‘Paa’: Wah! Wah!!

Nobody who understands even a bit about acting would dispute the fact that Amitabh Bachchan is one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema ever. His range and versatility as an actor is so vast that you can never say, when the man will spring a surprise.

Just when you think, a performance in a film is his best, he comes up with something better than that best. But probably better than all the surprises of his over 40-year career is the surprise he will spring on the audience in the forthcoming Paa. If the first look of Paa is anything to go by, Amitabh Bachchan has excelled himself. In the film, he plays the 13-year-old son of Abhishek Bachchan. Amitabh suffers from a progeria-like syndrome.

Mentally, he is 13 but physically, he looks five times older. Not just has the look of Amit­abh Bachchan been metamorphosed in Paa but his acting will also be of the kind he has never done before. Obviously, because he has never played a 13-year-old in any film.

Auro (that is the name of the character Amitabh plays in Paa) is bald and has a few broken teeth. The way Amitabh walks and talks would leave the audience speechless. In other words, just the first look of director R. Balki’s Paa gives you the feeling that a lot of best actor awards this year could come Amitabh’s way. Or will they be awards for the best child actor?!

Issue dated Nov 08-14, 2009

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