Imagine shooting for one film in the morning, rushing to another set by afternoon, and wrapping up the day as a completely different character by night. Sounds exhausting, right? But for many stars of
Hindi cinema’s golden era, that was just another day at work.
One of them was Amitabh Bachchan. In his latest blog, the veteran actor looked back at how different filmmaking was when he started his career. While actors today spend weeks or even months preparing for a role, Big B said that wasn’t something his generation had the luxury of doing.
Sharing a series of photos on Thursday night, Amitabh reflected on how the idea of “prep” has become an important part of filmmaking today. He wrote, “the prep was word or an explanation unknown to my generation and beyond ..now ‘its’ a common vocabulary, where one prepares for the work to be undertaken. For me, it was an unknown entity. I see now the amount of labour and pain, creative artists put into getting into the character, in looks and style and comprehensive character analysis.”
He went on to praise today’s actors for the effort they put into understanding their roles before facing the camera.
Calling it an important part of the creative process, he added, “a most valid and thoughtful act, and my admiration to those who can give this aspect the more than required serious consideration and be prepared for the work undertaken. Good and impressive. But in the good old days when we all worked on 10 to 15 films at the same time – many two or three the same day, it would have been impossible to prep for one and not prep for the other ..on the same day!!”
Back then, things worked very differently. Instead of extensive workshops or rehearsals, actors would often understand a scene only after reaching the set. According to Amitabh, the director or assistant director would explain the sequence before filming began.
He also shared why actors of his generation took on so many projects at once.
Recalling those days, Big B wrote, “Many ask how you slip from one role to another in the course of a day for different films. Bhai saheb, na karein to yeh dar rehta tha ki aage kaam milega ki nahin, to jo kaha jaata tha use niyamit roop mein dhaal dene ka prayatn kiya jaata tha, aur intezaar rehta tha, mahinon baad jab film release hoti thi, ki humne usmein kya aur kaise kiya!!! (Brother, if we didn’t do it, there was always the fear of whether we’d get work in the future. So whatever we were told, we tried our best to adapt to it sincerely. Then we would wait for months until the film was finally released, eager to see what we had done and how it had turned out).”
On the work front, Amitabh Bachchan will next be seen in the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the film also stars Prabhas and Kamal Haasan. The first instalment, released in 2024, turned out to be a blockbuster, earning over ₹1,000 crore worldwide. Amitabh’s performance as Ashwatthama received widespread praise, and he will reprise the role in the sequel. The makers are yet to announce the film’s release date.
