Amitabh Bachchan chats up with Subhash K Jha on the eve of his 68th birthday.

Busy as hell as he always is, I've never seen the Big B so busy before. Two days before his birthday he's neck-deep into shooting simultaneously for his new film Power directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi and Kaun Banega Crorepati.

A few nights earlier he walked the ramp for Karan Johar and brought the house down with his chic savoir-faire.Is there no end to this icon's achievements?

Now the birthday celebrations will start at home.
Hold on! There will be no celebrations at home. Yes, if people come over unannounced, they're most welcome.I'll be going to the Mariott to announce the opening of my new tv show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

There will be an opener that has been designed by Sony and which I've already recorded.In fact till very late on Friday night I was recording that. I'll be performing live.And there will be a summing-up of my life and career, an attempt to introduce the show by re-introducing me.

The fact that the channel decided to start the show on your birthday shows they believe you and the show are inextricably bound ?
This was a decision taken by the channel.I'm happy it coincides with my birthday.I am 68, now moving into 69.

What would you like this birthday?
Ideally, I'd like to see the next day. And being with my family is always the greatest joy on my birthday.I've my daughter and grandchildren over for the birthday. Abhishek and Aishwarya are in Pusan. They'll be here in time. Just having the fammily around is a joy I cherish beyond anything else this year.

Is Rajnikanth coming to Mumbai for your birthday?
There are no such plans. But we've great affection for one another. I met Rajni for the first time in Chennai when I was shooting at the AVM Studios. He came across and met me. We've been friends ever since.He's such a humble and simple humanbeing.

So down-to-earth...how he remains that way with the kind of fan-following he has is a mystery. And his wife has been a wonderful support. She has bought up their children so well. Every time I am in Chennai and I call him and I'm in the house with him. We call each other when we have any issue to discuss.

What did you think of Robot?
What a massive achievement! Great entertainer. It's all Rajni and Shankar and hard work. They were shooting for it in Pune when I was shooting for Bigg Boss. Rajni came across and we spoke for hours about how tough it was making Robot. He was keen to watch Paa.

I wanted to show it to him. But before I could arrange a show he had already gone and seen it saying, 'I'm sorry Amitji I couldn't resist watching it.' He called and spoke on Paa for hours. He said, 'Now you've done this and made life more difficult for me.'

On the eve of your birthday you rocked on the ramp, Amitji
Thank you...Kya Karen, karna padta hai kissi terah.

There was the golden moment when you were flanked by Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan on the ramp?
Yeah, Karan thought it would be a nice K3G (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham) moment.

This time you seem very comfortable with your television appearance?
I'm going back to KBC after ten years. I remember in 2000 when I did the show I was raw to the medium, very hesitant very nervous. That hasn't changed.

Anytime I go in front of the camera for any medium there will be apprehensions, as far as I'm concerned. Creativity is an ongoing process. No matter how professional you are, it can never be enough. One can never be fully comfortable on television. To me it's a frightening medium. You're on your own.

There's no script to support you. One has to keep the show going for an hour. Everything depends on the anchor. It's all impromptu. Now I've butterflies on my stomach about how the public reacts to the new KBC..

You seem to enjoy your interaction with the aam aadmi on KBC?
Yes they all have such an interesting back story...where they came from, how they grew up. This time on KBC we actually follow the lives of the contestants to their roots. I actually get see where they came from, what their parents and family think, etc.

The human-interest level is this time high.KBC can now be a life-changing moment for the contestant. There are people coming on the show from places where the show did not reach earlier. People coming to the show are from the aam aadmi sections.

For them KBC is an opportunity to make the kind of money in a hour that they've never seen before. One of the contestants who came on the show recently won a sizeable amount of money thanks to his knowledge and acumen. On getting the cheque he said he had never seen so many zeroes in his life. Such are the moments one cherishes.

Television will occupy a lot of your time this year?
KBC is not going to go on that long. Only until November or first week of December. Simultaneously I've started shooting for Raj Kumar Santoshi's Power. This will be followed by Prakash Jha's Aarakshan. Then there's Balki's film. We've finally zeroed in on a subject. It will be produced by AB Corp Ltd.

You have assumed a new look for your new film Power?
Yeah. When you're close to 70 you've to start playing characters. And you can't play the same character each time. For the films that I'm doing now there's a lot of physicality involved. I needed to lose weight and get trimmer for these films. It can't be the same as when I was younger.

But you've always been health conscious?
It's some of the health issues in my life that have made me so. I'm now more into controlled eating and more regular at the gym.

The stunts in Power will be done by you?
If they'd be physically impossible for me I'd do them. Otherwise I'll tell them I can't.