by Subhash K Jha

It's now a week since Amitabh Bachchan was admitted into the Leelavati hospital in Mumbai with an acute pain in the abdomen.

Now out of the ICU he's well out of danger and on the way to full recovery. A close friend of the Bachchans who wishes to remain anonymous says, "It's a very tough time for the Bachchans. It isn't so much the illness...the worst is definitely over and expected to be home in the next ten days...It's the pressure of the media and the never-ending influx of guests.. That's hard to handle..."

"To Abhishek, Shweta and Jaya's credit they're handling the crisis exceptionally well. Not once do they allow their inner trauma to boil over. The arrangement at Leelavati is impeccable. Right from the outside compound where the press is stationed to the foyer where guests are received...the place is as well-appointed and organized as a 5-star hotel... One of the three Bachchans is unfailingly around to receive the guest. And they're oh so gracious."

What exactly ails Mr Bachchan? "It's a condition known as divurticulitis. Author Faroukh Dhondy also suffered the same ailment. It means Mr Bachchan has to stay completely away from spicy , masala food. Any of these things can aggravate his condition. Otherwise he's fine."

As for the lack of information on AB's condition given out to the press... "It's basically Abhishek's decision. He doesn't want anyone to talk about his father's condition until full recovery. If in doing so he's considered a villain he doesn't mind. Right now Mr Bachchan's full recuperation is all that counts to the family...and rightly so."