The legend. The megastar. The actor. Amitabh Bachchan discusses family, future, films and women empowerment
Meena Iyer (TIMES LIFE; January 8, 2017)

You wrote a letter to your granddaughters Navya Naveli Nanda and Aaradhya Bachchan asking them to lead life on their terms, irrespective of their famous surnames. Did you have any real conversations with your granddaughters after that?
Aaradhya is very young. Yes, the day the letter appeared in the media and on social media platforms, Navya who studies in New York, called me in the middle of the night and said, “Nana, I read your letter. I want to tell you that I am very proud to be your granddaughter. I will exactly follow every word.“ That felt very nice. Today's children have so many other distractions and activities, avenues to go to. But for someone like Navya, who spent most of her study-time overseas and is exposed to so much in the outside world... to be able to react to my letter in this way was wonderful.

Is it true that your daughter Shweta was the first to see Pink?
Yes. And she felt proud of the fact that I had been involved in a film like this. She has a lot of friends and all of them went to the movie together. She said that when people learnt she was watching it with them, many of them walked up to her and congratulated her. She told me she was so proud, she almost felt as if she had acted in the film. It was very gratifying. While on Shweta, I must tell you that all of us in the house go to Shweta to get real reactions for our movies. She is the one who gives us feedback on our songs and movies. And 99.9 per cent of the time she is bang on! We have a private thing amongst ourselves saying that when Shweta endorses a film or a song, we are in safe hands.

How about Jaya? Isn't she quite discerning in her taste?
Jaya is very conservative with her compliments. Unless she really likes something, we do not hear from her. Jaya has studied at the FTII (Film & Television Institute of India.) So, she normally looks at cinema as a complete package ­ script, sound, editing, screenplay, the whole thing. When she says some thing complimentary, it is genuine. I normally watch a film only for the performances. I am not so critical of the other aspects of cinema. If it is a film of mine, I am normally looking at my own performance and finding faults! Jaya definitely has more knowledge of cinema than I have and she usually looks at a movie as a whole.



Did more compliments pour in from women for Pink?
Women felt the tag line, 'No means No', was very powerful and it got accepted universally. It almost be came revolutionary in a sense. Even quarters that generally do not react to films, reacted to this one. The praise and the accolades are more for the acceptance of the concept. That is important. For me, I work for the girl child in the United Nations as the ambassador and I also work for the Government's campaign on Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. So, the movie was very relevant to what I do. Legally, the film was well researched. Shoojit (Sircar) and his team went through a lot of real life cases, so we got the language correct. When the first trailer came out, people were somewhat taken aback with the strong language we used in court. But when we checked, we were told this is the kind of language used in courts to interrogate women in sexual assault cases.

Would you authorize someone to make a biopic on you?
Who would be interested in making a biopic on me? There is nothing in my life that merits a biopic. I would rather work on something that my father, Dr Harivanshrai Bachchan, has written. Those who are fond of literature say that my father's prose is better than his poetry. And some of the chapters are incredibly amazing.

Perhaps one can make a biopic on your father?
Not a movie. There is far too much to be consumed. To be able to put it into a film would be difficult. But I am working on something. Perhaps we can do a serial on his life. It's just a thought now. Nothing is firmed up.

You seem to have a certain avariciousness for work...
What else do I do sitting at home? I need work. I need a job. A lot of people seem to think that I do not need a job, but I do need one. There is no greed. However, I think if you are satisfied, you are being arrogant. I don't think any creative artiste should ever be satisfied. If he/she does that, then that is the end of life. Every day is a huge learning ground. When I see the younger stars, I am amazed at their work and confidence. I get to learn so much by being in their company. And therefore, I need to keep working. The kind of roles I now get are limited to my age. Having said that I still need to find work. I'm still thankful to the people of the country who go and watch my films. They are keeping me alive in a sense. Not many films are written with such characters. I am grateful to filmmakers who are still doing it and I am happy that there are people who still watch our films. Movies can be about pure entertainment too. However, if something creditable and worthwhile can be said through our movies, it makes me feel good.

What's in the pipeline?
I have Sarkar 3 and Thugs Of Hindostan. Next year, I have another season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. But you see, time is the factor. It is very difficult to explain to someone that they should understand time. A lot of filmmakers who approach me for their movies say, “Sir we will wait for you for two or three years.“ However, time is not on my side. I am 75. The younger generation has more time, so that is something they can talk to them about. However, you cannot talk to me about something three years from now. That is not right. With age, you never know. There can be deficiencies in you, I may not be able to work. There are so many ifs. When I look at my date calendar, I tell filmmakers, “Tell me what we can do in the next few months“. I have my diary sorted out for the next six months. That is okay, God willing, but usse zyada nahin. I always say let us overcome this six-month period and then we will speak. Do not look at me as you would look at a Ranbir Kapoor or Ranveer Singh. They have time on their side.