A Southwark questa mattina Amitabh Bachchan ha portato la fiaccola olimpica. Ma non tutti si sono congratulati con Big B. Uno degli sponsor dei Giochi è la Dow Chemical Co., attuale proprietaria della Union Carbide Corp., la compagnia responsabile del disastro chimico avvenuto a Bhopal nel 1984. In India celebrità e cittadini comuni hanno chiesto di annullare la partecipazione della squadra indiana alle Olimpiadi. Oggi gli attivisti di Bhopal hanno organizzato dei giochi speciali a cui hanno partecipato centinaia di sopravvissuti e di bambini affetti da gravi patologie nati dopo la tragedia, tragedia nella quale 15.000 persone persero la vita e 500.000 rimasero intossicate.
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| Bhopal, 26 luglio 2012 |
Aggiornamento del 28 luglio 2012 - Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Amitabh Bachchan ad Ashis Ray, pubblicata oggi da The Times of India. I am deeply honoured:
'What did carrying the torch mean to you?
The Olympics is the ultimate sporting event. And to be asked to be a part of it is a huge honour. I don’t know why I was chosen. It feels wonderful that Great Britain, the hosts of the Olympics, has chosen people from different communities, different parts of the world. It shows the spirit of the Olympics, where it preaches the coming together of caste, creed, religion, colour, nations to compete in a friendly atmosphere. And just to be a part of it is a moment of great pride. (...)
Today, you are not merely a filmstar, but a legendary Indian. Do the issues that confront India make you think about the way India is progressing?
We are just normal human beings. And just because we happen to be in a profession where you are loaded with the title of a celebrity doesn’t mean we are acquainted or equipped or knowledgeable enough to be able to answer some of these questions. But somehow it is just because you are a celebrity it is assumed you will have this great solutions to some of the greatest problems the country is facing. I would just say I am an aware citizen of my country. Yes, what develops in the country affects all of us and we have our opinions. I just feel that expressing it is not what I would like to do because I am not knowledgeable enough. (...)
Hindi cinema has grown bigger. Today, it is as big abroad as it is in India. How do you see it get better as the years go by?
I don’t like this word (Bollywood) which describes the Indian film industry. Cinema was almost looked upon as infra dig, parents used to go and vet a film before we were allowed to get inside a theatre. Cinema in general was held as an institution where children from good families were not looked as being associated with. But look at the change that has happened now. I don’t know if this is good for the country or not; but it’s almost become a part of our culture. There are more people who know about the Indian film industry. So, that bodes well. The West was very cynical about our quality of cinema. We made very escapist fare. But one of the points the West did not recognise was that cinema as a medium of entertainment for the common man. I do see Indian cinema progressing very well; gradually, our talent is being recognised, whether in Great Britain or Hollywood, in festivals in Cannes, London, Venice. So, I think we are on the right path'.
