Looking back: Amitabh Bachchan highlighted night of Bollywood stars at GM Place in 1997

The Province, Fri May 16 1997

By Phinder Dulai

Amitabh Bachchan is as close to deification as any living being in India today.

It’s hardly enough to say he’s the biggest thing in Bollywood (that’s the Bombay film industry). You’d have to imagine Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone rolled into one.

For Indo-Canadians, his Vancouver appearance Saturday night at GM Place is the highlight of the entertainment calendar.

“This concert will be the biggest thing to hit our community in quite some time,” says Sona Entertainers promoter Harcharan Jhutee, a veteran of Vancouver’s Indo-Canadian entertainment industry.

“Indians go gushy-eyed over Amitabh Bachchan, making him the most adored Bollywood film star today.”

The Mega Stars show, which also features Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Shilpa Shetty and Sanjay Kapoor, will include song-and-dance sequences from Bachchan’s best-known movies.

Of the 10 top-grossing films of all time in India, two — Sholay and Amar, Akbar, Anthony — have featured Bachchan in lead roles.

Not bad for a guy who failed his first screen test.

Born in Utter Pradesh in 1942, Bachchan grew up watching such great actors as Raj Kumar and Nargis work in the golden era of Indian film.

His first movie was in 1969 and since then he has cranked out 93 performances. He has played everything from a quiet, erudite school teacher taking care of the family to a loud-mouthed drunkard living in the ghettos of Bombay.

Many people have compared him to De Niro for his ability to take on an endless diversity of characters; to Mick Jagger for his song-and-dance numbers; and to Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme for his action scenes. Not surprisingly, he’s the highest-paid actor in Bombay today.

Kamal Sharma, a Vancouver video store owner and regular reviewer on Sushma’s Indradhunesh show, says there’s an old saying in Bombay: “The film industry begins with Amitabh Bachchan and ends with Amitabh Bachchan.”

In 1989, when he sustained a life-threatening injury while shooting an action scene, India came to a virtual standstill to pray for his recovery.

Bachchan said of the adulation: “It was amazing how many people stood outside my hospital room, day in and day out, to pray for my health. There were old ladies and young girls there from all over India. I am awed by the love that the Indian public have for me.”