Amitabh Bachchan in Asia’s 25 greatest actors of all time for CNN

Guru Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, Pran, Nargis, and Meena Kumari are among “Asia’s 25 greatest actors of all time”, according to CNNGo, a division of Cable News Network (CNN).

The listing, posted on March four, lists struggling poet of “Pyaasa” (1957) as the “best role” of Guru Dutt and mentions about his “soulful acting”. Talking about “deep voice and broodiness” of Amitabh Bachchan, it declares Inspector Khanna in “Zanjeer” (1973) as his best role. Portraying Pran as “pre-eminent villain of Hindi cinema”, it states his best role as Good Samaritan in “Upkaar” (1967). Praising Nargis’s “versatility and natural expression”, it announces strong-willed Radha in “Mother India” (1957) as her best role. Dubbing Meena Kumari as “The Tragedy Queen”, it finds “yearning to be understood” woman of “Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam” (1962) as her best role.

With five actors listed, India has highest number of entries. It compares Guru Dutt to Orson Welles (Citizen Kane). About Amitabh Bachchan, it argues that “Zanjeer” “cemented his image as a dark and deep character, triggered to explode”.

Talking about Pran, it says: “So great is his notoriety as a villain that some Indian parents dare not name their sons Pran”. It stresses that Nargis stole the show in the Oscar-nominated “Mother India”, known as the Indian “Gone with the Wind.” About Meena Kumari, it points out that her grief-stricken roles “mirrored the sufferings in her private life”.

Acclaimed Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that India should be proud of its cinematic achievements and producing great film stalwarts. No book on world cinema is complete without mention of India’s wonderful contributions like “Pather Panchali” (Satyajit Ray). India’s government, various film organizations, and universities should launch world-level film academies to train its rich talent, Rajan Zed, who is chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, added.

Other 20 Asia’s greatest actors listed by CNNGo are: China-Zhou Xun, Gong Li, Ruan Lingyu; Hong Kong-Leslie Cheung, Josephine Siao, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai; Japan-Toshiro Mifune, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Takeshi Kitano; Pakistan-Mohammad Ali, Zeba; Sri Lanka-Malini Fonseka; Korea-Ahn Sung-ki, Shim Eun-ha; Singapore-Ng Chin Han, Fann Wong; Thailand-Petchara Chaowarat, Mitr Chaibancha; Malaysia-P. Ramlee; Cambodia-Kong Som Eurn.

It adds that in the history of the Academy Awards, “only two Asians have ever taken home a Best Actor or Actress statue (we don’t count Ben Kingsley as true Asian)”.

CNNGo; an arm of Atlanta (USA) headquartered Turner Broadcasting System; currently covering Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo; focuses on travel/lifestyle/entertainment; and its tagline is “Local Insights, Global Experiences”.

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Amitabh Bachchan is gearing up to gladden the hearts of South audiences

Amitabh Bachchan is gearing up to gladden the hearts of South audiences. After much persuasion, and date changes in his celeb diary, Bigger B will finally show up in a pivotal role in the Malayalam flick: ’Kandahar’.

He will share screen space with Malayalam super icon Mohanlal and Tamil star Suriya. The flick helmed by Major Ravi, a commando officer turned filmmaker, is centred around the Kandahar aircraft hijack episode; Mohanlal enacts a commando officer and Suriya essays his junior.


Confirming the starry news, an elated Major Ravi told the media, "Amitabh Bachchan will play the father of a passenger and his dialogues will be in Hindi. I’ll be shooting in Mumbai, Delhi, Nepal and Kashmir. I aim to shoot the plane hijack scene in Germany. I’ll start shooting in June or July and intend to complete the film for an October release." August decision, Major Ravi.

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Social activist Mallika Sarabhai wrote the letter to Amitabh Bachchan

Mallika Sarabhai, a danseuse and social activist, wrote the following letter to Amitabh Bachchan to question his support for Narendra Modi’s Gujarat.

“My dear Bachchanji, Greetings from a Gujarati You are indeed a fine actor. You are an intelligent man and a shrewd businessman.

But should I believe in your endorsements? Let’s take a brief look at what you proclaim you believe in (albeit for huge sums of money). BPL, ICICI, Parker and Luxor pens, Maruti Versa, Cadbury’s chocolates, Nerolac paints, Dabur, Emami, Eveready, Sahara City Homes, D’damas, Binani Cement and Reliance. And now Gujarat.

I wonder how you decide what to endorse. Is your house built with Binani Cement? Do you really like Cadbury’s chocolates or do you have to resort to Dabur’s hajmola (whose efficacy you have earlier checked) after eating them? And having endorsed two pens, one very upmarket and one rather down, which one do you use?

Have you, except perhaps for the shooting of the ad, ever driven or been driven in a Versa? Do you know whether the Nerolac paint in your home (you do use it don’t you?) has lead in it that can poison you slowly as it does so many people? Or are the decisions entirely monetary?

It has been reported that no direct fee will be paid to you for being my Brand Ambassador.

So, with no monetary decision to guide you, how did you decide to say yes? Did you check on the state of the State? I doubt it, for the decision and the announcement came from one single meeting. And I somehow doubt that you have been following the news on Gujarat closely.

So, as a Gujarati, permit me to introduce my State to you.

Everyone knows of our vibrancy, of the billions and trillions pouring into our State through the two yearly jamborees called Vibrant Gujarat. But did you know that by the government’s own admission no more than 23 per cent of these have actually moved beyond the MOU stage?

That while huge subsidies are being granted to our richest business houses, over 75,000 small and medium businesses have shut down rendering one million more people jobless.

You know of Gujarat’s fastpaced growth and the FDI pouring in, you have no doubt seen pictures of the czars of the business world lining up to pour money to develop us. To develop whom?

Did you know that our poor are getting poorer? That while the all-India reduction in poverty between 1993 and 2005 is 8.5 per cent, in Gujarat it is a mere 2.8 per cent?

That we have entire farmer families committing suicide, not just the male head of the household?

You have heard of how some mealy mouthed NGO types have been blocking the progress of the Narmada project, how the government has prevailed, and water is pouring down every thirsty mouth and every bit of thirsty land.

But did you know that in the 49 years since it was started, and in spite of the Rs29,000 crore spent on it, only 29 per cent of the work is complete?

That the construction is so poor (lots of sand added to the you know which cement) that over the last nine years there have been 308 breaches, ruining lakhs of farmers whose fields were flooded, ruining the poorest salt farmers whose salt was washed away?

That whereas in 1999, 4,743 of Gujarat’s villages were without drinking water, within two years that figure had gone up to 11,390 villages? (I cannot even begin to project those figures for today - but do know that the figure has gone up dramatically rather than down).

With our CM, hailed as the CEO of Gujarat, we have once again achieved number one status - in indebtedness.

In 2001, the state debt was Rs14,000 crore. This was before the State became a multinational company.

Today it stands at Rs1,05,000 crore. And to service this debt we pay a whopping Rs7,000 crore a year, 25 per cent of our annual budget.

Meanwhile, our spending on education is down, no new public hospitals for the poor are being built, fishermen are going a begging as the seas turn turgid with effluents, more mothers die at birth per thousand than in the rest of India, and our general performance on the Human Development Index is nearly the first - from the bottom.

One rape a day, 17 cases of violence against women, and, over the last 10 years, 8,802 suicides and 18,152 “ accidental” deaths of women have been officially reported. You can imagine the real figures. You have said that you are our ambassador because we have Somnath and Gandhi.

Somnath was built for the people. Gandhiji was a man of the people. Do the people of this State matter to you? If they do, perhaps your decision will be different. I hope you will read this letter and decide. In warmth and friendship, Mallika”

Big B has recently become brand ambassador of Modi’s state - Gujarat. "There are lots of good things in Gujarat which should be promoted. I am ready to give my voice and face for the promotion of Gujarat tourism." Bachchan had said to media during special screening of ’Paa’ with Chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi.

While Shahrukh Khan, Bollywood’s other superstar never went quite so far, he did say in an interview that he had nothing against Narendra Modi because Modi had never harmed him personally.

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Amitabh Bachchan's Paa gets tax exemption in Gujarat

The Gujarat government has declared Amitabh Bachchan’s Bollywood movie Paa tax free in the state.

The government’s decision came after Big B’s AB Corp organised a special screening of the film for Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of superstar Bachchan at a multiplex in Gandhinagar.

Bachchan had specially come in from Mumbai for the screening and had requested Modi to exempt the film from entertainment tax in the state.

"We have organised the screening of Paa so that the film, which is based on the socially relevant subject of physically challenged children, gets tax exemption," Bachchan told reporters in Ahmedabad.

Sources in the government said that a three-member committee consisting of Principal Secretary, Finance Secretary, Youth and Culture and State Information Commissioner recommended exemption of the movie from entertainment tax for all the cinema houses in the state.

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Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan will soon live his dream

Believe it or not, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan will soon live his dream. Big B, who is one of the biggest fans of legendary actor Dilip Kumar, is gearing up to play the latter in Pritish Nandy’s upcoming venture ‘The Actor’. Not just that, buzz has it that none other than Lara Dutta will be seen playing his wife (Saira Banu) in the movie.

According to the latest news, in the flick, Big B will be playing a film star married to a much younger woman. Since Lara is about 35 years younger than Amitabh, grapevine has it that the two have been finalised for the same.

However, Nandy reportedly claims that there’s a unique twist to the trend of generation-challenged relationships. “The age factor is no consequence to the plot. They are just a happy couple,” he says.

Well, although this is not going to be the first time that Big B would be paired opposite a much-much-younger woman onscreen, but this one will surely be very special for him as Dilip Kumar has always been Bachchan’s ultimate role model.

Expectations are very high from Big B, as Dilip Kumar is one of those Titans of Bollywood who have transformed the Indian film industry from a theatrical stage to the engrossing screenplays of today. While Dilip made films realistic with his dynamic performances, Big B took it forward and perfected the form.

The role is enviable, only the Lara Dutta part makes one think - will Saira Bano be satisfied with the cast?

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Police complaint has been filled against Amitabh Bachchan

A 14-page complaint of fraud has been filled at the Babupurwa Police Station in Uttar Pradesh`s Kanpur District against Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh, his wife Pankaja Kumari Singh and cine icon Amitabh Bachchan .

Shiv Kant Tiwari, the person who filed the complaint, claimed that all three had been involved in a financial fraud amounting to about Rs 500 crore. They have been charged with amalgamating companies for converting black money into white between 2003 and 2008, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Brij Lal and DIG (Kanpur) Neera Rawat said.

The companies named in the FIR included Energy Development Company Limited, EDCL Power Limited, Pankaja Art and Credit Limited, Sarvottam Cap Limited, EDCL Infrastructure Limited and Eastern India Company, all owned or run by the Singh couple.

Lal claimed that 25 companies have been amalgamated into Sarvottam Cap Limited .

"The FIR has been lodged under various sections of IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Laundering Act," he said.

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