Veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan may be nearing 70 but he hopes that his new action film will prove he still has what it takes to beat the bad guys. The 68-year-old, best known for classics such as “Sholay” and “Deewaar” in the 1970s, plays a gangster in “Bbuddha… Hoga Tera Baap” which hits screens on July 1. “The Big B,” as he is widely known to fans, sings, dances and fights his way through the film in a similar way to his “angry young man” characters of old. The only difference now, he jokes, is that he’s just an “angry man.”
“It’s always difficult to do action at this age but thanks to technology in cinema, life has become much easier but still you need your basic energy,” he told reporters.
“I don’t go out and do things that will make me feel young, except the regular gymnasium regime, yoga and eating the right food.” His longevity is all the more remarkable given that he nearly died in an accident on the set of the film “Coolie” in 1982 and the resulting operation and blood transfusion led to him contracting cirrhosis of the liver.
The teetotal actor has been in and out of hospital for check-ups ever since, including on his 66th birthday in 2008, sparking concerns among fans and vigils at the hospital where he was treated. “Bbuddha” is co-produced by Bachchan’s own AB Corporation Limited (ABCL) at a reported cost of 100 million rupees ($2.2 million). The company co-produced Bachchan’s 2009 film “Paa” in which he played a child with a rapid-ageing disease opposite his real-life son, Abhishek.
The actor, who has starred in more than 150 films, says that work is what drives him, even at an age when most people would be slowing down. He writes a daily blog and is active on the micro-blogging site Twitter, keeping fans up to date at length with his latest projects and musings on life in general.
