Kolkata: "I don't question Amitabh Bachchan… I totally trust my husband and I know this industry. I have never been threatened or felt insecure about anything he did," Jaya Bachchan had once said. Amitabh signifies trust — the trust the audience had on this lanky, young man when he made his debut as a voice narrator in 1969 in Mrinal Sen's National Award-winning film Bhuvan Shome. And, the trust remains on this man, now 80, as he appears on screen in Uunchai, an adventure drama. As the country celebrates the birthday of Big B, who turned 80 this year, the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) authorities have organised an exhibition of Amitabh Bachchan: A Living Legend at Gaganendra Shilpa Pradarshashala on Nandan premises.
On Friday, his better half and veteran actress Jaya Bachchan along with Prosenjit Chatterjee, Arindam Sil, Kaushik Ganguly and KIFF chairman Raj Chakraborty were present at the inauguration of the special exhibition.
In fact, a retrospective on Big B is being hosted where films like Dewaar, Kala Pathaar, Black and others are being screened at KIFF. In the middle of all this, a selfie zone on Big B is also grabbing attention.
From his early years when his parents — Hindi poet Harivansh Rai and social activist Teji Bachchan wanted to name him 'Inquilab', his first job as business executive with Bird & Company in Kolkata with a salary of Rs 1,640, landing a role as one of the seven protagonists in Saat Hindustani to his wedding with Jaya, and having kids Abhishek and Shweta, the exhibition offers an indepth knowledge on anything and everything remotely connected to Big B.
Ela Biswas, a cine lover from Uttarpara in Hooghly, had come to the exhibition with her husband. A die-hard fan of Big B, she said: "After hearing the inaugural speech of Amitabh Bachchan at the 28th KIFF, I knew I had to be there. I fell in love with this man after watching him in Zanjeer. My husband knew that Amitabh would always be my first love," she smiled as her husband coyly looks at her.
In fact, it was Prakash Mehta's cult Zanjeer, which established Amitabh as the 'angry, young man', an epithet which he carries till date. Of course, 1975 was a crucial year for him with the release of Dewaar and Sholay — the films that are a hit among cine goers even today. The subsequent years saw him roar through hits like Trishul, Kala Pathaar and Shakti. Over the years, his performances have revolutionised Indian cinema and changed the existing image of protagonists. In fact, he ushered in a whole new era in Bollywood and till now, the magic is alive. From his baritone, tall figure to his powerful performances later in films like Black, Piku, Paa, Senior Bachchan has commanded an unparalleled presence.
The exhibition, conceptualised by Shuvaprasanna and curated by Sudeshna Roy, also explores the infamous injury period during the shoot of Coolie in 1982 and his bankrupt days. Then came the offer of Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000, a game show, which changed his life forever and also the way Indian TV shot reality shows.
Sudeshna Roy, the curator of the exhibition, told Millennium Post that the work on the same begun three-four months ago. "I spoke to his colleagues from early life, read a lot about him to come up with the details," said the Tollywood director. The exhibition is on till December 22.