by

Surabhi Khosla

"...I thought of how people like us have all our faculties and yet we misuse them so often."

At 63, Amitabh Bachchan has more projects than he had when he was 30 and a fan following that is the envy of younger actors. Be it movies, brand endorsements or music videos, his enthusiasm to perform and his determination to be the best have reaffirmed what everyone always knew – Amitabh Bachchan is still the reigning Shahenshah of Bollywood.

In a career spanning over three decades, Amitabh Bachchan has almost 150 films to his name but nothing has excited him as much as Black. As the film is wowing both the masses and classes he settles himself comfortably in his chair and is ready for the chat. Excerpts from an exclusive interview…

No. Black revolves around Rani Mukherjee who plays a deaf-and-blind girl, Michelle. I play a teacher who is getting on in years and traces of eccentricity are quite evident. Most parents leave children like Michelle in an asylum but her parents want to make this last attempt to save her soul.

Both Rani and I went through a rigorous training session for nearly seven months before we started shooting for the film. We interacted with physically challenged kids, workshops were held at Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s house, we took lessons in sign language – everything had to be perfect. There was no room for flaws.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my role as 15. It is one of the most challenging roles that I have ever done in my entire life.

Black is a regular film–it is mainstream cinema with all its elements intact. There is comedy, emotion and drama. It is simply been presented in a different way. The movie also gives out a very strong message – nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. I feel that Black was one of the most uplifting films I have ever done and it will definitely take Indian cinema many notches higher.

The kids were amazing. Despite the fact that they do not have the senses that you and I take for granted, they have an amazing desire to accomplish. They completely refuse sympathy and help and want to complete everything on their own. It made me feel so small, especially when I thought of how people like us have all our faculties and yet we misuse them so often.

Sanjay is one of the best directors I have worked with. He has an astounding aesthetic sense. He made a remarkable set for the film, the artistic creativity of which was indescribable. Unfortunately for us, the set caught fire and burnt to the ground. It was horrible. Nonetheless he knew exactly how he wanted to shoot every single scene. The screenplay and the direction were absolutely brilliant. And let me tell you, there is not even one shot in the film that is anything like what I have done in a career spanning over three decades.

(Very amused) I presume you want to still want to see me on the silver screen and that’s why you are here to interview me.

I was very surprised because as you just reminded me, I am an older and more mature protagonist (chuckles). I was getting ready to head for a shoot in Ladakh and he said that he just wanted to read out a script to me. When he had read for five minutes he stopped and said, ‘I’m doing a really bad job. Why don’t you read it yourself?’ I took the script from him and I read it and then read it again. I was so amazed by the simplicity and the beauty of the story that I said yes to the role then and there.

I wouldn’t say that. If an actor says he is satisfied, he is dead. It was challenging but it has opened a whole new avenue of character roles that I can explore.

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