Smash hit

Yesterday, at a media event to hype the O2 show, Amitabh Bachchan was distancing himself from the tour’s commercial management.

“We don’t look into that aspect,” he said. “We are contracted to go and perform. The pricing, and the ticketing and the sales are all done by promoters.

“Yes we would love to have as many people as possible but sometimes it’s restricted because of the venue and the costs that are involved.”

Bachchan also claimed to be unaware of the makeup of audiences during the North American leg. “The lights are so bright we never get to see who’s sitting in the audience and who they are,” he said

And he denied there were ever ambitions to find lucrative new Western audiences.

“I don’t think we set out with that intent,” he said. ‘It wasn’t to gather more people to come and watch our films. It was more us wanting to meet our audiences - just an opportunity for us to come and meet the fans and to give them the opportunity to see us live. And that’s about it. The fact that they come out in large numbers is sufficient endorsement that Indian cinema is reaching out to so many people.”

Although when pressed he admitted, that “yes, of course” the family wanted to widen its appeal, “there’s always that factor”.

Despite his denials, the global ambitions of India’s film industry are well documented. To continue to thrive it knows it must expand beyond its domestic market. And with Hollywood poised to move in on India, Bollywood will soon find itself competing on home ground too.

Bachchan Sr acknowledged that change was on the way. “There’s a lot of interesting things happening,” he said. “There’s a huge amount of investment coming in from the Western part of the world, there are joint ventures, there are production companies joining hands. With the spread of Indian cinema so rapid and because of its uniqueness it bodes very well for us.”

For the London show on Sunday, the Bachchan’s will be joined on stage by fellow Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Though less feted than the Bachchans back home, in the UK Shetty has become a household name, propelled into the public eye after her appearance on Celebrity Big Brother and her fallout with Jade Goody in the infamous racist bullying row.

Asked if any of them might adopt a similar high-octane strategy to boost their own UK fame, all three Bachchan’s were unequivocal.

“No, I don’t see myself doing that,” said Ashwarya Rai-Bachchan.

With Abishek Bachchan adding: “I think we’ve all kept very busy with our film work. We don’t have time to consider options like that. I don’t think any of us would have the guts to do something like that.”

Although bringing Shetty on board for a special appearance suggests a bid by the family to capitalise on her crowd-pulling quality among non-Indians, Abhishek Bachchan feigned surprise that for most of the broader British public she is now the pre-eminent face of Bollywood.

“Really?” he said pointedly. “That’s very good. We’re happy for her. She’s a member of the fraternity and we’re happy for her.” His magnanimity, a touch unconvincing.

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