Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan steps aside in an exclusive interview with BollywoodHungama.com’s Subhash K. Jha saying that in the newly released film Pink “…you shall only notice the remarkable young actors and no one else"…
Big B - as he is more affectionately known to fans - features in this, his third film with Shoojit Sircar - whom Bachchan describes as "a thought provoking" film maker.
Commenting on young actress and key star of the film, Taapsee Pannu, he said: "I have said this many times publicly and I shall say it again. In Pink you shall only notice the remarkable young actors and no one else. They are all of them fresh, accomplished and stunning. Their performances carry the film. Their flare in incorporating their respective roles, the efficiency with which they have presented it and the absolute genuineness in enacting their complicated characters was a learning for me! This generation of actors amazes me, and in Pink this generation has left me open mouthed in wonder and incredulity!"
In Pink Bachchan is seen in a never-before played role for him whereby, for example he stands in a courtroom and subjects the young protagonist to sexually forthright questions - including asking her if she is a virgin.
Commenting on this he said: "Yes, court rooms have eluded me, thankfully, but this film has been designed to keep it as real as possible and the legalese has been written after extensive research with lawyers of great eminence and experience from several quarters and courts. My participation therefore in this film as a lawyer, was, apart from being a first, quite unique as well...
"The language is aggressive and maybe strong, but that is the construct of the screenplay, or shall we say the construct of the arguments the defence employs to defeat an argument or claim of the prosecution. It falls in line with the story of the film. And maybe they are expressions or words never spoken or heard before in a film court room sequence. But they have been whetted and approved by, as I said, several luminaries of the legal profession!"
"The circumstances in Pink are perhaps novel to not just court procedures, but also for the performers that have been asked to perform them. I found myself a part of not just the performer, but also the correctness of what I stand for in the story. That is the difference. If after seeing the film people find it unconventional, that would be an opinion to consider. I do feel though, that after the reasons are explained in the story and its presentation, whether people would want to label it as unconventional. For me as the character in the film, that assessment would annoy and anger me. Because what I stand for, not just in the film, but in my life too, is not unconventional. My belief defies and denies that. They that shall have arguments to defend against me, shall have to first stand and convincingly explain to me what is 'unconventional' and what 'conventional'!"
Pink addresses itself to the question of female sexuality and its violation by patriarchal forces. As someone who champions the cause of the girl child in real life, we were curious to know how deeply Bachchan was affected by the film's theme?
"Deeply...because the words that I speak in the film, would have been no different from what I would say even if I was not acting in Pink!"
Sourced and edited from: bollywoodhungama.com
• Pink releases at cinemas on September 16