But within a few years, not only had he turned his back on politics forever, even his relationship with the Gandhi family that led the Congress had completely soured. This was thanks to a corruption controversy in a defence deal in which Rajiv Gandhi was implicated and Amitabh soon found his name also being dragged into it. Rajiv got assassinated soon after but Amitabh’s relations with the Gandhis never mended again, even as the Congress kept coming in and out of power. It is not a subject he has ever talked in detail about.
Recently, he again courted controversy when people noticed that he was all of a sudden following a large number of Congress leaders on Twitter, including some of the Gandhis. There was speculation on whether he was building bridges in politics again. To be fair, it was not just Congress leaders that he had started to follow but a large number of politicians cutting across party lines. So the Congress connection resurfacing might be a bit of an exaggerated extrapolation.
However, what is true about Amitabh is also that while he never returned to active politics after his experience, he did not stop associating with politicians on a personal level. Amar Singh, a politician, was for a long time like a shadow to Amitabh, linking him with the Samajwadi Party which ruled the state of Uttar Pradesh. Jaya Bachchan got nominated for a Parliament ticket from that party. Amitabh and Singh also subsequently had an estrangement. Recently, there was a twist to the politics of Jaya, too. The Samajwadi Party became considerably weakened after the last election and the numbers they could nominate directly to Parliament also decreased as a result.
Jaya, as her term comes to an end, is rumoured to be jumping ship to another party, the Trinamool Congress, which rules West Bengal and who might now nominate her. There has been no official confirmation, but if it happens it will once again show that the Bachchans are survivors in politics.
Silence theory
Long before Padmaavat was released there were reports of Shah Rukh Khan and its director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, coming together for a movie. It was reportedly to be a biopic on the poet Sahir Ludhianvi. But then it was said that the project had been dropped and they were contemplating other ideas, which too have not fructified. Shah Rukh has worked with Bhansali once before in Devdas 15 years ago.
Recently, at a panel discussion, Shah Rukh was asked about the Padmaavat controversy and why no stars in Bollywood had come out in support of the movie when the agitation was going on. His reply was somewhat strange. He said that stars did not openly support Padmaavat because it was in the interests of the movie that they remain silent. According to him, stars don’t go into hiding or are scared when such issues crop up. Rather, by coming out what they would do is fan the flames of any potential agitation giving it a scale that wouldn’t have been there earlier. And that he had himself advised the people behind Padmaavat to not react to whatever protests were happening. This theory of Shah Rukh could be plausible except that in Padmaavat’s case, even though the stars remained silent, the issue took a nationwide dimension. And in such a situation when a filmmaker finds himself practically under siege to not show support might not be the best way to help him out.
Fading star?
Things are looking bad for Sidharth Malhotra. Aiyaary was supposed to be his ticket back into the reckoning but the movie has failed. This, despite its release being postponed by a number of times to avoid clashes with Padman and Padmaavat. It was not even such a bad movie. A spy thriller, it had a decent director in Neeraj Pandey who has given a number of superhits with Akshay Kumar earlier.
Even if the plot was just a little complex, it had enough of the usual nuts and bolts of a commercial entertainer to pass muster. So, naturally, when it fails whispers start going around that the hero just didn’t have enough appeal to draw an initial audience. This is Sidharth’s fourth movie running that hasn’t worked at the box office. At some point, filmmakers might just give up on him as has happened with Imran Khan. He does have Aashiqui 3 coming up. Since Aashiqui 2 was a blockbuster, the third edition has the potential to salvage his career. Both he and Varun Dhawan started their careers together in the same movie but to compare the two’s status in Bollywood now would be a study in contrast. Options are running out for Sidharth if some magic does not happen.
Hot buzz
The buzz around Rajkumar Hirani’s biopic of Sanjay Dutt is building up as its release approaches. Titled Sanju, the movie is slated to hit the screens towards the end of June. But, even before the promotions have begun, those in Bollywood who have seen a glimpse of what is on offer are raving about it. Ranbir Kapoor, apparently, has given his heart and soul to playing Sanjay and according to one report when he showed a scene to Amitabh Bachchan he thought they had managed to get Sanjay to do a special appearance. The movie is also said to have been sold for well over Rs100 crore for its distribution rights which means the producers would have already made a profit even before the release. But for the distributors to recover their investment, it is said that this movie would have to do better than any Ranbir movie ever. And he has not had any hits recently. So the faith is entirely in Hirani’s Midas touch which has never failed in the box office. But then he has never done a biopic based on a living person before. It will be a test case for everyone concerned. If the movie becomes a superhit, then Sanjay will have the strange feeling of having delivered it even if he wasn’t part of it.
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