Big B takes Bard to Canada

his one should be a winner for Amitabh Bachchan. After all, what can be easier for Big B than to play an actor? And that’s how the audience at the Toronto International Film Festival will see him – as a failed and ageing Shakespearean actor – in Planman Motion Picture’s The Last Lear .

Amitabh will be accompanied by actors Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal on September 9, when the film will have its world premier at the festival.

Not just a new role, Big B is sporting a new look in the film too. With white flowing mane, deep lines etched across his face and his great acting skills – Big B suits the role to a T. Says Rituparno Ghosh, the film’s director, “Amitda has great admiration for Shakespeare and his work, and this comes through beautifully in the film, as do the sincerity, warmth and genuineness that he puts into his work.”

The film is based on Utpal Dutt’s Aajker Shahjahan, which Ghosh says “combines theatre and cinema so beautifully”.
Rumours have it that so fascinated was Bachchan by the film that he even wrote part of the dialogues for it. Reacting to this, Ghosh says, “That’s just the rumour mill working! Actually, since the film is in English, I’d wanted a few Hindi dialogues for a very small scene, translated from the English ones I’d written. So I simply asked Amitda to help me translate these into Hindi for me. That’s it.”

Talking about Arjun who plays a filmmaker from Kolkata, he says, “As part of the homework for his role, Arjun roamed around Kolkata for a few days, just to get his finger on the pulse of the city.” And Preity, he says “gets to don a completely Indian look for the first time in the film, something she has never portrayed before.” The Last Lear also stars Divya Dutta and Shefali Shah.

But, doesn’t the fact that the film is in English worry him — that it would be restricted to a niche audience? “English, I feel, is a very valid urban Indian language. And we’ve used English the way we Indians speak it. So, the film has as much potential to reach out to a larger audience as any other film,” says Ghosh.

Confident that the film will be appreciated by audiences worldwide, Arindam Chaudhuri who has presented the film says, “The Last Lear is indeed a very important and powerful film. The story, Rituparno Ghosh’s direction and the performances are all world class. We always wanted to be known as makers of good film and I can only say these are just our initial days!”