Even at 83, Amitabh Bachchan continues to inspire with his discipline and commitment to cinema. Despite enjoying a legendary career spanning decades, the veteran actor recently admitted that the fear of not getting future opportunities drove him to work on as many as 10 to 15 films at the same time during the early years of his career.
Amitabh Bachchan reflects on the hectic days of Hindi cinema
Taking to his personal blog, Amitabh Bachchan looked back at the filmmaking process of the past while comparing it with the more structured approach followed by today’s actors.
He praised the current generation for the effort they put into preparing for their roles, writing, “The prep was a word or an explanation unknown to my generation and beyond… now it’s a common vocabulary, where one prepares for the work to be undertaken.”
The actor went on to appreciate the dedication of modern performers, saying, “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. A most valid and thoughtful act, and my admiration to those who can give this aspect more than required serious consideration.”
“We worked on 10 to 15 films at the same time”
Recalling how different the industry was during his early years, Bachchan explained that actors often had to juggle multiple projects simultaneously.
“But in the good old days when we all worked in 10 to 15 films at the same time—many, two or three on the same day—it would have been impossible to prep for one and then un-prep for the other on the same day,” he wrote.
He added that actors largely depended on directors and assistant directors, who would explain a scene moments before filming began.
Fear of losing work kept actors going
Addressing how actors of his era managed to switch between vastly different characters without extensive preparation, Amitabh shared the reason behind their relentless work ethic.
“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.”
(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 sincerely tried our best to adapt to it.)
He concluded by recalling that actors often had to wait several months after shooting before finally watching the finished film in theatres to see how their performances had turned out.
