Scotching speculation that he will re-enter politics, superstar Amitabh Bachchan has said he has no such plans as he is "totally inadequate" for the job.

"I have no plans to enter politics," Bachchan, who was here to launch the album of his latest film Baabul, told.

After the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, it was his friend Rajiv Gandhi who coaxed him into politics. Bachchan was elected from Allahabad Lok Sabha seat but resigned after only three years, not finishing his term.

"I came into the Parliament and realized that politics was something I was totally inadequate for and knew nothing about," the 64-year-old actor said.

There has been frequent speculation that Bachchan, whose wife Jaya Bachchan is a Samajwadi party MP, might take another plunge into politics.

At the launch held at the Crown Plaza Hotel on Friday, Bachchan attracted the global media and answered a volley of questions.

The Sunday Times on Sunday described Bachchan as "Tom Cruise, Sean Cannery and Clint Eastwood rolled into one.

"Certainly there is no British actor alive who shares his fame," the British newspaper said.

Speaking about Bollywood, Bachchan said "Indian cinema is very rooted in the grassroots of the country. We have a lot of people living a meagre existence. What better than to be able to walk into a theatre after a hard day's work, into a fantasized world, and come out happy after three hours ?

"We give them Indian tradition, happiness, romance. It's for the common man."

The actor now relishes roles that have a social message. Baabul deals with the subject of a widow's remarriage.

There are some 33 million widows in India because remarriage is a taboo in Hinduism. "In some sections of Indian society, the young widow of the house is not treated kindly," Bachchan said.