http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/01 ... index.html:

"Serious thoughts cross my mind as I listen to some of the most devout admirers of Dr. Amitabh Bachchan who have stood by him through thick and thin during all the thirty-six years and more that he has been around and ruling supreme.

These “Bhakts” of the Bachchan are anxious about some roles Bachchan has played in some films in the past and two films which he has agreed to play now, one complete and one in the making, ‘Nishabd’ and ‘Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay’. They very strongly feel that Bachchan should not have agreed to play the philanderer. The ageing man with a strong weakness for women in “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna”. They genuinely and sincerely feel that the role did not suit his age and certainly not the grace, the dignity and the status which he has earned for himself. Now they are upset and are wondering why their icon is playing the elderly man madly in love with a nymphet in Ram Gopal Varma’s “Nishabd” and shocked with his decision to play Gabbar Singh in “Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay” which RGV time and again claims to be his tribute to Ramesh Sippy’s all-time classic, “Sholay”. Some of them refuse to see their icon trying his time-tested talent in playing a variety of roles to prove his caliber as a complete actor. Some others go to the unimaginable extent of blaming Ram Gopal Varma for slowly but certainly damaging the image of the greatest icon of all times.

One woman in her early fifties, a school teacher, even grows unreasonable and illogical when she blames Varma for carrying on “a one-man wicked crusade” to destroy the man of a million dreams, first with “Sarkar” and now with “Nishabd” and “Ram Gopal Ke Sholay”. She says “Ramuji” was playing with the innocent ambition of “the actor among all actors”. Even as Dr. Bachchan is completing his shooting as Gabbar Singh and waiting for the release of “Nishabd”, I give you some of their views and they are not views coming from the illiterate of the much-under-rated “janata”. Besides the school teacher, I have two doctors, a house wife and a twenty-two year old young woman doing her final year in law. Listen to them, they have a voice and they want their voice to be heard.

Dr. Nachar is a practicing family doctor in Ghatkopar. He is so crazy about “Bachchanji” as he calls him that he has his dispensary plastered with hundreds of photographs of “Bachchanji”. The doctor sometimes prescribes an Amitabh Bachchan film to his patients and buys tickets for those who cannot afford to. Says Dr. Nachar, “I have never dared to question Bachchanji whom I consider to be an avatar of God. But some of his recent roles are giving me sleepless nights. Where was the need for him to play Sam in “KANK” and now as if that was not enough he has fallen into the wild trap of Ram Gopal Varma by agreeing to play Gabbar Singh and the old man in love with a girl less than one-fourth of his age in “Nishabd” which I am told is based on “Lolita” which is a very dirty book which I have read. I have always told my patients that “Bachchanji” is the modern day “Mahapurush”. What will i tell them now?"

Dr. Vinod Thakkar who lived in Surat and Baroda for years has now started his own medical equipment factory in Mumbai. He has been a very busy man but has never missed any Bachchan film. Says Dr. Thakkar, “Bachchan Sahab ko aise nahin karma chhaahiye. I respected him like a brother once and now I respect him like my father. As a brother you don’t get upset so much. But when your father does certain unexpected things it really comes as a big shock. I saw “KANK” with my family who knew how much I love Bachchan Sahab. I couldn’t answer the questions they asked me after they saw him in the film. And now I have heard that he is playing Gabbar Singh in a film which I am sure will be a hopeless film. I don’t care what happens t the film but I am worried about what that man Varma will do to Bachchan Sahab’s image by cheating him into playing Gabbar Singh. He is also playing the old man in a vulgar film being made by Varma. Why is Bachchan Sahab doing all these roles to hurt his fans like me? I am sure there are may others who will agree with me. But will not talk. I am talking because he is my father, mera baap hai, Bachchan Sahab.

Mrs. Charu Kanani was a fan of the Bachchan when she was nineteen. She confesses she was in love with him then. She is a mother in law and a grand mother now but her affection for her hero only grows stronger. She keeps in touch with all that happens in Bachchan’s life as an actor and also his real life and keeps asking me endless questions about him every week. This time she has only one big question – “Why is my Amitabh Bachchan doing all these dirty roles at this age? My children who have seen my madness for his now tell me how my great hero has gone mad in his old age by playing all kinds of roles, which can be played by any other actor but not by my Amitabh Bachchan. What do I tell my children when they make fun of me and my great hero?”

Says Sunita Sampai who is doing her degree in law. “Bachchan has been a part of our family. My grandparents loved him, my parents worshiped and he is my favourite actor. There are many young heroes today but I think there can be no one like Bachchan. But I cannot understand why he is experimenting with roles which I am sure will not appeal to his admirer and well wishers who have prayed for him.”

These are just some of the many anxious voices about the new and bold steps taken by the actor of the millennium. I wonder what he has to say."

I'm not sure what people would "expect" Amitabh Bachchan, or any great actor, to do. First of all, Bachchan is not a person who's gained fame and fans by doing "Manoj Kumar" roles; rather, his image, his style, his persona — they're built, at least in decent part, on the "angry young man." He's a person multi-talented; jack and master of all trades. Nevertheless, a good chunk of his repertoire is composed of his roles in Deewaar (1975), Agneepath, Akayla, etc.; meaning, roles in which he was not necessarily the "morally unquestionable" entity. Oh, but when it comes to "sex"... shit. "Why — oh, why — is 'Bachchan-ji' playing 'Sexy Sam' and a sixty-year-old man romantically involved with an eighteen-year-old girl?" Does being a great actor mean restricting yourself to the roles of so-called "proper" characters? I should fucking hope not. Acting, I would think, is playing a compelling part, and playing it well. Bachchan may be an icon (may be? is), but that doesn't mean he ought to limit himself to doing roles that certain people find morally-commendable. I'm glad that Amitabh Bachchan is getting, and accpeting, supposedly non-conventional parts. Honestly, I'm a fan no matter what he does; nonetheless, taking on parts other than that of the "concerned or stern patriarch" is, in my probably-not-too-humble opinion, an effort to be lauded, not questioned.

I completely agree with you commando. These neurosis trolls never learn to think outside the box.

Agree with you Commando303!

Absolutely. We all love the Big B and much of it is because of his ability to play such diverse parts.

Although I think it's good that Amitabh can show he still has the talent, I'm not sure if he can pull it off. I for one thought his acting in Black was overated and his role in Boom was nothing but embarassing.

I think some of his fans think he may do some 'bold', 'daring' scenes (in an indian context) which they are uncomfortable seeing him in. Before he said he would never do a kiss scene as he was totally uncomfortable with kissing in Indian films, then he does a kiss scene with Rani in Black. I know some people who are still shocked by that.

I think Amitabh Bachchan is the most talented actor in any film industry (of course, he's a personal favorite), and I enjoy his doing so-called "unconventional" parts as I do his doing more "traditional" ones. I found him brilliant in Black (as did I Rani Mukherjee), and I eagerly await his work in Cheeni Kum and the other "non-mainstream" projects he's rumored to be involved in (I can't recall the working titles, but shall post them if I do).

I, too, recall Bachchan's statement that he'd never perform an on-screen kiss; he was even called on this about Black, replying that he felt it was "appropriate for the part." He'd also clarified, eariler, that he wasn't "opposed" to on-screen kissing, but just felt uncomfortable doing it himself.

So, altogether, I love Amitabh Bachchan in Khakee, and I love him in Dev, and I think he should do whatever he wishes to, not paying mind to people's "expectations."

quite frankly im getting bored of seeing amitabh playing crap roles in crap movies.. KANK and Baabul spring to mind....... i personaly would like to see him play roles with more depth i.e. virudh..

i just wish he stopped signing up for every other crap and make 1 decent movie every year.. the only movie of his im looking forwrd to is eklavya..

If faddy malai says it, it has a lot of weight man!! I could not agree more!!

I disagree about Bachchan's accepting roles the way you claim he is. I think a lot of people's feeling he's "over-exposed," "seen in everything," is left-over bitterness from his image in roughly 2004. Given, then, he was in just innumerable marginal roles, on countless billboards, in myriad commercials, a plethora of endorsements — simply everywhere in everything. In 2006, however, all we saw him in is Family, which was really just a left-over from 2005; Darna Zaroori Hai, in which he was seen for only about five minutes; Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (the first real "guest appearance"); and, finally, Baabul, in which he had a full-fledged part. I liked (didn't "love," I suppose) Baabul, and appreciated Amitabh's role therein. He has many, what I feel are, interesting projects coming up, as well: Ram Gopal Varma Ki Sholay, which, no matter how they feel, most people will probably end up watching (and in which Bachchan fans might enjoy seeing Amitabh as a character supposedly totally contemptible); perhaps Bachchan as Gurdit Singh; perhaps Bachchan as a an old chess player; perharps Bachchan with Johnny Depp; Nishabd, which looks intriguing; Cheeni Kum, which looks refreshing and new; Eklavya, which seems as though it might just be great; and Sarkar 2, which might be all right. None of these seems like a film in which I wouldn't like to see Amitabh Bachchan involved (of course, Varma's "Sholay" is a weird one to wrap my mind around), and I sincerely look forward to all of them. Things I'm not holding my breath for are just Shootout At Lokhandwala, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, and God Tussi Great Ho, in which Amitabh is supposed to have just small, rather inconsequential parts. Also, sickly, I want to see Zamaanat — .

Man leave your amitabh sentiments aside for 2 minutes... look at the movies hes done over the past say 3 years..

Baabul
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Darna Zaroori Hai
Family: Ties of Blood
Ek Ajnabee
Dil Jo Bhi Kahey...
Viruddh... Family Comes First
Sarkar
Paheli
Bunty Aur Babli
Waqt: The Race Against Time
Black
Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo
Veer-Zaara
Hum Kaun Hai?
Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na
Deewaar
Lakshya
Dev
Aetbaar
Khakee
Baghban
Boom
Armaan
Kaante

Out of all them, i can only say Kaante, Khakhee, Dev, Veer-Zaara, Black, Virudh and Sarkaar were great (7 out of 25).. the rest were awful... its come to the stage where I cant even be arsed watching many of his films any more!! I would be happier seeing him just release 7 movies over a 3 year period instead of seeing him in an array of shit movies!!! Yes sholay 2, Nishabd and Sarkar 2 have the ability to be great movies.. but unfortunately RGV has really lost the plot nowadays and I dont think he can pull of good movies any more....... so im not holding my breath about these.. Eklavya on the other hand........ now that is something that has got me excited Cheeni Kum is also interesting too..

From the list, I have absolutely no problem with the following:

Baabul: It was a decent movie, with a good part for Bachchan.

Viruddh: A good movie, with a great role for Amitabh.

Sarkar: Good movie; great Amitabh.

Paheli: Just a guest appearance (and a decent one, at that) — everyone's entitled to do some minor work here and there.

Waqt: A good, under-appreciated film, in which I enjoyed both Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar. I wouldn't, by any means, wish to remove Bachchan's name from the credits.

Black: A very good, ambitious film, in which Amitabh Bachchan got to do "non-mainstream" work, and proved he could with flying colors.

Deewaar: Loved it; Bachchan almost "made" the film. If only it had opted for a different title...

Lakshya: A very good movie, in which Bachchan has the second guest role from the list that I support.

Dev: Great, and I'd not dream of hoping for Amitabh's non-involvement.

Aetbaar: I genuinely like this movie, and feel it's unfairly either bashed or ignored by just about everyone. Amitabh Bachchan was incredibly intelligent in his portrayal of a desperate-yet-resolved father, and he basically "made" this one, as well.

Khakee: Loved it; without Bachchan, there's really no film.

Baghban: Mediocre execution of a promising topic. Amitabh Bachchan did some phenomenal, authentic work in his role; the songs were great; and it was nice to see Bachchan and Hema Malini opposite each other after some time. A troubled movie, certainly, but one from which I wouldn't want Amitabh removed.

Kaante: Bordered on "rip-off" at several moments (especially during the climax), but a fun outing, nevertheless. At the very least, it didn't feel Ek-Ajnabee "false" (i.e., things actually made sense for where they were happening, and I didn't cringe at literally every part as I thought of the American counterpart-movie). Amitabh had a good role, and he performed very well.

Out of the twenty-five films you list, thirteen I'm basically in full favor of. I wish he hadn't been in Hum Kaun Hai? and Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo, and the rest I don't really care about. I admit that there's bias here, but I just don't want Bachchan to work "much less," as you seem to. This relies largely, however, on the fact that I don't see him with many more Hum Kaun Hai?s or Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyos lined up; he's not even involved in too many of the "the rest I don't really care about" ventures. I agree that Ram Gopal Varma is not what he used to be, but I like the trailers for Nishabd; I thought Sarkar was OK, and so look forward to the sequel; and any re-make of Sholay just has some degree of innate appeal. The commercial for Cheeni Kum, as well, sparked my interest. Seeing Bachchan in serious work such as the "Gurdit Singh" film, the "Johnny Depp" movie, and the "old, chess-playing guy" thing — despite how seemingly uninterestedly I type about them — certainly get my curiousity going. Then, of course, there's Eklavya, which, as you agreed, looks like it could be something grand.

My "ultimate" point, really, is that I — beyond just being a "fan" — largely support Amitabh Bachchan's career path, barring a few bouts of over-exposure (especially during 2004). I am glad that he's not on the same track of heaps and heaps of marginal work, and what he has lined up in 2007 definitely has me alert and eager.

each to their own i suppose.. but i feel amitabh is over exposing himself now and doesnt really do anything for me the way it did during the mid 80s..

And I can respect that. There's no need for "loyalty" in being a "fan" of someone: You like a person when you like him; you don't, when you don't. As for me, I definitely still find Bachchan to be the greatest actor in the film industry (Indian, as well as global), and eagerly look forward to his work.