The Big B Mr Amitabh Bachchan agreeing to do the voiceover in Prabhas’ Radhe Shyam is a manifestation of the new friendship that burgeoned on the sets of the film that they are doing together in Telugu and Hindi for director Ashwini Dutt in Hyderabad.
As is well-known in the entertainment industry Prabhas is a fanatical foodie who not only loves to eat but also shares tons of delicious home-made food with his co-stars. This is what won Mr Bachchan over. At home in Mumbai he is on a strict diet, and not allowed any of rich food that Prabhas has been feeding him in Hyderabad.
Mrs Bachchan back home is worried about her husband’s food regimen going for a toss. However the two new food friends are ready to cement their kinship beyond cuisine now.
Prabhas requested Bachchan Saab to do the voiceover in Radhe Shyam. Bachchan Saab immediately agreed. It is amazing what miracles food can work.
Mr Bachchan has done a record number of commentaries and voiceovers for cinema as varied as Shakti Samanta’s Ballika Badhu, Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani, Vinod Chopra’s Parineeta, Rakesh Roshan’s Krissh 3 , Luc Jacquet’s March Of The Penguins, Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodha Akbar, and Srijit Mukherjee’s Begum Jaan.
The Big B once said to me, “The experience of doing voice- overs is wonderful. My first -ever film-connected credit title was for the voice -over in Mrinal Da’s film Bhuvan Shome , then several followed.”
The Big B feels blessed to have had these opportunities . “Several films, documentaries where I have contributed my voice are forgotten now. But they are a sizable number. The most rewarding voice-overs have been the son et lumiere renditions for some prestigious and important national monuments for the Government of India… Khajuraho, Golconda Fort, Gwalior Fort, Tirupati, presentation for the Punjab Museum under construction, several religious institutions.I am also vocally associated with the son et lumiere at Ajmer Fort in Jaipur for the Rajasthan Government.”
The Big B has also done the voice-over in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khiladi. “I regret not getting an opportunity to work with the legend as an actor. But just a mention as a voice -over in his film is a moment of great pride for me. Also artistically, my association for the Rabindranath album and in another ballet by Tanushree Shankar has been extremely rewarding.”