actor. TV show host. Contemporary singer. fact. Amitabh Bachchan, who dominated the entertainment world more than the cultural scene for nearly five decades, turns 80 today. The ‘Big B’ isn’t limited to his roles – he has been voted ‘the biggest star of stage or screen’ in a BBC poll, becoming the first living Asian to have a wax statue at Madame Tussauds, France’s highest civilian honour. Mila, and used to carry the Olympic torch. Similarly, he underlines the famous ‘baritone’, which has its own identity. In its latest outing, Awaaz – which has launched thousands of brands, attracted tourists to Gujarat, made Holi parties incomplete without ‘Rang Barse’ – is a household companion who will send you ‘Happy Birthday’ and jokes, poetry. , even provides weather updates. , at the tap of a mic and to wake up to the word ‘Amitji’, which brings to life a smart home assistant.
Alternating between irresistible to thunder, a key aspect of the screen persona has been the melodious voice that makes even the most mundane words rich in possibility. Interestingly, Bachchan’s stint in cinema as a faceless storyteller began even before his career as an actor. After an unsuccessful attempt to get a job at All India Radio, his voice made its debut when filmmaker Mrinal Sen used it for sutradhar (narrator) in Bhuvan Shome (1969).
The Voice Box has spawned a cottage industry of sound alikes, prompting the actor to copyright it after a tobacco manufacturer allegedly copied it to promote their gutkha. However, there are impersonators whom Bachchan himself encourages. Remember ‘Jumma Chumma’ or ‘Sona Sona’, songs that people think the actor sang? Sudesh Bhosle takes it as a compliment. “I recorded them in front of Bachchan sahab, it is he who personally recommends me for some of his songs and supervises the recordings,” says Bhosale. “I need to put my hands on the waist and shrug my shoulders to get his coveted ‘has’.”
We first met Amitabh at a railway station. At the same time, most of us had assumed that his career was going to be great. His powerful voice and ability to express was amazing. His style of work was really inspiring. He had a special hobby of reciting the poems of his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan. We stayed together for three weeks in a building in Goa for the shoot. He was really good with people, very polite and focused.
Malayalam actor Madhu who was in Bachchan’s debut film ‘Saat Hindustani’
Chetan Shashital, who dubbing the commercials in Bachchan’s voice, says that he gets the soundscape by “breathing deeply through the diaphragm”… it is wrong to define his voice only as baritone. This is how he controls, breathes, pauses and with his shrill accents he transforms from a raspier government to a grim mirza from a commanding tone he hears in the wall. ,
The two fill up at the behest of Bachchan “when he is unavailable or his throat is not in good condition or after written or verbal permission from him”. “Their voice is their intellectual property and we have to avoid any mischief or misuse,” says Shashital. “I check with their office to make sure it’s not a brand that doesn’t. Trying to get me because they can’t stand Bachchan saab.” The industry is also present in regional languages. Some of the best mimicry in Kerala are known for their Bachchan impressions. Be it the late Kalabhavan Abi who would dub for Malayalam versions of the actor’s commercials or Ashraf Thalassery who was his duplicate in the Malayalam film ‘Guppy’.
This is perhaps his ability to stir up emotion from every word in a “resonant deep vocal tone,” says sound designer Bishwadeep Chatterjee. He said, “No matter how much he modifies by raising or lowering the pitch, there is incredible consistency in his outspoken personality. “Neither too thin, nor too soft,” says Chatterjee, who has worked in several Big B films. “He is so obsessed with his dialogues, voiceovers or singing that he has built a state-of-the-art recording studio in his home.”
There is also science in this unique vocal imprint. Over the past two years, studies have indicated that taller men are perceived as more formidable, partly because their voices are lower in pitch. Research from Pennsylvania State University confirmed that taller men have lower frequencies partly because longer vocal tracts and larger vocal folds produce lower, more resonant sounds, while another study by anthropologists at Boston University found Men with low, resonant voices were more likely to be perceived as “attractive, masculine, respectable and influential”. All is well for the 6.2-feet-tall actor, whose ‘baritone’ was an overwhelming response to a survey whose voice people wanted to hear if he had dialed a call centre.