AT 65, AMITABH BACHCHAN MAKES HIS HOLLYWOOD DEBUT WITH 'THE LAST LEAR'

Working in English and simply growing old are offering new opportunities to movie icon Amitabh Bachchan whose first English-language film, The Last Lear, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival this week.

Bachchan, described on industry website www.imdb.com as "arguably India's greatest ever superstar," said making a film in English had brought back memories of school and college. An English-language film was different, but logical at the same time, given the role of English as a common language in India.

"It's always wonderful to experiment with something different," said Bachchan, the day after the sold-out Toronto premiere.

"At 65 you get an opportunity to experiment with all kinds of films and that's what's happening, and I am happy that there are people that want me to work with them, and it gives me the chance to do something different."

In The Last Lear, Bachchan plays Harry, a reclusive stage actor who quotes Shakespeare with relish and who -- somewhat reluctantly -- is making his movie debut at the age of 65.

He stars alongside Preity Zinta, who is also acting in her first English-language film, as are others in the cast.

Director Rituparno Ghosh has chosen to add subtitles, even for a North American audience. "I did it because we Indians speak English in various ways -- the same language can take various forms," said Ghosh. "And the tongues of the various communities of India may not be so easily comprehensible to a Western audience."

Bachchan said the role of Harry, and the way he used Shakespeare's language to illustrate his points, had brought back memories of his own early acting days, including the role of Cassio in Shakespeare's Othello.

He named Hamlet as one role he has always wanted, but admitted that "at my age, I would probably be playing the ghost."

At just over two hours, The Last Lear is short by Indian standards, and there are none of the song and dance routines that form the usual highlights of a Bollywood extravaganza.

Bachchan bristled at the idea that the new movie might be considered "Bollywood."
"We don't like that word," he said. "It was coined by some smart journalist and it just stuck, and now it's in the Oxford dictionary."

WATCH OUT FOR THE RED BAD OF COURAGE, SHAH RUKH!!

Narayanamurthy is back with his 'red' brand of films. And he doesn't care about how small his film is. Nor is ashamed of claiming that his film might get leftover viewers, which means, people who don't get tickets for the superstars' films will come to watch his films.

Narayanamurthy is presently remaking his film Erra Sainyam in Hindi. For most of you who don't know Erra Sainyam did roaring business in Andhra Pradesh when it was released a couple of years back, shocking the wits out of the box-office predictors.

He explains why his film was a big success. "My subject is linked to human emotions. Like Dilip Kumar's Ganga Jamuna, Amitabh Bachchan's Ganga ki Saugandh and Mother India. My subject is how rural innocent people are feeling, how they are exploited by the non-tribals," he says.

Narayanamurthy's film releases on the August 10 and will pit itself against Shah Rukh Khan's Chak de India.

The Hindi version called Yeh Dharti Hamaari is slated for release on August 10, the same day the czar of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan's film Chak De India is releasing. But he is not perturbed. "Shah Rukh Khan is the megastar in India. In Andhra, they call me people's star but I know I am a zero in Hindi. But when thousands of people go to see Shah Rukh Khan's film, there will be many who do not get tickets. I hope that overflow will come to my film," says Narayanamurthy matter-of-factly.

Keep it up Narayanamurthy, your belief will keep your hopes and spirits alive and rake in the moolah. All the best.