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Is Amitabh Bachchan finding himself in a box?

Sarkar 3 proves that even the great Amitabh Bachchan needs a more sentient director than Ram Gopal Varma for a role befitting his calibre

He's ubiquitous by his presence. In mid-May, his statue was installed at a temple-cum-museum in Kolkata by a legion of fans. Recently, he was appointed goodwill ambassador for hepatitis awareness in Southeast Asia by the World Health Organisation. And then, his film Sarkar 3 - the third installment of the Indian retort to Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather - premiered.
That Amitabh Bachchan, at the age of 74, is one of a kind is beyond debate. He is brand ambassador of the Indian state of Gujarat. He has endorsed countless consumer products, ranging from high-end cars and cellphones to banks and chocolates. A stickler for punctuality, he arrives on the dot at the appointed time - be it for a media interview or to launch a book at a formal ceremony.
On his movie slate, there's Yash Raj banner's Thugs of Hindostan in the company of Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif. And to think there was a time when the actor went through a crisis of confidence, insecure whether filmmakers wished to employ him or not - a self-doubt which prompted him to reach out to Yash Chopra and request for a role in Mohabbatein. The crisis, for those who came in late, was catalysed by the failure of his dream venture, ABCL.
The downward curve is a forgotten story now. Today, Amitabh Bachchan would seem immune to the mildest of criticism, as is the case with Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar. Anyone who dares to find fault is immediately trolled or accused of holding a personal agenda. Not surprisingly, then, most reviews of Sarkar 3 had positive words for the septuagenarian superstar. He had tried his utmost, the chant went, to save a poorly-written film directed by the once-maverick-but-now-clearly-inept Ram Gopal Varma.
Sorry to say, but in this case Bachchan is to be faulted for teaming up once again with Varma, never mind the fact that the director has given the actor two of the worst debacles of his career: Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag and Department. There was a time when the actor wasn't seen as a prudent judge of the scripts he was offered, but, of late, he seemed to sense the potential of a script narrated to him - the two most significant examples being Piku and Pink, directed and produced by Shoojit Sircar respectively.
Just for the record, it may be asked whatever happened to an earlier Sircar-Bachchan collaboration titled Shoebite? According to B-town's insiders, the film - about an ageing man's trek towards self-discovery - was almost complete but wasn't released following legal issues against its production company. Guess you win some, lose some.
Back to Sarkar 3. Bachchan's portrayal of Subhash Nagre - a godfather of undiminished clout ever since the franchise kick-started 12 years ago - catches the actor repeating his act, sans any variation. His look, demeanour and tenor haven't altered although he has advanced in age and there have been extreme shifts in the nation's body politic. The performance is a professionally competent one, albeit demonstrating that when even a high-calibre artiste isn't backed by updated content, he may have no option but to repeat himself to the point of ennui.
Moreover, the pre-release hype didn't help. In a protracted videographed interview, complete with split screens, Varma hovered around the actor, striving to challenge him to say something provocative. No go; Bachchan retained his customary cool and didn't make any revelations about the acting craft, which you weren't aware of already. In a final bid, to sound iconoclastic, the director then stated, "The award for the greatest liar goes to Amitabh Bachchan" - or words to that effect. Plus, the point that the filmmaker has some nostalgic bugaboo about the actor ever since he was dumbstruck by Bachchan's 'angry young man' persona in Zanjeer, was sledgehammered yet again.
Currently, there's no Bollywood actor who has played such a long innings. It is his versatility at action, comedy and romance in his vintage films that have contributed immeasurably to his status as a living legend. Think Amitabh Bachchan, and chances are that you think of Anand, Zanjeer, Deewar, Chupke Chupke, Abhimaan, Mili, Kabhi Kabhie, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Namak Haraam and Agneepath. Needless to emphasise, there can be differing takes on the subject of the most accomplished of Amitabh Bachchan performances.
The 1970s and '80s saw him in peak form, followed by a lull, and then a revival that has lasted to this day and age. Of his latter-day portrayals, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, the Shoojit Sircar films and R. Balki's Paa, underscore the fact that Bachchan need not be mannered or typecast. Indeed, the strongest suit of any actor anywhere in the world is that he or she is still capable of varying the most humdrum of acts, and can take the script to another level.
In Sarkar 3, Bachchan sprang no surprises at all. Regrettably.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com