Amitabh Bachchan’s unique 75th birthday present

Two die-hard bachchan fans have put together frames 75, An exhibition to celebrate the legendary icon’s 75th birthday. Curators Pradeep Chandra and S.M.M. Ausaja tell us about their love for the megastar.

A heavy blackness suffuses the photograph. An open door punctures the darkness, and invites the viewer to look within. There, seated on an armchair, is a man we have all grown up watching and admiring. The legendary actor, Amitabh Bachchan, has been captured, mid-sentence, by the discerning lens of celebrated photographer Pradeep Chandra. It is an image that is arresting in its appeal and monumental in its impact for it went on to grace the cover of the Illustrated Weekly of India in 1991.

Such are the kinds of photographs on display at Frames 75, an exhibition curated by two self-proclaimed Amitabh fans, Pradeep Chandra and S.M.M. Ausaja. The latter, an eminent photographer and author, and the former, a celebrated film archivist and film historian, have put their minds and bodies of work together to design this visual treat.

The exhibition marks Amitabh Bachchan’s 75th birthday, and offers 75 iconic images of   Bollywood’s Shaheshah.

“He is a man of few words, but his gestures speak. This is my humble gesture to celebrate his 75th year. He will never be 75 again, so we had to do this,” says Ausaja.

Visitors have a treat in store, for they can view never seen before photographs, posters, lobby cards, sketches, pamphlets and vinyl record jackets from various eras, all capturing key moment of Big B’s journey as an actor. One can view rare images like Amitabh’s first Filmfare cover, a handbill from his Allahabad election in 1984, a beautiful Gentleman Magazine cover image of Amitabh and his father, photographs from the actor’s first ever photo session, an image of him singing the only qawaali he ever sang as an actor, and lots more.

The highlight here is that none of these images are available on the Internet. Apart from these, the exhibition will also showcase paintings of the star by talented artists like Kishore Pratim Biswas, Mithu Biswas, Sonu Gupta, Nita Singh and others.

So, could one narrow down on only 75 images from work spanning decades? “I’ve gone on relevance and rarity, both. The visual should have some relevance to his journey and I wanted the journey to be representative of each era,” explains Ausaja.

Pradeep, on the other hand, was motivated by behind-the-scene memories, and has chosen photographs that are memorable to him. “Once I had Amitabh get his shoes polished from a shoeshiner on the street, as I wanted to click that particular photograph. Passers-by thought I was clicking Amitabh Bachchan’s duplicate,”  recalls a happy Pradeep.

What are Big B’s thoughts on this tribute? Apparently, the superstar didn’t even want to celebrate his birthday. “Bachchan sir is very humble. He didn’t expect or want any of this. When we told him about our idea he said, ‘Arey, kya kar rahein hai aap log’”, says Pradeep. Well, maybe the iconic film star is too modest to acknowledge his greatness, but his fans will surely love gazing at every one of these 75 frames.

— The exhibition will be held at Whistling Woods, from May 10 to May 25.