Indian films go big

Abhishek Bachchan talks of Bollywood cinema going global

Abhishek Bachchan is happy that Bollywood continues to grow outside the country and has made Indian characters more accessible. But sometimes the characters become negative stereotypes. One example, is Apu, the convenience store owner on Fox television series,

The Simpsons. The character has come under fire as racist and stereotypical.

Bachchan, who attended college in America and who has long watched The

Simpsons, thinks the backlash may be going too far.

“I don’t make too much of a deal of it. I think somewhere we’re getting a bit too highly sensitive about everything,” he said. “Let’s not do something outwardly to offend a particular community. But look — it’s The Simpsons, OK? It’s not life changing. You have to learn to laugh at yourself a bit.”

Bachchan’s latest film Manmarziyaan is a love triangle also starring Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal. It’s directed by Anurag Kashyap.

“I think it’s a wonderful bridge between quintessential Indian cinema with its usual tropes, and a cinema that is also coming out of India, which is more accessible and understandable,” he said. “I liked the fact that it’s a marriage of two worlds — Anurag’s more contemporary world with a very Indian backbone to the story.”

Bachchan has also been called the Brad Pitt of India, something he finds “embarrassing.” Manmarziyaan is out now in the UAE.

Photos by Reuters, IANS and courtesy of Instagram.com/ sonalchauhan Abhishek Bachchan at the premiere of ‘Manmarziyaan’ at the Toronto International Film Festival.