India's Biggest Star Turns 64 On 11 October. Amitabh Bachchan Talks To Subhash K Jha

Everyone wants to know what you're going to be doing on your birthday?
Why? It's like any other day. It'll be work work and work. I'll be shooting for KBC. In the evening I'll come home and spend time with my family...which I hardly get to do these days.

Your 60th birthday bash is still being talked about.
That was because Jaya thought turning 60 was some kind of a benchmark. She said we've to celebrate it. I said, 'Bhaiyya main kuch nahin karne wala hoon. Aap jahan kahenge main chala jaoonga'. My family, Amar Singhji and Anil Ambani had organized everything. Hamare Hindu calendar mein 60th year auspicious mana jata hai. I don't know how far it's true. But a man is supposed to grow wise at 60. 64th birthday is just another day.

You've just shot with Vindhu Vinod Chopra.
Yes, Eklavya... Vinod Chopra is very passionate about his work. Meticulous to the point that the birds must fly in the correct direction, the cloud formation must be just-so. He manages everything. Sanjay Bhansali had worked with him for seven years. So now I know where Sanjay got his penchant for perfection. Vinod Chopra wanted to work with me ever since he came out of the Pune institute. We'd keep discussing scripts. But it never worked out...until now. All of us had a great time. Vidya Balan is a great artiste. She has magic in her face. She has incredible presence. When she appears on screen you don't want to watch anyone else. She's a breath of fresh air in the industry.

You play the title character?
Yes. Eklavya is set in Rajasthan. There's intrigue and enigma in the film. Just before this, I shot with Apoorva Lakhiya for Ek Ajnabee in Bangkok. Apoorva has shot some great stuff. He has edited the material in a very novel fashion. There's a new style of presenting the scene. You've to see it to believe it. It's just about two hours long. It doesn't have actors singing on screen.

Further proof of the changing profile of Hindi cinema?
And let me tell you, Eklavya is just 90 minutes long! Visually it's stunning. Rajasthan provided the natural beauty that Vinod wanted. He has laboured for months to make each hair on my beard look correct.... I went to Rajasthan for Reshma Aur Shera, Lal Badshah and Khuda Gawah. It felt good to return there.

Your co-star in Ek Ajnabee is a little girl.
Yes! Such unexpected partnering is possible because I'm 64. The leading men are constrained. They always have to be good looking, have to smash the villain and win the girl. I'm liberated from such constraints. I don't have to do these things any more. That's the most amazing gift I've received as an actor.

What would you like to gift yourself for this birthday?
I'd want health and happiness for my family and myself and the opportunity to do good work. Basically I just want to be alive. I've had a very fortunate year. Today (Oct 7) is the silver jubilee of Waqt—not too many films reach that stage of success. This year there's been Sarkar, Black, Waqt and Bunty Aur Babli. They've all been different, and have given me an opportunity to play something different. Bunty Aur Babli and Sarkar came back-to-back and gave me an amazing chance to do two different roles. To add to my pleasure they both featured my son.

Abhishek's success must be source of happiness.
Yes! People saw him do various roles this year. I'm enjoying the attention he's getting and that his work is being appreciated. Audiences, the girls in particular, have a smile when they watch him. I like that.

He's not straitjacketed by any image?
Well I guess he started off with a huge inheritance of the Bachchan tag...nothing worked for 4-5 years. Suddenly everything starts working, including small appearances in Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste. It's a very encouraging sign. He has some truly promising films on hand with Karan Johar, his buddy Rohan Sippy, Ram Gopal Varma who wants to make several films with him. Then of course there's Yashraj Films to give him opportunities.

Your fans and fan clubs will go berserk again on your birthday...
I'm grateful and happy... can only reciprocate by giving them my good wishes and hoping that I live up to their expectations. Fans are fans. They do all kinds of over-the-top things to express their adoration and adulation. I don't approve of building a temple, doing havan and writing letters in blood. Makes me uncomfortable. But I can't stop them. They get hurt when you stop them. I don't want to hurt their sentiments. But if you ask me I don't want them to go to extreme lengths to show their love. I'm not worthy of it. I want them to show temperance. But I can't stop them. Their love depends on how well I'm doing professionally. I guess I must be doing a few things right.

You're working with a whole gamut of directors.
Yeah when people ask me to work with them I return their warmth. I do cinema, television , endorsements. There's still room for more work. Next year I've Ravi Chopra's Babul, Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna and Balkrishnan's first feature film with Tabu and me. He had been planning something with me for one-and-a-half year. Then in principle I've said yes to Deepa Mehta next Komagata Maru.