On December 4, 2009, movie lovers will witness the 67-year-old Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan in the role of a 13-year-old in his upcoming release 'Paa'.
'Paa' is a story of a 13-year old boy who suffers from Progeria, a sporadic genetic ailment. This disorder occurs as a type of mutation and is not genetic, which makes a child age early – compelling him to die by heart attack at the age of 15. Amitabh Bachchan plays the role of a 13 year old Auro who is whimsical and a very intelligent boy. Vidya Balan, his mother, is a gynecologist and his father Amol Arte, is played by Abhishek Bachchan.
A politician by profession, Amol is a young ideologist who wants to show the world that politics and politicians are not all that bad. The storyline of 'Paa' revolves around the relationship of a father and his prostrate son.
Aletring their real life roles must have been an experience of a lifetime for the father-son duo of Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. Abhishek playing the role of a doting father of his “real life Paa is surely going to be a delight for the movie lovers.
The film has been extensively shot in UK and India. On his revolutionary role, Big B states, "I think it's important to understand what all it entails and then I leave it to you to categorise it whether it's a revolution or not. I think perhaps for the first time in our films, you will never see the main face of the protagonist. Yes, Auro is me and I look like what I look in the posters. So people won't see Amitabh Bachchan's face. Maybe that's revolutionary. I don't know whether a sixty year old actor has played a thirteen year old boy. Maybe that's an invention. And I think for the first time, I am playing a reel life son to my real life son who plays my father in the film. It's a role reversal. You can call that an innovation."
On the other hand, Abhishek Bachchan had a different experience altogether shooting for Paa. Justifying his role of a politician in the film he sported one white kurta pyjama in most of the scenes. The director ordered 10 sets of the same kurta pyjama to ensure that the clothes remain spotless. Ironically, he wore just one white kurta pyjama in 90% of the film and in the remaining 10% of the film the actor had to change nearly 30 costumes. He however didn't mind his restricted wardrobe in the film and stated that "It was a welcome change to not have so many different costumes. And most importantly it was the requirement of the film".
For a sequence in Paa, Abhishek was required to carry Big B piggyback and run across a vast field. Big B on the experience of being carried by his own son said, "Carrying me piggyback was Abhishek's job. Jaya and I merely produced a strong boy! No, the most tedious part of playing the 12-year old boy in Paa was the makeup. I had to sit still for 4-5 hours every morning without moving, eating or even drinking water. For a sunrise shot I had to be up from 11 pm the previous night doing the makeup to be able to shoot on time the next morning."
Moreover, Big B has also sung title song of 'Paa' in the juvenile voice of his character Auro. He sang the track so perfectly that it left Ilaiyaraja wondering how a 67-year old man could sing the song in a 13-year old's voice so effortlessly.
Watch 'Paa' for the superstar Amitabh Bachchan - an incredible actor, as he transform into a kid and continues to surprise his viewers till date.
| 
