Virendra Kapoor, an educationalist in his book, ‘Excellence – The Amitabh Bachchan Way’ draws lessons for the readers from the life of megastar Amitabh Bachchan starting from his early days as a struggling actor to his reaching pinnacles of success. He is not just a brilliant actor of the millennium but an institution in himself of not just acting but everything that makes a person successful in life.
The actor who has won four prestigious National Awards, 15 Filmfare Awards and 41 nominations in the major acting category at Filmfare, clearly has much to offer to those who seek concrete solutions on how to succeed in life.
Most of his virtues – professionalism, determination a never-say-die attitude are traits which one can follow to achieve the excellence we all aspire for.
The book details how the megastar sailed through different phases of life – the good, the bad and the ugly which in his case are the best, the worst, and horrid. At the end of each chapter about Bachchan’s life, the author draws up a crisp summary of lessons that one can learn.
It’s a simple slim book of just 115 pages which can be finished in one go. Virendra Kapoor, himself admits that it was not an easy task to write on Amitabh Bachchan because a lot has already been written about the actor who has been in the limelight for more than four decades. In all the chapters, Kapoor has used Bachchan’s interviews – given to media – for reference and to quote him for the various incidences that occurred in his life.
It’s a good self-help book to ameliorate skills required in handling pressures in life. It gives a deep insight into Bachchan’s life and multiple facets of his personality that are hard to miss. After all, there is always so much to learn from people who have gone through different phases of life. It requires a lot of determination, willpower and patience to manage the ups and downs of an unpredictable film career, combined with health issues and a failed business venture.
Throughout the book, the author uses emotional intelligence and excellence interchangeably to demonstrate the most valuable qualities Bachchan possess not only in kinesthetic, linguistic and musical intelligence but also has abilities which are enshrined in the continuum of excellence.
The film industry, just like bureaucracy, is notorious. This book tells you many stories about the superstar and, unearths the off-camera reality of the industry. An actor’s life is not a bed of roses contrary to what many might believe. After each failure and ill health, Bachchan started afresh every time and proved himself again.
All in all a good book and has good nuggets which can motivate those who look up to their idols in the reel world and real world for inspiration.
Book: Excellence – The Amitabh Bachchan Way
Author – Virendra Kapoor
Publisher – Rupa Publication
Page – 112
Price – 195
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