The B story

He started by selling some anger, then a lot of it and then some more. He then went on to selling dreams, then stories, some poetry, lots of romance - unrequited and otherwise, and later still suits, cars, food, life insurance, and well I've lost count of what else. Last seen he was pitching me a website!

Amitabh Bachchan. Much has been said and written on the man. States and nations have feted him, honored him, hosted him. In his own country he is quite the phenomenon to this day. This day when even his wig is a touch more than just salt and pepper and the step has become more careful than sure. Amitabh Bachchan just turned 70.

He comes from no mean background - with the family being friends of the Nehru-Gandhis, not to mention a poet-thinker father. A lineage that boasts a lot of social standing. No doubt set a daunting task, just to keep up with.

Have you noticed how famous parents seldom have famous offspring? And when they do get as famous, they turn out like George W Bush. But to get back to this blog, and closer home, as I said, it's a rare star kid that surpasses the fame of his or her parent. Amitabh Bacchan not only surpassed his poet father's fame if not any other talent, but also set the bar so high that his own offspring have long since been left behind in that race. Miss World Daughter-in-law notwithstanding.

So what makes a man like this? They surely don't seem to any more. Not many anyways.

It would stand to reason that he must like the rest of us suffer from many a human fallible. That he doeth bleed like the average man was proved beyond doubt somewhere in the 80s, when the then superstar met with a near fatal accident. But it also proved that unlike the average man, he had a whole nation, the second most populated no less, praying and willing to do anything to make him better. A charisma that wouldn't be dimmed by the imminence of death or disaster.

The other very human issue that dogs a star is that of relationships - failed, hidden or pretended. Rumours there were. Stories did the rounds and continue to in select circles. But the man still towers over all of it in his socks. All of six feet two inches.

Sometimes stars begin to believe in their own hype. And sell themselves too high. They think themselves not only great actors, but also the clever businessman, the ideal politician. It goes with the territory. Remember Govinda? Rajesh Khanna? (The good Lord rest his soul). Well, apparently some stars can still come out of all this smelling like roses. Ask Amitabh.

His business venture took him to the brink of bankruptcy. His attempts to stay afloat nearly lost him his good boy public image. Questionable associations, cleared debts, crores, and crorepatis later, Amitabh Bachchan is still the star he was.

So again I ask, how does he do it?

He rarely speaks ill of others - in his field or elsewhere. If his comments are so construed, apologies are issued and controversies are quelled. Words are often measured, weighed and used sparingly. Where one would do, you will seldom catch him using two.

Amitabh Bachchan. Blemished? Yes. Branded? Surely. Blessed? Decidedly.

Well then, what can I say but Happy Birthday.

(Annu CM works in the Wellness and Entertainment division of NDTV Good Times. An alumnus of MCRC, New Delhi, Annu has been with NDTV for more than a decade. Her understanding and affection for Bollywood comes from an enduring love for old Hindi film songs.)