Amitabh Bachchan is in a happy phase now - on one hand, he is awaiting the release of Prakash Jha's latest film Satyagraha - Democracy Under Fire where he is playing a new age Gandhi while alongside, he is busy shooting for his TV serial. Sreya Basu chats up with the superstar on his latest projects in Mumbai

After Aarakshan in 2011, you are again working with filmmaker Prakash Jha in Satyagraha. What do you like most about him?
The best thing that happens to you when you work with Prakashji is that your Hindi becomes better ... be it the accent, vocabulary or pronunciation, everything becomes crisp.


You are playing a new age Gandhi in the film. How much can you identify yourself with your character in Satyagraha?
The kind of character I have been given to play believes that truth always wins. Even when he puts his views in front of everyone in the end, he says that the path to achieve everything is that of truth. I personally also believe in this.

You seem to be very excited about your television serial. What kind of a show will it be?
I don't think I am allowed to divulge details right now. All I can say is, there are many serials running across the channels and they are very successful. We appreciate that. But we wanted to present a different kind of a story to the viewers.


Were you apprehensive before saying 'yes' to the project?
There are always pressures, anxieties and dangers when you set out to do something new. I too had many debates and discussions for almost six months before coming to an affirmative decision.

What was that one thing that convinced you to do a fiction?
(Jokingly) I was not getting enough work in the film industry. So I thought why not try my luck in the television world.


Being the megastar of Bollywood, don't you think acting in soaps will reduce your stature?
People keep telling me that you make decisions on your own and you are reducing yourself from the 70 mm screen to something 25 inches. They say that will reduce my stature. But you know, I am going to be 71 in a couple of months. So I don't have any stature left and it will be wise to do things that I have not done so far.

You are an avid blogger. Why don't you pen an autobiography?
I don't think I am worthy enough for an autobiography.


But you are Amitabh Bachchan.
I am just another human being. I am an actor by profession and hence I am most of the times projected as something larger than life.

At 70, how many hours can you work at a stretch without getting bored?
I can give 18 hours a day. I am ready to work as much and as long I am required. And I have never been bored in the last 45 years.


Do new projects still excite you?
I see every day as a challenge. I see my every new project as a challenge, a new opportunity. I still feel nervous when I go to the sets. I still feel that urge to give my best shot to every project.