Hindi
‘Shamitabh’….Amitabh unleashed!
MUMBAI: R Balki’s films are described as novel by Shamitabh’s lead actor, Amitabh Bachchan. But the system of a Hindi-speaking person dubbing for South Indian actors or vice versa is age old reality. So is that of one person dubbing for another. There is nothing new in Shamitabh except that here a mute person aspires to be a star and a voice is found for him.
Dhanush is a small time lad from Igatpuri in Maharashtra helping his mother sell batata vada at the local state transport bus stop. Whatever money he gets, he spends on movies. When the cinema hall is brought down he barters with a video library, giving free batata vada and pakoda in exchange for a movie. That is where he also gets introduced to Hollywood movies.
Dhanush is mute but is convinced he is an ace actor and can somehow make it big in the films. He often tries to run away from his village to reach Mumbai but is brought back once by convincing him that he is still too young to become a film star and again when his mother pretends to be sick so that he stays back.
There comes a time when his mother is really ill and passes away. The way is open for Dhanush to go to Mumbai and try his luck. After a couple of failures in entering studios and trying to reach the famous film directors like Raju Hirani, Karan Johar, Rohit Shetty and so on, he finally makes it to a studio where he comes across Akshara Haasan, an assistant director who sympathises with this mute guy from a small town. She asks him to perform a scene and shoots it on her cell phone. Her director boss is duly impressed and decides to give him break. But what to do about his voice?
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Producers: Sunil Lulla, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, RK Damani, Gauri Shinde, Abhishek Bachchan. Director: R Balki. Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush, Akshara Haasan and cameos by Rekha, Javed Akhtar, Karan Johar, Rohit Shetty etc. |
The way out is to find a voice for him who will not dub for him but will playback his dialogue on his behalf. After some voice tests, they suddenly come across Bachchan, a weird character and a drunkard with a Christian cemetery as his abode. Bachchan has no solid back story for turning into what he has. The cemetery keeper charges him rent and also doubles up as his Man Friday. Now everybody knows about Bachchan’s rich voice, which does not quite match Dhanush’s personality. But, in the film’s story, that is what works for Dhanush since the film highlights mainly this aspect leaving aside his famous acting prowess which impressed those concerned.
After some coaxing, Bachchan agrees to be the voice of Dhanush because he can get even with the entertainment industry; he had come to Mumbai forty years back to try his luck first in films and later on radio (the radio rejection happened to him in real life). Both rejected him because the filmmakers found his voice like that of a villain (no idea why he did not get a villain’s role!). He can now make a star out of Dhanush on the strength of his voice.
Dhanush’s debut film makes it to the screen and in the very first weekend, he has become a superstar breaking the collection records of Aamir Khan as well as Salman Khan! He has taken the screen name of Shamitabh, combining his and Bachchan’s name as that makes him complete as an actor. But, no sooner does Dhanush become a star, he gets into an ego struggle with his voice, Bachchan: is he successful because of his acting or is it the rich voice he borrows from Bachchan?
The voice acting conflict is introduced too early and goes on and on, becoming repetitive. If acting is what took Dhanush to the top, it is not emphasised on with most of the time the focus being on Bachchan and his booming voice. Finally comes a time when the ego clash leads to a parting of ways. While Dhanush attempts to prove himself with a film about deaf and mute love story, Bachchan tries to prove his point by lending his voice to another aspiring actor, who stammers and can’t deliver dialogues. Both fail in their respective efforts and realise that they complement each other. Akshara plays the mediator to bring them together.
If Bachchan were to play only Dhanush’s voice, there would not have been much to do for him in the film. So there is extended footage on his lifestyle. Also, what he did very successfully for the first time in Amar Akbar Anthony, the mime in front of a mirror, and later in another film has been overused here. Bachchan is made to give multiple monologues which not only stretch the film but also bring negative returns. Director Balki seems to sell Bachchan more than his idea of a ventriloquist for mute actor.
With a loose script which comes in bits and pieces as it moves from one artiste to another while also trying to build a romance between Dhanush and Akshara (one sided though from Dhanush) it leads to many tedious moments. The director seems to have little control thereafter stretching the film to 153 minutes with a story based on just three artistes. The music by the legendary composer, Illaiyaraaja, is mediocre, best of the lot being two ringtone kind of numbers in Ishq e phillum…. And Piddly si baatein…. Background score is fine. Dialogue, mainly Bachchan’s lines, are good. Editing is slack. Climax is abrupt and poor.
It is an Amitabh show all the way though he is overburdened. Dhanush overacts at times and is just passable. Akshara fails to make a mark, her dressing may be contemporary youth kind but makes her lack femininity.
On the whole, Shamitabh fails to deliver.
In a music industry that often rewards speed, spectacle, and instant recall, Navjot Ahuja’s journey feels refreshingly different. His story is not built on noise. It is built on patience, discipline, emotional honesty, and a quiet commitment to becoming better with every passing year. After 14 years of struggle, learning, performing, and writing, Navjot stands today as an artist whose success has not changed his centre. If anything, it has only made his purpose clearer.
For Navjot, music has never been about chasing fame alone. It has always been about expression. It is about writing more truthfully, singing more skillfully, understanding himself more deeply, and becoming a kinder human being in the process. That rare clarity is what gives his journey its beauty.
Where It All Began: A Writer Before a Singer
Indian singer and songwriter Navjot Ahuja’s musical journey began in the most familiar of places: school assemblies. But even then, what was growing inside him was not only the desire to sing. It was the need to write.
Long before he saw himself as a performer, he had already discovered the emotional release that writing offered him. For Navjot, words became the first true channel for feeling. Songwriting came before singing because writing was the only way he could let emotions flow through him fully. That inner pull shaped his artistic identity early on.
Like many young musicians, he sharpened his craft by creating renditions of popular songs.
Those experiments became his training ground. But the turning point came in 2012, when he wrote his first original song. That moment did not just mark the beginning of songwriting. It marked the beginning of self-definition.
A Calling He Did Not Chase, But Accepted
What makes the latest Indian singer-songwriter Navjot’s story especially compelling is the way he describes his relationship with music. He does not frame it as a career he aggressively pursued. In his own understanding, music was not something he chose. It was something that chose him.
There was a time when he imagined a very different future for himself. He wanted to become a successful engineer, like many young people shaped by ambition and conventional expectations. But life had a different script waiting for him. During his college years, around 2021, music entered his life professionally and began taking a firmer shape.
That shift was not driven by image-building or industry ambition. It came from acceptance. Navjot embraced the fact that music had claimed him in a way no other path could. That sense of surrender continues to define the artist he is today.
An Artist Guided by Instinct, Not Influence
Unlike many singers who speak openly about idols, icons, and musical role models, Navjot’s creative world is built differently. He does not believe his music comes from imitation or inherited influence. He listens inward.
He has never considered himself shaped by ideals in the traditional sense. In fact, he admits that he does not particularly enjoy listening to songs, especially his own. His decisions as a songwriter and singer come from instinct. He writes what feels right. He trusts what his inner voice tells him. He positions his music according to what he honestly believes in, not what trends demand.
That creative independence gives his work a distinct emotional sincerity. His songs do not feel calculated. They feel alive.
The Long Years of Invisible Struggle
Every artist carries a chapter of struggle, and Navjot’s was long, demanding, and deeply formative. One of the biggest challenges he faced was building continuity as the best new indian singer songwriter in an era where musical collaboration is increasingly fluid.
For emerging singers, especially those trying to build with a band, consistency can be difficult. Instrumentalists today have more opportunities than ever to freelance and perform with multiple artists. While that growth is positive and well deserved, it can make things harder for singers who are still trying to establish a steady team and sound around their work.
For Navjot, one of the most difficult phases came during 2021 and 2022, when he was doing club shows almost every day. It was a period of relentless performance, but not always personal fulfillment. He was largely singing covers because clubs were not open to original songs that audiences did not yet know.
For a new Indian singer and songwriter, that can be a painful compromise. To perform constantly and still not have the freedom to share your own voice requires not just resilience, but restraint.
“Khat” and the Grace of Staying Unchanged
After 14 years of effort, Navjot’s new love song Khat became a defining milestone. Professionally, he acknowledges that the song changed how society viewed him as a musician. It strengthened his place in the public eye and altered his standing in meaningful ways.
Yet personally, he remains unchanged.
That is perhaps the most striking part of his story. Navjot says his routine is still the same. His calm is still the same. His writing process is still the same. He does not want success or failure to interfere with the purity of his art. For him, emotional detachment from public outcomes is essential because the moment an artist becomes too attached to validation, the writing begins to shift.
His joy comes not from numbers, but from the attempt. If he has tried to improve his skill today, if he has written his heart out more honestly than before, then he is at peace.
Growth, Not Glory, Remains the Real Goal
Even now, Navjot is not consumed by labels such as singles artist, performer, or digital success story. His focus remains deeply personal. He wants to sing better. He wants to play instruments better. He wants to understand himself more. And he wants to become a kinder person.
That is what makes Navjot Ahuja’s journey so moving. It is not simply the story of a musician finding recognition. It is the story of an artist who continues to grow inward, even as the world begins to look outward at him. In an age obsessed with applause, Navjot reminds us that the most meaningful success often begins in silence, honesty, and the courage to remain true to oneself.
