09 January,2016 12:45 PM IST | | PTI
Bollywood stars Akshay Kumar, Varun Dhawan, Sudhir Mishra and Sonakshi Sinha among others have given a thumbs up to megastar Amitabh Bachchan possibly being the new brand ambassador of the 'Incredible India' campaign
Mumbai: Bollywood stars Akshay Kumar, Varun Dhawan, Sudhir Mishra and Sonakshi Sinha among others have given a thumbs up to megastar Amitabh Bachchan possibly being the new brand ambassador of the 'Incredible India' campaign.
Amitabh Bachchan. Pic/Santa Banta
Bachchan, 73, is the centre's "first choice" to replace Aamir Khan, whose contract for the tourism ministry's campaign has ended. The final decision is yet to be taken. It has been reported Akshay was also among the choices for the position.
Calling Bachchan the right one, Akshay told reporters, "He should be given that (brand ambassador). He is an icon... It would be great." "He is The perfect brand ambassador, true icon and the most appropriate person
for incredible India," said actor Ranveer Singh.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is sharing screen space with Bachchan in Sujoy Ghosh's upcoming production "Te3n", said, "I am happy. He deserves it." Filmmaker Sidhir Mishra called the "Piku" star incredible.
"He is a great brand ambassador. So was Aamir. So is Mr Bachchan, so would be many other people. You can't praise him (Bachchan) enough, there is not much that hasn't been said about him. He is cultured, understands culture, understands India, he is very knowledgeable. Not just a film actor he is beyond that," Mishra said.
While Sonakshi feels there is none better than Bachchan for the post. "I think nobody represents art and cinema in our country like him. He has been doing that for so many years. No one is better than him to be the brand ambassador." "He is definitely incredible. He deserves whatever honour he gets," said Varun.
Director Shoojit Sircar, who has directed Bachchan in two films 'Shoebite' and 'Piku', said he supports the actor in whatever he does. "I am happy. Whatever he does, I am with him. He is a legend." Sonam Kapoor said, "It's an apt ambassadorship. He was the brand ambassador for Gujrat, so it's a natural progression."
Filmmaker Subhash Ghai called Bachchan's likely appointment superb. "It's a great honour that he has become the ambassador." Kabir Khan, Raveena Tandon, Shilpa Shetty, Bhumi Pednekar, Prateik Babbar, Ronit Roy and Darshan Kumar were among the other celebrities, who praised the government's choice. The stars were speaking at the red carpet of 22nd Annual Star Screen Awards.