Big B: There is no method in my acting
He was answering a question about how did he prepare for his flamboyant over-the-top role in his film BBUDDAH-HOGA TERRA BAAP. This actor does not prepare. He just acts and has very little faith in the 'method' theory of acting first propounded by the Russian actor and theatre director Constantin Stanislavsky and later popularised by Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg who trained thespians like Brando, Niro and Pacino. We also have our 'method actors' in Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, and a whole lot of new-gen practitioners of the craft who go through an intense process of preparation for their 'serious' and 'meaningful' roles. Our cerebral Khan is also believed to be a kind of a follower of the 'method school' since he takes his own sweet time getting into his intense characters and then coming out of them.
It's not that Mr. Bachchan did not try it seriously or sincerely. He did, at least once, right in the beginning of his career, in order to do full justice to the climax scene of ANAND in the role of Babu Moshay. He got so carried away by the constant talk of how important was the scene and what a golden opportunity had come his way to showcase his histrionic prowess to the world, he really started 'preparing' for the make or break role and get under the skin of his character to become 'it'. That turned out to be a bit too much for the film's director the late Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Appalled by what the struggling actor was doing, Hrishida asked him to calm down and deliver his lines well without employing his newly acquired complex and highfalutin understanding of a simple job like acting. That was it. Big B reverted to the old school of 'acting' without the 'method' and acquitted himself fairly well in life thereafter in varied roles as an actor, super star, and a gentleman.
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