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    Portrait of a superstar as a modest young amateur

    It happened many years ago, in what was then called Calcutta, where I lived. The city had a vibrant theatre culture, with groups of actors, both professional and amateur, staging plays in Bengali, Hindi and English.

    An English-language group called, ‘The Amateurs was very prominent on the theatre circuit. I went to a number of performances put up by them. One, in particular, turned out to be especially memorable, thanks to later events. The play written by British playwright, James Saunders, was called, ‘Next Time I’ll Sing to You.’

    It was a compelling play an existential narrative open to many interpretations. Where, all the characters gave forceful performances, but I was struck by one particular actor, a very tall young man, with striking features and a lean athletic build. He exuded what drama critics would call ‘stage presence’, dominating the space around him by the sheer force of a personal magnetism, and exclamation mark in human form.

    A few days later, at a small dinner party, I was introduced to him. He was a junior executive in a mercantile house who’d taken up acting as a hobby. I told him I’d seen the play he’d acted in and had been very impressed by his performance.

    He accepted the compliment with genuine, disarming modesty. I said that the play he’d acted in had caused quite a lot of debate and conjecture in theatre-going circles as to what exactly was its central message. I had my own interpretation as to what it was, which I outlined, and asked him if he agreed with me.

    With charming candour, he replied that he didn’t have a clue what the play was all about. In fact he didn’t even read the whole thing, on the contrary just crammed or learnt the lines he had to say. “I don’t understand all that stuff,” he confided. “I just do what the director of the play tells me to do: look angry, look sad, look happy.”

    He didn’t put it in those words, but he was like a slate on which anything could be written. In short, a great natural-born actor. Which is what he went on to prove himself to be. That was the first, and the only, time I met Amitabh Bachchan.

    This short story is inspired by a column written by Jug Suraiya.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

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GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10^th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

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