Mumbai, Sep 21 — Megastar Amitabh Bachchan recently opened up about the challenges of remembering lines and shooting films during the era when film stock was expensive.
He revealed how actors had to make the most of every take.
During the latest episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 18, Bachchan interacted with stand-up comedians Varun Grover, Gaurav Gupta and Gaurav Kapoor.
While discussing comedy and acting, Grover praised Bachchan’s comic timing and the pauses he uses while delivering his lines.
Amitabh, however, responded with his trademark humour and humility, revealing that some of those pauses were actually because he had forgotten his lines.
“Dekhiye sir, aisa kuch nahi hain. Jaise aap log likhte hain, bolte hain, apne mann se bolte hain, aap observe karte hain. Humne aisi koi dekha-dekhi nahi ki hai. Humare paas jo likh ke aata hai, hum wahi karte hain aur ussi anusaar act karte hain. Aap keh rahe the ki jo pauses hum lete hain lines bolte waqt woh alag kisam ke hote hain, darasal hum apni line bhul gaye hain aur usko yaad karne ki koshish kar rahe hain.”
(It is nothing like that. The way you people write and speak, you speak from your heart and observe. We have not imitated anything like that. Whatever comes to us written down, we do that and act accordingly. You were saying that the pauses we take while delivering lines are of a different kind; actually, we have forgotten our line and are trying to remember it)
The veteran actor then recalled the working conditions during the earlier days of cinema, when film stock was among the most expensive aspects of filmmaking and actors had to avoid unnecessary retakes.
“Aur sir, bade kasht ki baat hoti hain line yaad rakhna. Humare zamane mein jab hum filmein banate the, tab film stock sabse mehengi cheez hoti thi aur usko kaise bachaya jaaye, yeh sochte the. Agar Take 1 mein nahi hua toh badi mushkil ho jayegi.”
(And sir, remembering lines is a very difficult thing. In our time, when we used to make films, film stock was the most expensive thing, and we used to think about how it could be saved. If it did not happen in Take 1, then it would become very difficult)
He further explained how he would sometimes turn an unplanned pause into part of his performance to ensure that the director approved the take.
“Toh jaise hum keh rahe the ki hume pause lena bada mushkil ho jata tha, toh usko humne apni acting mein badal ke kisi tarah cover kiya so that director take okay bol de.” (So, as we were saying, taking a pause used to become very difficult for us, so we turned it into our acting and somehow covered it so that the director would say the take was okay.)
The conversation also saw Amitabh speak about comedy as an art form, describing it as an immensely difficult craft that requires performers to find humour even in ordinary experiences and, at times, make themselves the subject of the joke.
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