Ye desh hai superheroes ka
The man with the chainmail arm
Bnd then came the films.
Bachchan first went superhero in Shahenshah, wheezily spelling doom to local baddies while informing them that he was, relatively speaking, their father. Not as Shaft-like as it sounds, Amitabh's character was an ignoble, paan-chewing cop by day and no-nonsense grey-haired, steel-armed vigilante by night. Exactly what villain JK (Amrish Puri) hadn't quite bargained for while plotting vile plans, pouring out shots of Black Dog whiskey.
"Shahenshah released in 85-86; Toofan in 88-89," remembers Ketan Desai, director of the latter film. "Shahenshah is also a man who fights against crime. Even there, he had his comic angle with the inspector and the angry angle as the man with an iron fist. So, while they worked with a dual identity, I took this one step further and made it two separate people."
"You have to remember that Amitabh Bachchan is larger than life. And the role you give him must reflect that. Today, he is the biggest star we can ever imagine. In the world. His kind of fan following is something I'd only compare to maybe Elvis Presley. He's in a different league, and this cannot be disputed. If you ask me what Mr Bachchan is as an actor, I'll simply say he's a God. Simply unbelievable."
"My father and guru Manmohan Desai always told me to target children and family audiences. When children like the movie, they take their parents and grandparents along. In a true family film, one person likes the film and considers it good enough for the family, and brings everyone along to watch it. So, it's better to target the average Indian family of 5-6 people than just a couple. We have always targeted children and families, and never made vulgar or crude films."