News Broadcasting
BBC World show ‘Talking Movies’ features Big B
MUMBAI: He is known for great acting skills and charismatic personality. The latest from him – the alzheimer-striken teacher in Black – has been a revelation! BBC World’s Talking Movies presents Amitabh Bachchan in coversation with presenter Tom Brook. Bachchan, who was recently in New York to receive a tribute to his film career from the American Film Institute, speaks to Tom Brook in an in-depth interview about his long and distinguished film career.
The show will feature the illustrious film career of Bachchan, which spans over 35 years and over 150 films to his credit. The Big B special will air on 4 May at 1 pm. The repeat telecast follows on 5 May at 10 pm and on 8 May at 8 am.
According to a media release, when asked by Tom Brook about the fact that most people on the streets of the United States wouldn’t recognise him as a superstar, he replies: “Thank God for that. Well, they don’t know about me and they don’t know about Indian cinema. It’s just like Brad Pitt walking around a city in India – no one would know who he is. That’s not to say I don’t have that freedom within my own country. If I chose to walk on the streets I’d be okay.”
Through the interview Bachchan says, “It’s always a great honour to be recognised by an institute that comes out from the West. [I’m] a bit surprised that the Americans would take such an interest in Indian cinema, and pay me a tribute in particular, but I’m very happy that something like this is happening. It bodes well for Indian cinema, it bodes well for the marketing of Indian cinema, for the future of Indian cinema, and I hope that there are such tributes paid to many other artists of my nation.”
According to a media release, he adds, “I think that Indian cinema got its recognition overseas because of its unique content… there is a great deal of interest now in India beyond seeing films. The economy has opened up and we are being looked upon as a powerful nation… I believe that every time a nation progresses economically and changes economically, everything about it becomes fashionable and likable. Our food suddenly becomes world-widely acceptable, the clothes that we wear, the music that we make and the films that we make. So I think that the acceptability of our films is now largely due to the fact that we are a growing economic power.”
Expressing his views on how interest in Indian cinema can be increased in other countries such as the US, he says: “Certainly a better system of marketing [is needed]. I think our systems are very individualistic, we’re perhaps not aware of the potential of how films need to be marketed as do the Americans, because they are really masters of it… I think now as visibility improves, we’ll have to get our house in order, get our management procedures in place, so that they can be marketed well and have a greater reach.”
Asked if he feels that Indian films have to be less rigid in their approach to issues such as sex and morality in order to gain international acceptability, Bachchan replies, “That isn’t the only ingredient that makes them acceptable in other parts of the world – I think it’s more to do with your screenplay and your story and the content. Yes, Western cinema does have a greater permissiveness than Indian cinema, but I don’t think that is a constant and I don’t see any necessity for loosening our morals, so to say, just to accommodate a new territory.”
Bachchan, who has also had a brief stint in Indian politics as a Member of Parliament, says he would not like to go back to politics, adding: “I don’t know politics, I just don’t know it… it was an emotional decision, and I felt that emotion really has no place in politics.”
Bachchan is also the goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and he speaks about how a celebrity’s involvement has added to the effectiveness of the organisation’s cause. Quoting the example of the hugely successful polio campaign he has been a part of, he says: “The number of polio cases came down to almost four or five instead of 3,000, and the number of mothers going to the booths increased almost by a thousand-fold…. if by my association with UNICEF we can bring about some relief for India, then I’m happy to do something.”
Asked why he doesn’t like the Indian film industry to be referred to as Bollywood, he says: “I feel it’s a bit demeaning to the Indian film industry. It’s a word that doesn’t sound very good.”
On whether he considers retiring from the film business, he says: “Someday I will, of course, because it’s impossible to retain your physicality for the rest of your life, and movie-making depends a lot on your physical demeanour. Once my face loses shape and my body loses shape, I’ll retire, but as long as it’s working and it’s moving I’d like to carry on working.”
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
