It would have been great if we had our own kids. But we have no regrets. We are both submissive to the will of God. As for incompleteness, neither Saira nor I can complain of a lack of contentment. It is enough for us that we have our families to share our happiness and our small dismays with. We feel we are lucky to be there for them when they need us.

I already see so many actors eager to carry forward what I established in my time. When a bright young actor comes up to me and says, ‘Sir, I wish to follow your work and walk the path you paved for us,’ I am filled with a sense of gratitude to the Almighty for having taken me through the paces of finding my way in a profession I had no preparation to be in.

I was never pleased by my stardom. I have always said that there shouldn’t be a term like ‘star’ for an actor. It is a marketing term, coined by the marketing men. It is the work that I chose to accept that mattered and kept me preoccupied. I always lived a normal life and never got carried away into another world of another personality, who sought pampering and constant attention. When you do that, you acquire a false, unapproachable personality. When you have been yourself, your life does not change at all. I am as happy and content as I have always been.

I wish to live for the happiness of my wife. I knew and know even more strongly now that she loves me like no one else, other than my mother. I wish to live for her love and devotion. It is so lovely to wake up and see the preparations she has done to make each day worth living for. In fact, our common wish is to care for and make each other happy. You have to be truly lucky to be in my place.

It is now amusing for us when a rumour about my health makes its rounds and we get anxious phone calls. I answer them myself and I thank the Almighty for giving me such affectionate friends and relatives. By God’s grace, I have been well except, for an occasional touch of cold or fever. I try not to miss my walk at Joggers’ Park — four or five rounds at my own pace, holding my beautiful wife’s hand. I enjoy a drive at night through the many streets that criss-cross Bandra and are quiet and traffic-free. On a clear day, it is a delight to have my breakfast in the garden with the sun’s rays falling on the pot of piping hot tea and the omelette that’s made to my taste. It is a real blessing to have the luxury of a lush garden in a space-starved city like Mumbai. We owe it to Saira’s mother, Naseem ji, who thought of and landscaped the garden when she had the bungalow designed in the ’60s.

When I married Saira, she was young; even younger than my sisters. I wondered how she’d cope with establishing the right vibes with my brothers and sisters, especially since she belonged to a small family. We siblings were a dozen. But, she not only respected and loved them as a devoted sister-in-law, but also keeps me close to all of them.

I think it is very modest and sweet of Amitabh to say that. I had him playing my son in Shakti (1982), the lone film in which we worked together. I found him to be completely dedicated, as eager as I was to achieve the flawlessness that one strives to accomplish in rendering even less challenging scenes. He was attentive, not just to the director’s vision, but equally to my interpretation, too. I could sense his absorption of the potency of the scene, and it pleased me immensely that I was sharing the experience of rehearsing scenes that demanded so much intensity with an actor who had an equal commitment to give the scenes that glow of excellence.

I wouldn’t say that we did better work or made better films. Yes, we worked on tough terrain. Whether it was Raj (Kapoor), Ashok bhaiyya (Ashok Kumar) or me, we had to test our own abilities and evolve our own methods of bringing the characters to life, and at the same time, understand the economics of filmmaking and the technical and artistic components of film production. Today, there are institutes that instruct and prepare actors, directors and technicians for serious careers in cinema. Everything is simplified and controlled; projects are planned and marketed, subjects are selected after research, there are teams working on each aspect of an actor’s prep for a role. So, in a sense, the actor has become a full-fledged professional supported by a number of professionals, who create a congenial environment for him or her to deliver the performances.

Quite recently, Aamir (Khan) was here for a casual visit and he told me he was following my example of involvement in all the aspects of the execution of a fine script during the production. He admitted he understood that the involvement may be misconstrued as interference, but it was necessary if an actor cared genuinely for the perfection of the product in its entirety, and not just for the appreciation of his work in the product.

They are all immensely talented. But I have noticed exceptional talent in some actors today and a wise desire to be noticed internationally. Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan are a few whose work I have watched and liked in films specially screened for me and Saira. I’ve also liked Rani Mukerji and Aishwarya Rai (Bachchan) in some films.

I was introduced to Priyanka Chopra (Jonas) and Katrina Kaif by Saira last year at my birthday party. They were very charming and Saira appeared to be fond of them.

Nalini Jaywant was a born actor. She was so alive and spontaneous before the camera that her co-stars had to be very alert. Meena Kumari was excellent, so were Vyjayantimala, Madhubala.

Of course. A few months ago, when Dharmendra dropped in, we asked him to join us and pay a visit to Pran’s house. It was a lovely evening enlivened by happy memories that we shared unreservedly. Vyjayanti dropped in last year; she and Saira are good friends. Recently, Kamal Haasan, too, visited us. Amitabh was with us last week.