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Amitabh Bachchan Reflections on a Star Image
The book is a set of philosophical essays on Amitabh Bachchan, a star like no other in Bollywood. Packed into the persona of Amitabh Bachchan is a star, a person, an expression of his writers, directors, cinematographers, music directors, choreographers and most importantly, the viewer. There are spaces where Amitabh Bachchan, as a person, spreads over to his screen persona and creates his stardom with many episodes and experiences from his life lived in flesh and blood. The book discusses Amitabh against images and appeals of other popular stars like Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Rajesh Khanna and even Shah Rukh Khan. The book also discusses many of his films which were a remake of popular films of earlier days, as well as many of Amitabh's films which were remade later with the present day stars. The book finds that the star is an individual, the self-image of the viewer and essential in a modernizing society in which the individual is rooted in the institution of family and marriage and must operate within the structures of his class, caste, religion and even the city in which he lives. In his desire to take charge of his life, overcome the barriers that stand in the way of a fuller realization of his essence as an individual. Cinema can be classified around the star and the principles of classification pertain to the existential questions of the star in his embeddedness into the world and also a desire to transcend those attachments into a purer state of being.
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Amitabh -The Making Of A Superstar
In an industry where fashions change every Friday, Amitabh Bachchan has been synonymous with cinematic entertainment for over thirty years. But beyond the labels of ‘one-man industry' and ‘star of the millennium', a number of issues pertaining to the star, his films and his era remain largely unaddressed. What is it that makes Amitabh Bachchan the star he is? Is it his undeniable genius as an actor, his ability to connect with the masses and the classes alike, or is it his writers and directors who project him in varied roles? Did his films in his heyday reflect the angst of his time, or did the y ferment the spirit of anger and rebellion in the first place? Was he really the rebel as his ‘angry young man' image suggests, or was the re, behind all the sound and fury, a conformist subtext that called for restoration of the status quo? How relevant is Amitabh Bachchan today? In Amitabh: The Making of a Superstar , Susmita Dasgupta answers the se and o the r questions that lie buried in the trail of glory the star blazed. In a warm and insightful analysis, the author traces the world-view and philosophy that have shaped the films of Amitabh Bachchan—from the angry young man of Zanjeer , the tragic antihero of Deewar and the entertainer of Amar Akbar Anthony to his more conservative turns in Mohabbatein and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham . In the process, she not only chronicles the star's journey from a flop actor to a national icon but also brings to life a period in the history of Indian cinema which altered forever the economics of film-making in the country.