MUMBAI: Amitabh Bachchan, who met Oscar-nominated filmmaker Christopher Nolan to talk about celluloid films in the digital era, agreed with the latter that film has lost its charm due to the growth of digitalisation.
“The word film has suddenly lost its charm, for there does not seem to be any need to shoot films on film. It’s all digital now,” Bachchan wrote on his blog.
He shared his thoughts as he reflected on a roundtable event held to debate and ascertain the importance of film heritage and its preservation.
Nolan and visual artist Tacita Dean were in Mumbai for the fourth edition of ‘Reframing the Future of Film’, hosted by Viacom18 in association with the Film Heritage Foundation.
The 75-year-old Bachchan pointed out how what was known as the “film industry”, where celebrities were “known as ‘film stars’, has now gone digital”.
“So, in the complete absence of that medium and that product, it would be quite in order to call ourselves ‘robotic genes’ or words of similar sound…. ‘digi act’ or ‘digi digi’. Whatever… it would be an issue that would need consideration,” he added.
He recounted how the early years of film were “a bit restrictive” for the artists.
“The film stock was the most important and costly product on set, and its most minimum use was the challenge for us. If we made the mistake of asking for another ‘take’ for the betterment of the film, the director, in most cases would reject the idea of a retake.
“He would simply weigh it with commerce and retort: ‘If you want another take, pay for it’.”
Bachchan said while shooting his debut film Saat Hindustani, he was in a “terribly frightful challenge” to give a shot right in the first take as they were working with a limited budget and film stock.
