Damn the rules for the Big B  ( November '26,2003, ET)

The biggest star of Indian cinema was awed by the occasion. Said Bachchan, “I feel small and puny at this gathering, having no idea what I may be able to contribute to this conference.”

But that was Bachchan being Bachchan — humble and modest. The audience was amused as he went on to apologise to CK Prahalad for having strayed away from his core competence, and wearing many a mask over the years.

He turned the tables totally around when he declared that there are, unfortunately, few of us who ever really break rules. Said Bachchan, “History is replete with examples of those who break the rules and were burnt at the stake.”

He pointed out that all rules themselves had once emerged as a consequence of breaking even older norms and that in a sense, there is no such thing as a rule. “The rules that you break today, will eventually become the norm tomorrow, or another day.” Quoting from experiences both cinematic and personal, even as he threw in references to marketing gurus like Lester Wunderman, Bachchan did it all with great panache. “With Zanjeer, the first movie perhaps in that genre, writers Salim-Javed, my directors, and the character I played, were hailed for breaking all the rules, for creating, or setting a new trend that continued to dominate Indian cinema for the next decade. Frankly, we did nothing of the kind!”

Today, that rule-breaking role isn’t as relevant, he says. “Children today were not even born when I played the Angry Young Man. To them, I am ‘Crorepati Uncle’. An ‘uncle’ they are missing in their frenetic, urbanised, nuclear homes. Call it a ‘brand makeover’, call it ‘breaking the rules’, call it a ‘product relaunch’, or any of those terms you so fondly use. Norms and rules, in society, science, music, literature and yes, advertising are always changing. What was an icon yesterday is not an icon today. We have not broken any rules, or set new norms: we have just given the children what they wanted, and needed.” He concluded by reminding marketers of the trap that they often face: doing things for their personal satisfaction rather than for the consumer’s. “I believe that there really is no such thing as a RULE, which a talented, creative, extraordinary person suddenly decides to break.

Being different for the sake of being different, or being different because you actively set out to break some rules, isn’t going to get you burnt at the stake, but neither will it help to connect to millions of people or bring you success.” But, he suggested, “If you look for the rules that ordinary people want broken and do it for them, you will find your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”