R Balki, Shoojit Sircar coaxed Amitabh Bachchan to sing the National Anthem

Mumbai: On Republic day Amitabh Bachchan had two reasons to celebrate. Not only had the Government of India conferred the Padma Vibhushan on the super-iconic actor, the actor’s video singing the national anthem also went viral on the same day.

Apparently it was the persuasive powers of the two filmmakers R Balki and Shoojit Sircar that did the trick.

Says a source, “Amitji didn’t want to touch the sacrosanct anthem with his vocal chords. But Balki who repeatedly stretches Amitji’s self-imposed boundaries insisted and even got Shoojit Sircar to shoot the anthem at Rabindranath Tagore’s birth-place.”

Incidentally Balki and Shoojit are close collaborators. The latter has directed several advertisements for Balki’s production company. Balki and Shoojit are also the directors of Big B’s next two releases ‘Shamitabh’ and ‘Piku’.

Says Balki, “Shoojit was the right person to shoot Amitji’s rendition of the national anthem because we wanted it to be shot at Tagore’s birthplace. Shoojit understands the Bengali milieu much better than I do.”

Why a new version of the national anthem by Amitabh Bachchan?

“Because we felt that the song of the nation must be sung by the voice of the nation. And how beautifully Amitji has rendered ‘Jana gana mana’. We don’t want to compare his version of the immortal song to others. Amitji is incomparable.”

Adds Shoojit Sircar, “To re-invent the national anthem in Bachchan Saab’s voice is a pleasure beyond measure. I had goose bumps when Bachchan Saab sang ‘Jana gana mana’. How beautifully he has rendered it! To shoot it at Gurudev (Rabindranath Tagore)’s museum was an added high.”