Indian film industry in panic mode, Mumbai in chaos due to Corona

Ashwarya Rai and daughter Aaradhya also shifted to Nanavati Hospital

New Delhi: Panic struck Bollywood - the Hindi film industry in Mumbai - after iconic star Amitabh Bachchan and his actor son Abhishek tested positive. Another silver screen star's family members (of Anupam Kher) including an aging mother also afflicted with the virus.

India, estimates show now recording 12 percent of daily global Covid-19 cases and city like Mumbai seemed to have lost all control vis-a-vis catering to the needs of the pandemic patients, but the powerful Home Minister Amit Shah has said that things are very much under control and 'satisfactory' in the country. 

Both father-son actors duo - Amitabh and son Abhishek - shifted to a prominent Mumbai hospital. One day later, actor Abhishek Bachchan confirmed over a Twitter missive that his wife Aishwarya, a former Miss World and actress, and daughter Aaradhya "have also tested COVID-19 positive". 

"They will be self quarantining at home," he wrote on the micro blogging site.

Another prominent film star Anupam Kher's family members including brother and his mother have also tested positive for corona.

The versatile award winning actor Amitabh Bachchan happens to be the second superstar globally 

to contract the coronavirus after Hollywood's Tom Hanks.

The big picture message from Mumbai is not only that Bachchans are infected or the film industry is 

panic stricken. The happenings suggest that things are just of control in Mumbai and the western

state of Maharashtra.

Not long ago, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said "The Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is inexperienced and thus he fears taking hard decisions. There is also a large scale dependence on the bureaucracy. This is the time when the political leadership has to take a call".

This link below is worth referring to

https://www.ucanews.com/news/is-india-losing-its-battle-against-covid-19/88363

By mid-May India's financial hub (that is Mumbai) was already being regarded as the country's Covid-19 capital.

According to official estimates, Maharashtra accounted for more than one third of Covid-19 cases in India, while state capital Mumbai alone represented more than one fifth.

By July 11-12, Maharashtra state had 2,47,000 cases and Mumbai alone had 84,524 cases and casualty figures in the city due to the pandemic had shot up to 4,899.

"Mumbai accounts for one-fourth of the country's total fatalities due to Covid19. The all India

figure is 22,674 and the city has nearly 5000 deaths," says Virendra Sachdeva of BJP Good Governance cell.

Shiv Sena leaders who run the government in Maharashtra in alliance with Congress have of course

blamed the federal government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than once for the 'grave situation'

vis-a-vis Covid19 in Mumbai and also the state.

“After the Covid-19 outbreak, almost 11 lakh migrants went back to their villages in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, 

Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha, decongesting Mumbai and Pune...But they are back now, as they do 

not have jobs in their own states. The Centre must build up smart cities in UP and Bihar to generate 

employment and save Mumbai from congestion," said Sena lawmaker Sanjay Raut.

But city dwellers or those who have stayed their even a decade back know: "Mumbai has never had the best of health services and 

cleanliness. It is also one of the most congested places in Asia....Now that the film stars are getting afflicted; today, what we have is the true image of gross failure and negligence in dealing with the health issues and more 

so with the coronavirus pandemic".

Ironically, Mumbai is also the home to India's business tycoons and filthy rich Bollywood film stars.

Meanwhile, the central government seems to draw satisfaction at the high rate of recovery of Covid19 patients

in India.

PM Modi's trusted friend and country's powerful Home Minister Amit Shah said : "The world is seeing that if a successful battle has been fought anywhere across the globe against 

the coronavirus it is India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi".

His rhetoric continued: "It was feared how a large country like India would face this challenge given that we have a dense population of 130 crore people and no single chain of command...but we have proved prophets of doom wrong".

"We are at a good position in this coronavirus battle and will continue this fight with determination," he emphasised.

Applauding the 'corona warriors' of the central armed forces and other health staff, he said Indians have in fact set a new example of rendering their duty and fighting the pandemic.

Of course, there will be few takers to Shah's line. In the first 10 days in July itself, the country has recorded more than 22,000 Covid-19 cases daily, 

Amitabh Bachchan thanked his well-wishers on Twitter with a sweet  message: "It shall not be possible for me to acknowledge and respond to all the prayers and wishes expressed by them that have shown concern towards Abhishek, Aishwarya, and me."

some spl photos from memory bank on Big B ......in hospital, with kids and elsewhere !!

Next snap is interesting 

Time......time......

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time". – Leo Tolstoy in 'War and Peace' 

Amitabh and Rajesh Pilot in single photo frame in front of Parliament.

1984 polls Bachchan had humbled socialist giant Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna .....

irony ---- both r today 'not liked' by political dynasty....

Amitabh-Sonia discord is a pretty long history....Rajesh Pilot's son Sachin is out of Congress !!

Mega star Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek  tested positive for coronavirus and is now undergoing treatment.

Mega star Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek  tested positive for coronavirus and is now undergoing treatment.

GET WELL SOON....

(some of his well known dialogues and modest tweaking !!)

-"Aaj mere paas bangla hai, gaadi hai, bank balance hai, ......Corona bhi hae? kya hae tumhare paas?" -- Deewar 

Aap ne jail ki deewaron aur zanjeeron ka loha dekha hai, jailer sahab, Kaalia ki himmat ka faulaad nahi dekha. - Kaalia

Maut Tu Ek Kavita Hai,.....मौत तू एक कवीता है - Anand

Aaj aap ke paas aap ki saari daulat sahi, sab kuch sahi, lekin maine aap se jyaada garib aaj tak nahin dekha. Good bye, Mr R K Gupta. - Trishul

Aur waise hi, main is ko yahan nahi maroonga, warna log kahenge Sikandar ne apne ilake me usey mara. - Muqaddar Ka Sikander

Is duniya mein do tarah ka keeda hota hai. Ek woh jo kachre se uthta hai. Aur doosra woh jo paap ki gandegi se uthta hai. - Hum

(Corona toh China se aya...)

Mujhe jo sahi lagta hai main karta hoon, fir chahe wo bhagwan ke khilaaf ho, kanoon ke khilaf ho ya pure system ke khilaaf. - Sarkar

Yeh telephone bhi ajeeb cheez hai - aadmi sochta kuch hai, bolta kuch hai aur karta kuch hai. - Agneepath

(Internet toh phone ka baap nikla)

Daaru peene se liver kharab ho jaata hai. - Satte Pe Satta

Wahan se tumhe yeh cheh dikh raha hoga. Lekin yahan se mujhe yeh nau dikhta hai - Aakhree Raasta

The blockbuster star tweeted himself conforming the news.

"I have tested CoviD positive ..  shifted to Hospital  .. hospital informing  authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited," he wrote.

Bachchan further wrote: "All that (those) have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested".

His son also tweeted about half a hour later --- 

"Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you. "


The versatile actor Senior Bachchan happens to be the second superstar to contract the coronavirus after Hollywood's Tom Hanks.

The lady wife of Hanks had also tested positive two months back and recovered after the mandatory quarantine.

Bachchan starred 'Gulabo Sitabo' also featuring young actor Ayushmann Khurrana was recently
premiered on Amazon Prime Video.

Born on 11 October 1942, the 77-year-old Bachchan lives in Mumbai with his family including film stars wife Jaya, son Abhishek Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai.

Bachchan was conferred with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award for his outstanding contribution to the world of cinema in December 2019.
ends

my blog in September 2019

Amitabh Bachchan - an angry youngman on screen - who portrayed India of 1970s

New Delhi, Sep 24 Dissatisfaction, they say is very strong element in the life of a middle class citizen and Amitabh Bachchan's films will keep giving refreshing memories to millions of Indians about the roles he played – umpteen number times as Vijay – much befittingly portrayed every Indian's desire of the time that a man always feels that he could have achieved more.
Born on October 11, 1942 in the family of noted Hindi poet, Harivansh Rai Bachchan and socialite mother Teji - also a friend of Indira Gandhi, Amitabh grew up with best of both the upbringing culture – western lifestyle from mother and the oriental values from his father.

Now that the country has bestowed on him, the highest film award of the country and named after Dadasaheb Phalke, it is worth refreshing what Amitabh in later years had said about his father saying, "If you cannot enter a gate, just jump over the wall".

This is precisely, his army of fans believe, what he did to achieve the stardom, and of course retained it even at the ripe age of 75 plus with a finesse not mastered by many in the world of entertainment.
With a brooding look, fire in eyes and ire practically emerging out of his soul, his masterpiece roles in films like 'Zanzeer', 'Deewar' and 'Trishul' mirrored the disillusionment of young Indian of that time reeling under controlled economy vices – the joblessness, antagonized family life, corruption and price rise.
It was not without reason when one film writer rightly wrote once, one look at him on the screen and the audience would believe - there was nothing much in life to sing and dance about.

"Mainey aap jaisa garib zindagi mein nahi dekha ...." - an illegitimate son telling his father in 'Trishul'.


Amitabh dominated the silver screen when romantic films and chocolate cream images of screen heroes were going strong.

His roles were 'swinging' against the stream when he signed for a role as inspector ‘Vijay Khanna’ in Prakash Mehra's 'Zanzeer' in 1973 to record his first milestone performance.

The role came to him only after Dharmendra had rejected it. Grapevine was that with past failures, prior to 'Zanzeer', Amitabh was almost planning to quit Mumbai for good!
Zanzeer was his first film as the leading protagonist to achieve box office success that earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor.

The same year, he married Jaya Bhaduri on June 3 and around this time they appeared in several films together. Later Bachchan played the role of an industrialist’s son Vikram in the film 'Namak Haraam', a social drama directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship.

His supporting role opposite Rajesh Khanna and Rekha was praised as his angst-laden dialogue delivery and manerism won him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award – spelling a tough competition for Rajesh Khanna ahead.

Subsequently 'Anand' had made Amitabh and probably unmade Rajesh Khanna. In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy 'Chupke Chupke', the crime drama 'Faraar' to the romantic drama 'Mili'.

However, 1975 was the year when he appeared in two films which are regarded as important in Hindi cinematic history. He starred in the Yash Chopra directed film ‘Deewar’ opposite Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, and Neetu Singh which earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor.
The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975. He did not look back since then.

Released on August 15, 1975 was 'Sholay' (meaning Fire) which became the highest grossing film of all time in India earning Rs 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to USD 60 million, and perhaps another film that made his position practically invincible.
Although with angry young man image, Bachchan cemented his status as Bollywood's pre-eminent action hero, the Big B, as he came to be known later, illustrated that he was flexible in other roles, successfully playing the romantic lead, in films such as 'Kabhie Kabhie' (1976) and comic timing in comedies such as 'Amar Akbar Anthony' (1977) and of course earlier in 'Chupke Chupke' (1975) .

In 1979 for the first time, a multi-facet quality of his came to light when Amitabh was required to use his singing voice for the film 'Mr Natwarlal' which he starred in alongside Rekha. His performance in the film saw him nominated for both the Filmfare Best Actor Award and the Filmfare Best Male Playback Awards.
In 1979 he also received Best Actor nomination for 'Kaala Patthar' (1979) and then went on to be nominated again in 1980 for the Raj Khosla directed film 'Dostana' in which he starred opposite Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman.

In 1981, Amitabh starred in Yash Chopra's melodrama 'Silsila' where he starred alongside his wife Jaya and 'rumoured flame' Rekha. Other films of this period include Ram Balram (1980), Shaan (1980), Lawaaris (1981), and Shakti (1982) which pitted him against legendary actor Dilip Kumar.
Amitabh has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards and a dozen Filmfare Awards and also holds the record for most number of Best Actor nominations at the same.
In addition to acting, he has had a stint in politics as he was elected member of the Lok Sabha from the prestigious Allahabad constituency in 1984. He held on to the seat till 1987 when controversy regarding Bofors gun deal and his friendship with the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi left a sore experience.
Amitabh’s splendid career too has been marked by off-screen controversies like his on and off affairs with fellow actress Rekha.

He was also dragged into controversy by another actress, the late Parveen Babi, who had charged the megastar with ditching him. However, the allegation never stuck and was dismissed as utterances of a frustrated woman, disillusioned with life.
Again Amitabh’s surprising success came when he ventured into small screen through reality quiz game show, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. This role of a Quiz Master with a pet phrase 'Lock Kar diya jae' redefined his career and also the history of Indian television.

Since then Amitabh has tasted success in many films including the award winning ‘Chini Kum’, ‘Black’ and ‘Khaki’.

Importantly, opening a new genre film scripts were being written keeping him in mind as the main protagonist.

In 1984, he bagged Padma Shri -- India's fourth highest civilian award.

In 1991, Order of Afghanistan award from Afghanistan and Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, came to him in 2001.

For his role in 'Agneepath', Amitabh is said to have bagged a national award and also a pat on his back from the then Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.

ends