Amitabh Bachchan: ‘The Audience Does Not Want To See An Old Man’

What makes you happier – awards or box-office rewards?

The box-office… because it is a yardstick of how many people liked the work we did. If a film’s box-office performance is good, an actor’s longevity increases. Awards, like I said, are humble gifts that I accept from time to time. But box-office success is certainly more satisfying.

Abhishek has done very good work in films like ‘Yuva’, ‘Guru’ and ‘Bunty Aur Babli’. Still, his career has not gone the way one would have expected it to go. What’s the reason behind this and are you all doing something to get it right?

If we knew what the reasons behind this situation were, we would have changed the way things are. This question then would not have been asked by you. Ultimately, this is life and each one has to struggle to find one’s own path. There must be some reason why many of Abhishek’s films have not done well. But he has his entire life ahead of him. He is ready to work hard. Plus, hopefully, God’s blessings are with us.

Is it because of the constant comparison with you that Abhishek’s career is looked at as not being too successful? After all, he is being compared to a legend.

First of all, I don’t think I am a legend. Neither is it a fair comparison to make (between me and Abhishek). I don’t think that there is any need to compare Abhishek with anybody, least of all with me. I think that we are all actors within our own spheres and parameters and we are recognised and loved by the people for what we do. In the end, it is the audience’s measure of the performance, the value of the story and the entire value of the film that matters. And that is what propels us forward.

During your heyday, your signing a film was like an ISI mark and it gave the assurance that the film would be a hit. But that is not the case any longer. Is it because you are no longer a hero who can be responsible for a hit or a flop? Why this change?

Firstly, I am getting roles today in keeping with my age. Secondly, the audience wants to see new, young and beautiful faces and not an old man. Therefore, I do character roles. Thirdly, that I am not so hot today is a fact of life and a given in the film industry. I consider myself fortunate that all the filmmakers I have worked with – Manmohan Desai, Salim-Javed, Yash Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, Prakash Mehra, Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra – made films that worked well at the box-office. I have never worked in a film only for the reason that I knew this one would work at the box-office.

According to our analysis, the three blunders of your career were ‘Boom’, ‘Nishabd’ and ‘Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’. Do you agree?

Once I have agreed to do a film, I do not want to backtrack from it. I also do not want to overanalyse what happened; instead, I stand by the decision I took while signing the film, whatever the reason behind it. Whether the film eventually turns out to be – good or bad, whether it is criticised or ridiculed – it comes later. But once I have worked honestly on a film, I will not give up on it. Alright, the audience might have found a particular film dirty or unacceptable. I accept their judgment. I liked playing the characters that I did in Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag and Nishabd. In the case of

Boom, I had nothing much to do. There was a tongue-in-cheek feel to the whole film which should have been maintained. That it wasn’t done, is unfortunate. Nevertheless, I liked working on the film.

Are you nervous when your film is on release?

Yes. Any job for which the janta (audience) is going to deliver its verdict is always a scary one. Every artiste is afraid of being judged, especially by the public. If you are an artiste who is making the piece of art for himself, it’s fine.

In such a nervous state, how do you take the reviews and comments by critics and trade analysts?

I am very eager to read what they have to say. They say that they will not read a particular critic because it doesn’t matter. But, at heart, every artiste awaits reviews. For instance, they would be waiting for your review and they will jump straight to the last part of your review, where the film’s box-office performance is predicted. Critics have a valid profession. I know that because I have been exposed to the criticism of my dad’s writings also. In fact, even before I joined films – when I was working as a business executive in Calcutta – I used to do plays. I remember, the plays were typically performed on Saturdays and I would be eagerly waiting for the reviews of the play on Sunday morning. We used to stay awake the whole night at the place where the paper would be delivered the next morning!

But many years ago, you had gone off-press…

That’s a long story. I banned the media only after they had banned me. After that, the ban went on for 10-15 years… but the media did not stop writing about me. Yes, for a few years, the media stopped printing my name and pictures. As fate would have it, most of my films in that period worked really well, so, I, at least, have the consolation that whatever the critics might say, I did well at the box-office. I read a lot about myself, heard a lot; but all that didn’t affect me much.

Now, you have taken to blogging in such a big way. Is it because you don’t have faith in journalists or want to clarify certain things to your fans?

I am not writing to confront journalists; this is a wrong impression. The blog is my way of writing whatever I want and a means of talking directly to my fans. I like to continue writing because fans respond. Yes, if I feel that anything incorrect is written by a journalist, I do point it out on my blog. Usually, even if I ask for a retraction, it is not given by the journalist. They say that their source is correct and I am wrong. I write because it is my right to write whatever I want, and not because I want to fight or disrespect someone. Usually, I write about day-today life and stuff that’s going on in my mind. If my words are twisted out of context, yes, there are controversies, but how am I to be blamed for it? What I have written is the truth and if someone has a problem with that, I apologise. I have no problems with apologising.

You endorse many brands. Do you use every brand you endorse?

Firstly, I do not endorse brands that I do not use. I do not smoke, drink or use tobacco, so I don’t endorse any of those brands, but I eat Chyavanprash, so I endorse it!

You quit national politics for good. But what about the politics in the film industry? It is said that there is a lot of it…

I have never paid any attention to this and even if politics does exist in the industry, I have no idea what it is.

But your name is also often dragged into this, especially in the context of your relationship with Shah Rukh Khan. How much truth is there in such controversies?

You’ll have to ask those who manufacture these stories. I don’t make these stories up. All is well with me and my co-stars.

I think something similar was being talked about your and Shatrughan Sinha’s relationship. But at Shabana Azmi’s birthday party, you met him quite warmly.

What else would we do? If two friends of many years, who have worked together in so many films, meet, they are bound to talk. Do you expect us to draw our swords? The media people make up these tales; they have a right to keep doing this.

As a performer, which is more challenging – performing on the big screen or the small screen?

Both have their own pluses but I experience far more nervousness when I am on television, because there is no written script there. While shooting a film you know that the film, the story, your character, the dialogues, the costumes are all taken care of by others. But on television, you have to do everything by yourself. I have done two shows,

‘Bigg Boss’ and ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. You have to do the talking and predict and adapt to the mood of the show. I was under the impression that doing television would be easy, but after I did ‘KBC’ and ‘Bigg Boss’, I realised that TV needs lots of resources and people .TV is a strange animal, it needs content every day. How you manage the TRPs, get the audience in and, finally, get in advertisements, is a very tough job. I commend the speed and accuracy efforts of those who sit in the TV control rooms. I would definitely give television higher numbers.