Amitji's make-up man Deepak told me on day one of shooting of Nishabd that the film will flop because no one is going to accept Amitji in a role like that. Whether that is the reason or not, I for myself as a viewer wouldn't probably want to see him featured in a role like that. As an actor I think Nishabd is Amitji's finest performance mainly because of its sheer complexities and it demanded such subtle nuances of reactions, which most of the so-called art-house actors won't even begin to understand in their life-time let alone portray them. But the question is does one want to see Amitji just as an actor? I for one don't want to, unless the acting is coming from a certain immensely larger than life perspective.
Similarly in Aag there will be a difference between a viewer's reaction and my reaction to his performance. As a director I judge an actor by seeing what he does with what is given to him. The viewer sees the final effect of that in the context of the film and hence he cannot have an idea of how I could have screwed it up in the screenplay and how badly I edited it or various other blunders I could have committed. People seeing the film react on the effect, whereas as a director I know the cause.
On the other hand if somebody argues that he had no business to do those films without knowing what he is getting into, yes he is guilty of misplacing his trust in me but he is not guilty of not doing his best which he does invariably better than any other actor can ever even hope to do.
From what I gathered from my association with him, I understood that by being the ultra professional that he is, once he agrees to do a film based on whatever reasons he has, he completely succumbs to the vision or non-vision of the director. The end product sometimes can look a mess but the inside secret will be that he would have always given much more than what was expected of him.
The close-up of his when he stands on the steps looking at Aftab taking Jiah away in the climax of Nishabd calls for an extraordinary understanding of human emotions and hence a far superior performance, compared to him saying 'Tujhe bhi karne nahin doonga' in Sarkar which he would have done a thousand times before. But sadly the effect of that line in Sarkar will become cinematic history whereas the Nishabd's close-up might go unnoticed. On the basis of what all I said above if anybody out there understands, my favourite performances of Amitji from my films as a director are in the order of
(1). Nishabd
(2). Aag
(3). Sarkar Raj
(4). Sarkar
But forgetting myself as a director and thinking like a viewer they will be
(1). Sarkar
(2). Sarkar Raj
(3). Aag
(4). Nishabd.
The effect of Sarkar's performance as compared to Sarkar Raj is probably higher for many primarily because of the shock value of seeing Amitji in such a role after a very very long time but if you look deeper you can't find a single shot in Sarkar which is comparable to, for an example the expression he has when he shows Sanjay Somji's body to Raosaab. There are many many such moments in Sarkar Raj, Nishabd and Aag.
So the point I am trying to make in summation is that he never ever failed as an actor and he never will. It's only directors, both other's and me who frequently fail in framing his art in a given context.
Karan Johar's favourite film of his is Kabhie Kabhie and Silsila which I loathe compared to my favourites like Deewaar and Zanzeer which Karan loathes. I dislike seeing him in movies like Last Lear and Black whereas Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rituparno Ghosh might not want to make films like Nishabd with him.
But that's what sublime art is about. You can take whatever you want from it and interpret it in any which way you want to.
Amitji is an artiste who can and will allow himself to be conformed, adapted and shaped up in any which way one wants to mould him and the final result he will leave it in the hands of the director he is working with.
But irrespective of what on a personal level he might think of the result, the effort he puts in and the passion he brings in to elevate even the most mundane of scenes, the performances he brings and the way he speaks his lines is for me my personal proof of what Amitji truly and really is.
Amitabh Bachchan is that rare art form which takes birth just once in several life times.
By Ram Gopal Varma
