The Unforgettable Bachchan


Written by Carolyn Lengel • Special Features • September 2008

Until quite recently, Western media outlets covered Indian cinema, if they covered it at all, with a noticeable sense of superiority. The few reviews that appeared in U.S. media invariably explained to readers that Bollywood always included unfamiliar music, complicated dancing, and elaborate production numbers—as if that were a bad thing—and insinuated that Hollywood, which largely abandoned mainstream musicals decades ago, had taken the more mature approach.

But today the momentum seems to be on India’s side. Mainstream U.S. hits such as Chicago demonstrate that American filmmakers are willing to gamble on musicals again, especially at a time when American television attracts large audiences with dance programs, including one which required contestants to attempt a Bollywood number. New Indian films are seriously reviewed in the United States and attract growing audiences. Both Asian and non-Asian audiences in the U.S. seem ready to experience the optimism, sentiment, and spectacle of Indian entertainment, and the grace and physicality of its dancing.

Amitabh Bachchan—a superstar worldwide, if not yet a household name among non-diaspora populations in the United States—feels optimistic about the potential for larger Western audiences for Indian films. “Escapist commercial cinema in India has always been looked at rather cynically by the West,” he commented at a recent press conference in New York, “but I’m happy to state that despite all the criticism and cynicism we have not changed our style. And the very factor that used to be criticized has now become Indian cinema’s unique selling point. This is, of course, excellent news for us. We haven’t changed. Perhaps the Western audience’s tastes have changed.”

Investors have taken note of the trend toward Western acceptance of Indian filmi style, and deals between Indian and U.S. film industries mean that Bollywood and Hollywood now enjoy closer ties than ever before [see: Hollywood Bollywood]. Following the money provides one indication that the popularity of Indian entertainment in the United States is expected to keep increasing. Another sign of Bollywood’s healthy growth is the recent success of “The Unforgettable Tour,” starring Amitabh Bachchan and his family and many other high-wattage special guests, which thundered through New York with a sold-out show at Nassau Coliseum on August 15.

The songs and dances in “The Unforgettable Tour” celebrated decades of Indian entertainment, from Abhishek Bachchan’s memorable re-creation of his father’s “Khaike Paan Banaraswala” to Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s stunning dance performance in “Dola Re Dola.” Cross-pollination between Asia and the West was audible in Vishal and Shekhar’s eclectic blending of hip-hop, bhangra, and other musical styles.

World tours by film stars may remain a phenomenon little known to non-diaspora populations in the West, but “The Unforgettable Tour” and other enormous live-performance tours now aim squarely at audiences in the developed world, who expect high production values. To compete on a technical level with what the West has to offer, Amitabh Bachchan argues, “We need to put on something which is better in every respect….The audiences coming to see us have already been exposed to more refined and extravagant presentations.” The team behind “The Unforgettable Tour” does, indeed, offer an extravaganza; each show costs approximately $1,000,000 to present and includes 34 backing dancers, 1000 costumes, a 130-person crew, and more than 20 tons of equipment.

International audiences for live stage performances have indisputably grown larger in the decades since the first world tours. Amitabh Bachchan recalls that one of his stage shows in England in the late 1970s had an audience of five people: “I remember someone saying, ‘Could you drive past the market so people can see you and maybe come into the theater?’” In contrast, “The Unforgettable Tour” played before 17,000 people at Nassau Coliseum; worldwide, it will be seen by over a million audience members before it ends in Germany on August 30.

Indian films, too, reach larger U.S. audiences today, as Ms. Dixit, now a resident of Denver, Colorado, has observed during her years in the United States. She believes that Indian entertainers will continue to broaden their appeal among both diaspora and Western audiences: “There are Indians everywhere in the world. They have taken their culture everywhere and created a curiosity, even among people in Europe and America, about Indian films and about how the songs and dances happen.”

Amitabh Bachchan is characteristically modest about his role in the growth of interest in Indian entertainment. “I’ve always believed that when a country does well economically, a lot of interest is generated, and this is a very small part of that interest,” he explains. “I see past cynicism toward Indian commercial escapist cinema evaporating gradually.” Everyone with an interest in the global rise of the Indian film industry—from investors and artists to audiences—is likely to agree with Mr. Bachchan when he says, “This is wonderful news.”

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