This story is from June 26, 2004

Finally, a father we can believe in

Santosh Desai / Jun 26, 2004, 21:52 IST

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Big B is what we want in a father figure - an imposing pet, house-trained in dignity.

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">We can''t get enough of Amitabh Bachchan. We see him in every other ad, we see him at almost every award function, we see him espousing all kinds of public causes and we see him in more films today than at any other time. Instead of diminishing in stature, we find it growing.What explains our love affair with him? What does he give us that we so badly need? And it''s only in the last few years that Bachchan is back in public grace. There seemed to be a time when we watched with sadness the apparent decline of a once great hero into a caricature, of an idol, flailing his way into buffoonery. What has helped him become an icon all over again? To understand the power of Amitabh Bachchan, we have to understand the hypnotic power of Salim-Javed''s Vijay, a character who dominates our consciousness like no other screen character. The story of Vijay is the story of a failed quest to believe in a credible father figure and in turn be accepted by him. In film after classic film, Vijay is let down by the father â€” in Deewar he is disgraced, in Lawaaris disowned, in Shakti abandoned and in Trishul discarded. In a larger sense, this reflected the prevalent disappointment with all father figures, the idealism of the 50s having run aground by then. Today''s Amitabh has come full circle â€” he is, in some ways, the father Vijay yearned for. His authority comes from active performance, not ossified custom. He can out-sing, out-dance and out-fight anyone and yet be inclusive, accommodative and gracious. It is important for him to be affluent â€” his legitimacy comes from his success more than the ideals he holds dear. </div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"> For today''s urban India, he reconciles our ritual respect for the past with the need to build a shining new future. Amitabh Bachchan is what we want in a father figure â€” an imposing pet, house-trained in dignity. The difficult years for Bachchan were those when he was neither the angry son nor the accepting father. Kaun Banega Crorepati marked the transition â€” physically the attempt to stretch a long-lost youth gave way to revelling in the still self-possession that age can bring. He was the Father Inquisitor standing at the doorway of untold wealth â€” testing ordinary mortals with an understanding twinkle in the eye. Becoming a father figure in today''s time has been very liberating. When he experiments with a Boom, he opens the doors wider for the rest of us. The travails that Vijay went through give Amitabh Bachchan a legitimate right to test the boundaries. We need Amitabh Bachchan because he is both credible and inclusive. He tells us that things are fine and leads us into a more inventive future. As the Pied Piper of modernity, he plays a compelling tune. We follow him because for once we have a father we want to believe in.</div> </div>

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