Monsieur B has touched down in NY on a brief, whirlwind tour, with spouse, son and bahu in tow.
Here are some quick images from his stop at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan:
To start with, Ganesha:
The stage, before:
Kanjeevaram peacocks:
Audience:
Welcome flowers:
Garlanded:
Mr. B, stars and stripes, tiranga:
Pushpa Bharti, editor of the latest edition of Harivansh Rai’s poetry, launched at Licnoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, who shared some of her memories of the poet:
Ganesha again, now with water:
Security bracelet afterward:
Commemorative plaque for the press in attendance:
What made the show different for me was that its rare to see Big B talking candidly. In the show he mimicked his old directors, showed how Salim-Javed would sell their storylines to the directors and what he thought about Aamir and SRK’s acting talent.
Hi Raj, good to see you dropping by!
Boost Mr. Bachchan’s image? Hmmmm. I don’t think there’s much could have detract from it at this point in time. He seems quite bulletproof nowadays, something amazing to consider, given the turn his career had in the late 80s/early 90s. I see several new brands that he endorses on TV recently, so I think the advertising gurus must also think he is infallible.
The audience, on the whole, was extremely reverent of him.
The media, at first, were tightly controlled and could only submit questions on paper beforehand, and camerapersons were cordoned off at the back of the room behind a barricade.
But then later, the floor was open, and after Bhavan board members asked some questions, other reporters in the audience were allowed to ask other questions. No one touched on anything personal, in a negative way, though there were a lot of personal questions about Mr. Bachchan’s relationship to his father.
Thanks Maria for the pics. Seeing them (from across the seas in Chennai, India) gave one a different perspective.
K.M. Munshi (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan founder) and the American flag together was a rare combo with Big B!
Nice plaque.
Do you feel the press conference was a boost to Big B’s image? Or,
was it merely a social event — a memento-collectible?
Best,
Raj
Nic, thanks for the pointer, NDTV has had bits of something similar.
Joseph, thanks. The press conference had about 4 or 5 people all together. The recital itself had between 1 – 2% non-desis.
Nice pictures!
I’m curious about one thing—–In an event such as this what percentage of attendees is non-desi?
Try catching Flashback 60 on CNN-IBN. A fab show with the Big B talking about all his favourite movies over the past 60 years. He revealed a lot of unknown trivia and even criticized Ash and Abhishek for the new Umrao jaan.