Paa is the story of Auro (Amitabh Bachchan), a 13-year-old boy with a rare genetic defect that accelerates ageing.
Paa is the story of Auro (Amitabh Bachchan), a 13-year-old boy with a rare genetic defect that accelerates ageing.
Auro suffers from a progeria-like syndrome. While mentally he is a 13-year-old, but physically he looks five times older.
Inspite of his condition Auro is intelligent and witty and is always happy.
Abhishek Bachchan plays the role of Amitabh's father in the film.
Abhishek's character in the film, Amol Arte is that a young, progressive and idealistic politician.
Amol is out to prove that politics is not a dirty word, and that is his mission.
Vidya Balan plays the role of Vidya, Auro's mother.
In the film Vidya is a gynecologist by profession.
Paa is the story of Auro and Amol's father-son relationship.
Amitabh's prosthetic makeup in the film was done by Oscar-nominated makeup specialist Christien Tinsley and Dominie Till.
The film also stars Paresh Rawal and Arundhati Naag.
The music for the film has been composed by the legendary Ilaya Raja, who also composed the music for the Big B starrer Cheeni Kum.
Paa has been written and directed by adman-turned-director R Balki who made his directorial debut with Cheeni Kum.
Balki says, "Paa is a tribute to possibly the greatest actor that Indian cinema has ever produced and an example of how an actor can undo the very things that have made him an icon and still do something iconic."
The film is being produced under Amitabh Bachchan's banner AB Corp. Other films released under the AB Corp banner include Aks, Viruddh and Family - Ties Of Blood.
Amitabh Bachchan says he had to stick on several pieces of specially crafted clay to get the right look for the movie.
Big B couldn't wait to upload the first poster of the film on his blog, and wrote at length about what went behind his look of a child suffering from progeria, a rare disease that causes premature ageing among children.
The face that you see is the result of deep research. Kids affected by this problem lose all their hair, become bald and their veins begin to show prominently on their heads, which enlarge to a size beyond normal. Their teeth and eyes suffer also...," posted Amitabh.
"The prosthetic process is arduous...Around eight pieces specially designed through laborious clay models are most meticulously stuck on to the face. Once the make-up starts, it is impossible to move even a few centimeters. Eating and drinking has to be avoided and you cannot talk because it displaces the pieces over the contours of the face. Separate pieces form the entire look," he wrote.
The 67-year-old went on to add how the head and ears were one unit and came on as a helmet with the ears being add ons. He says his hearing used to be impaired when the make-up was applied as silicone covered his own ears.
"Two small holes are bored into the skull so some sound can go through. Also when you speak it reverberates inside the skull and you constantly feel you are inside a tunnel with pronounced echo," he said.
"Eye lids come on close to the eyes, the forehead is another piece, the nose, the two cheeks, the upper and lower lip, the chin and finally the neck all get stuck on and then blended through an intricate electronic spray which merges all the pieces to look like one cohesive mass," added Amitabh.
The actor says that since they wanted the look to be authentic, he also had to shave off all hair on his hands, arms, chest and legs regularly so they could highlight the veins by colouring them.
Amitabh said that he he had taken cues from his grandchildren to adapt a child's mannerisms for the role.
The producers of the film tried to keep Amitabh's look secret, but a few images revealing Amitabh's unusual look appeared in the media.
The father-son duo have starred together in a number of films, including Sarkar, Bunty Aur Babli, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Sarkar Raj, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Shootout At Lokhandwala.
Amitabh has even lent his voice for a song in the film.
