Eye-dentity crisis

Amitabh Bachchan sports different coloured lenses in Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. It was a complicated procedure to fit him with those lenses, given his age

Amitabh Bachchan has worn different-coloured eye lenses in Ram Gopal Varma’s Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. The colour of the lens in the right eye is blue, while the left one is brown. Though the idea of Bachchan wearing lenses of two different colours in the eyes was conceptualised by director Ram Gopal Varma, it was Bachchan’s family eye surgeon Dr Himanshu Mehta who got the soft lenses made especially for the Bollywood superstar.

Our source tells us that Bachchan tried out lenses of various hues for which he had over 50 sittings with Dr Mehta and finally settled for the brown and blue coloured ones because it went well with the negative character he is playing in Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. The source also reveals, “Amitabh Bachchan would usually arrive in the morning at the clinic and put on the lenses with the help of Dr. Mehta before leaving for shooting Ramu’s film.”

The source also says that taking into consideration Bachchan’s age, making him wear the soft lenses was a lengthy process and required a lot of skill. “As one ages, it is not only the eyesight, but also the organs connected with the eyes that tend to become weak. It becomes difficult for the eye to hold the lenses for a longer period of time then. It was only super willpower and a drive for perfection that made Amitabh Bachchan sport those lenses for hours,” our source adds.

When contacted Dr Himanshu Mehta admitted that it was he who had designed and worked on Amitabh Bachchan’s lenses in Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. He said, “Yes I have done Amitabh Bachchan’s lenses and I used to help him put them on too. But I don’t want to talk further about it.”

Heardthis?

A bald step?

Will Amitabh Bachchan sport a bald look in Shantaram?

It has been reliably learnt that Mira Nair has convinced Amitabh Bachchan to sport a bald pate in her adaptation of Gregory Roberts’s Shantaram. If he indeed does so, it will be the first time that Bachchan will appear bald on screen. Reportedly, Mira Nair has finally convinced him to do so.

A source says, “Amitabh Bachchan is playing an underworld don Kader Bhai while Johny Depp is essaying the role of Shantaram. Although Bachchan is a little sceptical about his bald avatar, Mira Nair has managed to convinced him. Mira loved the idea of a bald look.  The exact look will be decided on soon.”

The film will be shot in Mumbai, Australia and China.

– Kunal M Shah