Raj Thackeray's 'Happy Birthday, Bachchan' with caricatures

Cartoonist and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray on Wednesday paid a unique tribute to Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan on the actor's 75th birthday.

Thackeray has sketched a bouquet of six endearing caricatures of Bachchan on his Platinum birthday, detailing his journey in Indian cinema from a lanky actor in 1970 to the tallest star of Bollywood in 2017.

"Many actors have, down the decades, earned their spurs in cinema, making their mark and earning good popularity too. And sooner or later, they have faded into the sunset. However, Amitabh Bachchan still holds the sceptre. And how!" Thackeray said in an accompanying post on social media.

The cartoonist-cum-politician feels that Amitabh "redefined Hindi cinema in terms of style and content", by playing innumerable characters on screen, several of which are etched forever in the memory of the audiences.

He confessed that one tends to talk in superlatives when the topic is Amitabh Bachchan and the occasion happens to be his milestone 75th birthday.

"No debate that Amitabh Bachchan altered the style and content of Hindi Cinema, and set a new agenda for filmdom. Again, his roles re-defined the post 1970 Indian cinema and his legacy continues...," said Thackeray, who had a public spat with the Bachchans in 2008 over the issue of north Indian immigrants.

Continuing the tribute, Thackeray added: "He portrayed breath-taking range of roles on the silver screen, and has brought to life a cavalcade of characters. He cast an abiding influence on generations of cinema buffs."

He recounted how he had differed with Amitabh on the issue of Marathi language, adding "I till adhere to my views which I have made known to him". They later patched up to become great friends.

"The truth of the matter is legends such as Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar are not the brand ambassadors of a particular region or state. They belong to India," Thackeray pointed out.

However, he hastily added that even though they differed in opinions, he harboured not a shred of doubt in his mind about Amitabh's "sterling contribution to cinema and his numero uno status as a performer."

Presenting the special platinum birthday artwork, Thackeray described it as "a small gift from the artist in me to a thespian... I hope you will like it," and wished him on the momentous occasion.

Recently, Thackeray drew a cartoon depicting Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2. He drew another much appreciated caricature last month paying tributes to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar on her birthday.

--IANS

qn/him/vd