MUMBAI – Indian film icon Amitabh Bachchan‘s first appearance in a Hollywood feature – Baz Luhrmann‘s upcoming The Great Gatsby – was revealed here Tuesday. Bachchan plays Meyer Wolfsheim, a flamboyant and suave Jewish money lender in the film based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel which stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role along with Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan.
During one of his trips to India two years ago, Moulin Rouge director Luhrmann visited Bachchan at his Mumbai home and offered him the cameo in The Great Gatsby.
“I play Meyer Wolfsheim for about a few seconds… by the time you look down on your popcorn to pick another morsel, I’d be gone from the film…he, he…kinda short service… But with giants of Hollywood – Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire,” Bachchan posted on his Twitter account.
“Mr Leonardo DiCaprio – he be soo gorgeous, no wonder all the ladies flockin’ to him – He be Gatsby. And Spiderman Tobey Maguire be his good friend. But sittin’ in the frame talkin’ to Spiderman and D (Leonardo), was pretty darn okaaaay! Whadya’ say, me members of the extended families! But they be nice and polite people, I’ll say that… nice and polite,” Bachchan further posted on his account.
The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he is drawn to the glamorous world of the super rich when he meets the party-giving millionaire Jay Gatsby.
Luhrmann’s earlier connection with India saw the Australian director channelling Bollywood in Moulin Rouge which also included a popular Hindi film song (“Chamma Chamma”).
With a career spanning four decades, Bachchan is considered a living legend who at his peak in the seventies and eighties was hailed as a “one man industry” given his slew of blockbuster hits. He also made television history with the runaway success of the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (Kaun Banega Crorepati) which Bachchan has hosted since 2000 in between his various film projects. Bachchan’s latest release, gangland drama Department, opened last week as he gets set to host the upcoming sixth season of Millionaire airing on Sony Entertainment Television.
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