Mohabbatein or Amitabh in K3G.

My grandmother thinks you are fantastic. My mother has been a fan since Deewaar. I still get a lump in my throat when I watch Shakti. And the other day, my 20-month old son unblinkingly watched you perform in Don.
That's four generations. You think my son will even know who Salman Khan is when he grows up?

You think numbers prove stardom?
That you had five back to back hits in 1978 is the reason why you should be the Big B?
Or maybe because you starred in the Biggest Hit of Indian Cinema?

No, sir.

You are not our biggest star. You are the touchstone of our emotions.
We never knew silence could be so eloquent till you showed us how in Sarkar.
We never knew grief can be angry till you showed us in Anand.
Hell, we never imagined one can be angry with God till you gave Him a piece of your mind in Deewaar.

And you think all this can be reduced to a TRP chart? By that logic, Alok Nath is a bigger star because he got even higher ratings for Buniyaad.

Sir, numbers are not what makes stars.
For me, you are the greatest not because of your best films but your worst.
Any other hero walking into a climax with a crocodile on his back would have got booed off. When you did that in Ganga Jamuna Saraswati, the tension could have been cut by a knife.
That's my reason.
And every single Indian has a different reason - when you made them laugh, cry, happy, sad, wistful, aggressive, speechless...

That's a billion rating points for you.
And you are comparing that with 4.5 points of Shahrukh?

Why, Mr Bachchan, why?

Comments

Aqua said…
somebody should send this post to Big B. awesome!
Anonymous said…
you've got to publish this at least in the comments section of AB's blog!
Gautam Ghosh said…
why? Because he got paid crores to write his blog by Anil Ambani so that people might start using the bigadda social network :-) THAT's why :-)

Creating controversy comes with the package. So that traffic zooms up and TV channels feature news on "Bollywood Blogbluster" (Headlines Today, 16th April!)
Nilendu said…
Once I thought your admiration for Amitabh Bachchan would die down with age, just as mine for Mamta Kulkarni had. Not only I was grossly wrong, but somehow I feel you will paint a very partial picture of Mr. Bachchan in Joy's mind. Sigh!

-Nilendu
Anonymous said…
While your devotion is put across so well.. he's just using his blog to get back the media.. who he seeks to get publicity and yes please to be sending this to him :)
Anonymous said…
"Mere peechhe to sirf meri kismat hogi, Davar saab"


Reemas,
PrivateMarriage.com
DivSu said…
Hey! I was going to write a post about how under-handed his blog was and so not becoming him (at least what we know him to be otherwise). But you put it across much much more aptly, I shall link your post on my blog with your permission :D
Anonymous said…
But seriously, dont you sometimes cringe when you read what AB has written? Constantly sniping and arguing on every single newspaper/magazine/TV article? Dont you think its just a little sad??
Unknown said…
To B or not to B... that is the question!

AK
Anonymous said…
absolutely brilliant.......so apt ...i just wish Mr Bachhan would read this post....
Anonymous said…
Dipto - You have a tremendous command over the language and what you write resonates with anyone who is an Amitabh fan. As someone else here said, it is not something that dies as we grow older. Someone did link this to the AB blog. Hope he reads it!
Anonymous said…
Good read. But sorry to say that you sounded like Dipika Padukone in Om Shanti Om (Main nahin biswas karungi Om? Tum jab sau gunde ko ghayal karte ho to main biswas karti hoon... tum jab daswi manzil se kudte ho to main biswas karti hoon... and all that crap). Or maybe your writing is inspired from those sloppy dialogues.
the mad momma said…
waah DKC :) maan gaye aapke fan-giri ko aaj!!

i agree with u in essence.. but i'm no longer a fan. he may be a big star, but he sold out long ago and to me, that was a bit of a betrayal since he is such a touchstone of emotions.
Diligent Candy said…
Sirji aapko tag karne ki jurrat ki hai. Please do complete the tag and don't break your fan's (aka me) heart!
Anonymous said…
Kuch naya lao yaar. Bore mat karo.
Hornswoggler said…
Well, this isn;t about the current post. I went all nostalgic at the mention of Knight Riders on Bangladesh TV in one of your previous posts. In fact, compared to DD in those days, Bangladesh TV rocked! :)
Anonymous said…
Hey bring in a new topic. You're boring us so much that we can almost hear our nails grow. ...Souvik