The Big B in ‘The Great Gatsby’: TIME’s Q&A with Amitabh Bachchan

[Time]

Amitabh Bachchan is India's biggest and most-enduring movie star, with hit films ranging from Sholay in 1975 to Paa in 2009. He also hosted five seasons of the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Bachchan has a cameo role in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, and spoke to TIME's Jyoti Thottam in New York on May 6. How did you meet Baz Luhrmann? Baz Luhrmann was on a private visit to India a couple of years ago, traveling around on his motorcycle, visiting a friend of his who was an artist. He came over, and we talked about everything but films. And then a year or so later I got another message about a film that he's doing, we spoke on the phone, and we Skyped and he said, you know, Amitabh, I'm making Great Gatsby, and there's a small role, I know it's not worth your while to do something like this but I'd be very delighted if you could. This is your first Hollywood film. Why now? Primarily because of the way Baz Luhrmann came across, more as a friend than anything else. I just felt that I had the time and perhaps the ability and the intention to do something like this, truly as a gesture rather than looking at it as a stepping stone for another release in Hollywood. I didn't think of doing it like that but now that it's done and if there are opportunities, I would certainly consider it. What different about making movies in Hollywood, rather than Bollywood? We make over 1000 films every year. Hollywood makes about 300, but Hollywood makes more money. That just shows the reach and the marketability. That's something that we lack. We don't know how to market our films. Now all the corporations are there in India. They're co-producing films, they're distributing them. I just feel that sooner or later the sheer potential of the demographics of India, which is 1.25 billion people, will eventually be very attractive to the entertainment industry. In Slumdog Millionaire, the young hero is willing

Via: TIME GlobalSpin

[Time]