Big B, Preity and Arjun go arty

Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal; what do these names stand for in Bollywood? Well, they are all big names in the world of hardcore commercial cinema, having innumerable successful potboilers to their credit. Of course, the megastar, Amitabh Bachchan tops the list by a huge margin.

One might say that he has done Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, which too (because of its theme and treatment) can be labeled as art house cinema. However, The Last Lear becomes special as it is the megastar's first English language film, directed by National Award winning director, Rituparno Ghosh, whose association with the Bachchan family is well known. The film received an overwhelming standing ovation when the world premier was held at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival. Later it was chosen for the famous Rome Cinema Fest and London Film Festival.

Coming to the performances, all the major stars have put in scintillating acts. In the film, Amitabh Bachchan shows why he is called the God of acting. In fact critics are of the view that this is Bachchan's best after Black. Preity Zinta sheds off her glam doll image and gets into the skin of the character. She plays a struggling actress (and a bad one in the film!) with elan. Arjun Rampal is just perfect in the role of a director. It is hard to believe that it is the same Arjun whom critics used to call wooden, just a few years ago.

One has to say that we are in for a delightful treat when the film releases next month that is 12th September.