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Nshima & Curry

Melvin's  Blog

Nshima & Curry

AMITABH TURNS INTO TELEVISION SENSATION

Who is the finest actor in the history of cinema?
(a) Sir Laurence Olivier; (b) Robert De Niro;
(c) Amitabh Bachchan; or (d) Vijay Amritraj.

That question would be far too easy for the television
game show, "Kaun Banega Crorepati," the Indian
version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"
Especially since the host would start to blush.

"Me? You picked me?" Amitabh would say. "Is that
your final answer? Are you sure you don’t want to
pick Vijay? He was sensational in 'Octopussy.' They
almost picked him to be the next James Bond."

Contestants who got the question wrong would be so
ashamed, they’d have to head to the nearest airport
and leave India. But not before kissing Amitabh’s feet
(everybody does that anyway) and promising to spend
their remaining years on this earth watching his
movies. Even the rare films in which his acting -- dare
I say it -- should have earned him two mangoes and a
bus ticket home.

In a BBC poll last year, Amitabh was picked as the
finest actor in the history of cinema, with Olivier
finishing second and De Niro third. And no, in case
you’re wondering, the poll wasn’t taken on the streets
of Mumbai.

If you announced the poll result to American
moviegoers, they’d say, "Amitabh? Who the heck is
Amitabh? Did Jack Nicholson finally go insane and
change his name? Well, at least he didn’t shoot
anyone."

If you announced the result to Indian moviegoers,
they’d say, "Of course. Who else could it be, but
Amitabh? But what’s Olivier doing in second place?
What happened to Raj Kapoor?"

Among Indians, the suave, handsome Amitabh is the
greatest actor ever. No one comes close. To create
another Amitabh would be near impossible. You’d
have to take all the top actors in Hollywood -- De Niro,
Nicholson, Anthony Hopkins, Denzel Washington --
combine them into one superb actor and teach him
Hindi. And that’s the easy part. The hard part would
be convincing this incomparable actor to accept a
contract that pays him in rupees. Yes, in case you
didn't notice, the rupee is now worth as much as a
date on Saturday night with Veerappan.

To be considered the top actor in India is no mean
accomplishment. India’s Bollywood produces more
movies than America’s Hollywood. Amitabh has
appeared in hundreds of those movies, much to the
delight of his adoring fans. To them, a movie without
Amitabh is like a war without Pakistanis. It’s just not
worth it.

It’s no surprise, then, that "Who Wants To Be a
Millionaire?" has become India’s most popular program
ever. With so many of the contestants eager to meet
the host, the show might as well be called "Who wants
to meet Amitabh?"

Of course, Amitabh alone isn’t responsible for the
show’s success. The format and prize money create
much of the appeal. A rupee may not be worth much,
but the thought of winning 10 million rupees is enough
to make Indians forget all about cricket.

Like the version in America and about 30 other
countries, "Kaun Banega Crorepati" is modeled after the
original British show. When Amitabh says, "Sure?
Confident?" he’s just mimicking the words of British
host Chris Tarrant. But Amitabh could probably get
away with saying almost anything:

AMITABH: "Here’s your 1,000-rupee question: Who is
known as the father of India? (a) Mahatma Gandhi;
(b) Indira Gandhi; (c) Sonia Gandhi; or (d) Priyanka
Gandhi."

CONTESTANT: "Uh ... that’s a tough one. I know it’s
one of the Gandhis, but I’m not sure which one."

AMITABH: "Let me repeat the question: Who is known
as the father of India, you silly idiot?"

CONTESTANT: "Uh ... Can I call a friend?"

AMITABH: "OK, who do you want to call? Another
moron?"

Of course, Amitabh would never say such things. He’s a
great actor. He knows how to follow a script.

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