Many people are assuming that Amitabh Bachchan’s latest movie, Nishabd, is based on Lolita, a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, a famous Russian-American writer. Nabokov's novel, Lolita, was published in 1955 and immediately received the status of classic masterpiece. However, Amitabh Bachchan denied the claim. I am quoting from the report published in Hindustan Times:
Nishabd, he says, is not based on Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, Lolita. “A young girl gets attracted to an elderly man — married and domesticated. It’s a perfectly normal occurrence in life. Things happen sometimes. What, therefore, is the outcome in such a situation is what the film is about. Unlike the much publicised belief that it is a Lolita, it is not. Lolita was sensuous and physical. Far from that, it deals with the dilemma in a rather mature manner.”
True or not, it does not matter. Nishabd is definitely a different kind of movie. A love affair between an aged man and a teenage girl is not something Indian society accepts normally. Previously, Subhash Ghai's Jogger's Park and Yash Chopra's Lamhe dealt with this subject. Amitabh Bachchan is the biggest star of Bollywood. At his age, actors mainly do father figure type of characters which he did in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum, Baabul, Waqt: The Race Against Time. However, Amitabh did not let himself become a type caste. He also played “Sexy Sam,” a ladies man, in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. His energetic performance in Khakee would remind the viewers of the spirit of the angry young man. Now, he has come up with a totally unconventional character in Nishabd. Let’s hope and pray that Amitabh Bachchan’s performance is well received by the audience.
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Hindustan Times
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