Amitabh Bachchan and Amar Singh still friends

Amitabh Bachchan and previous Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh shared a stage in Pune Yesterday though the latter has criticised the superstar’s wife Jaya Bachchan’s decision to remain with the Samajwadi Party.The pair – who have always described themselves as ‘family friends’ – seemed to enjoy the limelight as they came together at the Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communications on the city’s outskirts. The occasion was the inauguration of a studio complex in the institute campus at Lavale, around 25 km from here.

The meeting set tongues wagging in political circles, particularly as Singh had criticised Jaya Bachchan’s decision to continue with the Samajwadi Party even after it expelled him Feb 2. On his part, Amitabh Bachchan had actually swept aside bygones, cheerfully addressing the gathering of students and fielding their questions along with Singh. Big B said that Indian cinema has achieved a respectable status on the world stage and united the people of the country.

He also reminisced about his school days and memories of his famous father, the late poet Harivanshrai Bachchan

Is Big B overloading on work?

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s workaholism is well known. Little wonder that he dozed off at a felicitation ceremony in Chennai.Amitabh was at Satyam cinema where he was honoured by the film federations of Chennai. Extreme exhaustion caught up with the 67-year-old veteran when he fell asleep before the ceremony Saturday and woke up thoroughly disoriented, not knowing where he was.Director Balki who was with the Big B, says: “He was fine. He finally had some sleep. You’ve to understand that this is no ordinary human being. Amit ji is a miracle. He can continue working non-stop without sleep.”

At the end of the evening, the Big B had 24 shawls to bring back – though he had gone with only a day’s baggage. When asked what he would do with the massive haul of 24 shawls, the Big B replied: “I’ll give them away to the needy.”But the shawls were the least of his burdens in Chennai.Says Balki: “Last week, he was running around getting the Paa premiere in place. Then on Friday morning, he left to shoot for Bigg Boss without any sleep after the premiere. After shooting the entire day in Lonavala, he attended the Bombay Times party and then on Saturday early morning he left for Chennai. At an age when a lot of us will be in a rocking chair he is still rocking.”

But those close to Amitabh feel he is again overdoing his work schedule and needs to slow down. Says a person close to him: “Even after two major health scares recently, Amit ji has refused to slacken his pace. Except for the break he took to be with Amar Singh in Singapore earlier this year, he has been working round the clock.”

IIFI 2009 organisers fight over Amitabh Bachchan

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is in the news for all the wrong reasons. He has become the bone of contention between the two organisers of the International Film Festival of India (IIFI) 2009.The Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) alleged that the Directorate of Film Festival (DIFF) did not want to invite Amitabh to the festival. Rajendra Talak, member of ESG’s Red Carpet Committee, claimed that ESG wanted to invite the Big B to the festival but DIFF was not interested.

Talak said that they felt Amitabh should grace the occasion but couldn’t do anything, as the final decision was taken DIFF. He added that ESG was not even allowed to recommend names to the Directorate.On the other hand, Director of DFF, S M Khan denied the allegation of the EGS. He said that they didn’t receive any formal or informal proposal from EGS to invite the superstar to the festival. He added that they didn’t receive any request even though he was in touch with the EGS.

Amitabh had earlier expressed his eagerness to attend the IIFI.When asked why he is not attending this year’s festival, he said that the question should be asked to the people who organises it.The IIFI 2009 will be held in Goa from November 23 to December 3.

No English for Amitabh Bachchan

In a time when actors are demanding that their dialogues be written in English, here’s an actor who stands tall and different. Yes, we are talking about Big B who recently demanded that his dialogues be drafted in Hindi instead of English.The incident happened during the shoot of his upcoming film RANN. According to reports when Big B demanded his dialogues to be written in Hindi, it first took everyone by surprise.

But, later considering the fact that the veteran actor comes from a literary background and is the son of the well known literary poet Dr Harivanshrai Bachchan, it must not be tough to fathom the actual reason for the actor’s preference of Hindi over English. Big B’s act has shown that the actor still believes in the richness of India’s national language despite everyone getting carried away by the lure of the western lingo.

When Big B knelt down and touched Sanjay Dutt’s feet

The makers of the film ‘Aladdin’ were quite apprehensive about the key sequence in their film which required the character played by legendry Amitabh Bachchan to kneel before Sanjay Dutt’s character and also touch his feet. The scene was an important part of the film’s narrative where Genius-the Genie (played by Big B) surrenders before the ringmaster (played by Sanjay Dutt).

Sujoy and others feared how exactly millions of Amitabh Bachchan fans would accept this scene. For Sanjay Dutt too it was challenging since Amitabh Bachchan is too big a name to be kneeling down.

But, given the professionalism of the Shehenshah of Bollywood everything went on perfectly as Big B was game of the scene and quite well understood its importance. The film does convey the message of good’s win over evil and the scene heightens the impact of the final result.

“That’s the beauty of working with Mr. Bachchan”, says Sujoy, “He lets himself be driven as wanted by the director. We were a bunch of kids wondering how to approach Sir to do this scene and there he was game to do whatever that went well with the character. He has always stated that once he is committed to a project, he doesn’t protest on anything. This is why we could can such a crucial scene without any hindrance. It is indeed one of the highlights of the film.”

Amitabh Bachchan gets threat calls

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has received threat calls from an unknown person on his mobile, the actor revealed it on his blog. Big B, who played a genie in his latest rlease Aladin, wrote: “I visit a Muslim dargah and a Hindu temple has been viciously criticised by an unknown element on my mobile. He says it is incorrect of me to do so and that I should never do it again.” Amitabh Bachchan has been paying a visit to the Haji Ali dargah in Mumbai for the past few years.The actor in his reply said: “Well dear man, if you are reading this insignificant little blog of mine, here is what I have to say to you. I am going to do it again and shall continue to do it. And I want to see how you are going to stop me.

If you have the courage and guts com and get me.”Big B, who recently celebrated his 67th birthday earlier this month, said: “I do have his mobile number and I do have a name too. I believe that there is no law that can protect such atrocious uttering. We live in a temperate secular society where we learn to respect all religions. My belief is of my own making. If the temple or the mosque or a dargah has no objection to my visits ; if my Constitution and the laws of the country give me that freedom and if I do not offend them, then who is this man to stop me or correct me ? It is elements like this that penetrate the psyche of vulnerable and innocent people and subject them to unnecessary and unjustified bias. I strongly object to it and abhor the existence of such elements in society.

This gentleman even threatens me by getting personal. He says that my film Aladin shall not have success because of this deed of mine.”The legendary actor said he will never change his routine by a mere threaten call: “At the cost of every film of mine failing, I am not going to change my routine.If I wish to go to a temple I shall go there. If I wish to go to a mosque I shall go there as well and so also to a gurudwara or a church. And I want to see who is going to stop me from doing so.” Thr actor’s film Aladin has been praised by his followers.

Big B gets 2.25 crore per episode for Bigg Boss

Amitabh Bachchan will be paid Rs 2.25 per episode of Bigg Boss. Previously, it was said that he would be paid Rs 1.25 crore per episode but later he was signed at the big amount. The show will have 84 episodes and he will appear once in a week at the elimination day and also on the special episodes of wild card entries. From this reality show, he will earn a big sum between Rs 30 to Rs 40 crore. “When Amitabh Bachchan was approached for the show, the channel and the production house expected the payment figures to be big,” the source said. “Negotiations started with Rs4 crore per episode and ended at about Rs2.25 crore. The channel decided to invest big money to create maximum buzz.”

Big B is a big name in the industry and so the Bigg Boss producer does not hesitate to pay him the whopping amount. They know very well that Amitabh will mount the TRP of the show thrice than what was before. With this high amount, Amitabh Bachchan becomes the highest paid host.Salman Khan charges 1 crore per episode of ‘Dus Ka Dum’, Shahrukh Khan and Akshay Kumar too paid 1 crore per episode for ‘Panchvi Pass’ and ‘Khatron Ka Khiladi’.

SRK US detention shows cold war with Big B continues

Shah Rukh Khan, who returned to India after being detained by the US officials at the Newark airport for over two hours for security check- up, has slammed Amar Singh (read Bachchan camp, Singh is a close family friend of Bachchans) for saying that it was all meant to promote his upcoming flick ‘My Name Is Khan’. King Khan went on to thrash Amar Singh, the politically powerful friend of Amitabh Bachchan, by saying that such mean things could have come only from a mean mind, and he(SRK) was certainly above all such petty things. Shah Rukh Khan’s reasoning was simple that he was too big a bollywood icon to need such cheap publicity, and in any case being held at any airport was never a matter of pride for any individual.

Earlier, Amar Singh, who is being taken care of by Amitabh Bachchan in Singapore after his kidney transplantation, had said that Shah Rukh was making detention an issue to promote his latest flick ‘My Name Is Khan’.The industry observers see the whole development of Shah Rukh Khan slamming Amar Singh as a clear proof of ongoing cold war between Amitabh Bachchan and King Khan. The industry insiders feel that Amar Singh could not have made such a statement without the consent and knowledge of Amitabh Bachchan, who is staying with him in Singapore. In fact, while slamming Shah Rukh Khan for making the whole thing miserable, Amar Singh had even quoted the instance of Amitabh Bachchan that how he submitted to the scrutiny of US officials without any complaints or grouse.

Amar Singh had also thrashed Shah Rukh Khan for considering himself above the law of a country.Shah Rukh Khan’s retaliation to Amar Singh’s comments is likely to create further tension between Bachchans and King Khan camp, and all the efforts of reconciliation being made by the likes of Karan Johar would come to naught.Earlier, at Karan Johar’s birthday bash, Shah Rukh Khan-Gauri and Abhishek-Aishwarya were seen conversing animatedly, and it was conjectured that there had been a visible thaw in the cold war between Bachchans and Shah Rukh Khan. But after the latest incident, the cold war seems to be very much on and getting hot under the collar too.In the mean time, Shah Rukh Khan has been invited by Hollywood star and current Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to have dinner with him at his residence.

This invitation came to Shah Rukh Khan after the incident made headlines in the world media, but he chose to return to India. It is not clear if Shah Rukh Khan is willing to travel back to the US so soon to attend the dinner after being humiliated in such a manner. However, the date of dinner has been extended now to September 20, so that Shah Rukh Khan can make up his mind in this regard. It may be recalled that after the humiliating US detention, Shah Rukh Khan had said that he would like to limit his travel to the US, and would prefer going to other countries for shooting of his films etc.

Disappointed Amitabh threatens to stop blogging

He is 66 years old but no actor in Bollywood blogs as regularly as him. He keeps connected to his fans and well wishers ever since his blog was launched. But he has threatened to stop blogging if readers continue to post harsh comments. Yes, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is visibly disappointed with some comments.

A few hospital visits with my friend for routine checks and balances, a stop over at the chemist store en route, to get some tie ups for the back, the gym and the pedometer racing away to near 8,500 steps, to the room to respond to comments and a heavy heart to witness a few familia extendum, using the platform of this medium to get personal and ugly with each other,” wrote Amitabh on his blog.

And each hashed comment that I came across as I scrolled down to the last, that indulged in a slang match, felt like a stab in my precarious rib cage. So here are the options. Either you stop or I stop,” he added. Well, readers should stop posting harsh comments and let the superstar pour his experience and wisdom to his fans. His fans need him as much as he needs them!

Aishwarya not having swine flu: Amitabh

One has to pay a huge price for name and fame. Being in the public eyes, celebrities have to watch their every step and spell the right word for the media always tries to create gossip and controversy out of them. The Bachchan family is the latest victim. Amitabh Bachchan’s comment on his blog that his daughter-in-law Aishwarya Bachchan (wife of Abhishek Bachchan) was down with flu was blown out of proportion by the media. Many leading media houses reported that Aishwarya was having swine flu.Now, Amitabh has hit back saying that the media reports were rubbish.

That little mention of Aishwarya’s indisposition has created a media hurricane. Headlines screaming she has swine flu have appeared along with other national news. The paucity of sensationalist material has created a herd mentality towards interpreting that gentle whiff of air into a storm of immense proportions. Getting the news out first has precedence over research and authentication. No, she does not have swine flu. She has improved and is much better and ready to resume work by tomorrow or the day after. I would have kept her home for another week,” wrote Amitabh on his blog.

Now, Amitabh has announced clear and loud that Aishwarya is not having swine flu!

Amitabh-Ramu friendship is over

Controversial film director Ram Gopal Varma and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan were inseparable at one point of time but their friendship has taken a beating of late. Ramu has decided to stop working with Amitabh.The debacle of Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag seems to have made these combo lost trust in each other. Adding more salt to the wounds, Sarkar Raj, the sequel to their hit film Sarkar, failed terribly at the box office. Following these turns of events, Ramu has decided to drop the idea of making another sequel to Sarkar.

It was earlier reported that Ramu would let Aishwarya Bachchan take over the mantle of running the family along with Amitabh in the next sequel. But now, it’s history, as the director has decided to scrub the project.Ramu said that his relationship with the Bachchan family is still close but admitted that he is keeping a distance from them professionally. He revealed that his screen relationship with the Bachchan family is over for the moment.

Well, there seems to be a little ray of hope to Ramu-Amitabh friendship, as their controversial film Rann could work magic to their relationship. Watch out!