by Subhash K Jha

Who needs Jackie Chan? We've the biggest star in Asia, and probably the universe.

The heat of emotions that Mr Bachchan's illness has generated in the nation is beyond anything I've seen in recent years.

The last time I saw a celebrity's illness being treated as a national catastrophe was in 1983 when AB's abdomen was hit by the edge of a table. In college and not quite an AB devotee, I failed to see what the fuss was all about.

Today I know better. Now I know HIM better. You cannot be an Indian—or for that matter an Asian—and not be affected by the Bachchan factor in the populist culture of the Asian sub-continent.

When he was felled by a stinging blow during Coolie the nation gasped in pain. Now when he's relatively far less incapacitated he is like a very important family member. Everyone from my mother to daughter is concerned.

"Will Amit Uncle be okay before my next exam?" my daughter asks anxiously. She doesn't want the normal tenor of our household to be so shredded by fate. And why should she expect fate to deal a blow on the Icon when she has seen him fight it out so wondrously in real and reel life?

Amitji is a fighter. He has been battling his demoniacal schedules ever since I know him. When I first met him there was an exilic interlude in his career. This was just before Mohabbatein and Kaun Banega Crorepati when things looked pretty bleak for him.

I came into his picture. I've never stopped admiring him since then.

Amitji has been a part of my life for a good seven years now. The trust and the confidence that he has placed in me are too precious to be frittered away in journalistic jargon. Now I cannot write myself to write about him when he's in pain.

But then that wonderful film person Shyam Shroff showed me how naïve I was being by keeping quiet about the man when everyone is busy trying to ferret out the most trivial of information on his health and well-being.

"At least you would be giving out the right information," reasoned Shyam.

I agree. But for me, to draw a line between personal allegiance and professionalism , between being a friend and a journalist to this amazing man is impossible.

On one hand I can see why media persons jostled and pushed their way into the Bachchans' purview when the mega-star's loved ones wanted to be on their own. The paparazzi just wanted to cater to the insatiable need and imperative desire for information on AB.

On the other hand I could understand why Jaya and Abhishek were so upset by the clamorous attentions of over-zealous media persons who gheraoed the ailing giant's ambulance and wouldn't let it move . At that point during this traumatic week Mrs Bachchan was so upset she let her emotions show. So did Abhishek.

"He's my Dad, and I reacted as a son," Abhishek told me from Leelavati on Tuesday morning. "There's a need for a bit of privacy in our lives right now, and I wish that space would be respected."

It's strange and bizarre. But on Monday morning when Amitji was hospitalized we had a long conversation. I needed to speak to him about a certain matter. He called me at around 8.30 am. And we chatted for almost an hour...Except for a hint of edginess in that legendary baritone there was no outward sign of the pain.

"In fact I was sitting next to Pa when he was talking to you on Monday morning. He was in great pain," Abhishek later revealed.

Pain that has now stopped him for a few weeks. The warning signals were being served up once too often. The pressure on his time was unbearable. AB was stretching his days into 36 hours.

In the morning when he was hospitalized in Delhi, with an acute pain in his abdomen, AB was still discussing his plans for the few days.... He was going to attend a relative's wedding in Dehra Doon, then shoot for KBC, then attend the Goa film festival....

"I get exhausted just listening to your schedules," I said, not for the first time. "Bhai, jab tak kaam mil raha hai, karte rehna hai," he says each time I bring up his impossible schedules.

Now he has been forced to take a long-needed but short lay-off. I am sure he'll be back shooting dubbing and attending events in a couple of weeks...But until then....could we please allow him to regain his strength in peace?

Let Mr Bachchan have the next two weeks all to himself. If we love him as much we seem to, that's the greatest gift we can give him.