That '70s show

He has unlimited stamina. His quest for excellence is not surprising. In fact, it’s the raison d’etre of a legend who’s been at the top of his game for more than four decades now. That’s Amitabh Bachchan. He’s a 72-year-old actor who makes a debut with every new release. His enthusiasm can’t be rivaled by the hottest new actors. It’s this devotion to the camera… that keeps producing quality like Bhaskor in Piku. Here, he’s ditched the heroic to revel in the mundane, only to shine through.
His performances are on a steady inclined curve. And yet, with every act he explores a whole new dimension of candour and effortlessness. Contrary to his polished and elegant restraint in real-life, he’s pulled off potty humour on screen with aplomb. He has achieved his moment of magic in the common place. That’s what they mean by a truly timeless actor. Or rather someone who continues to evolve. Amitabh Bachchan is a rare case of ageless consistency and charisma...

Amitabh Bachchan with daughter Shweta Nanda

A small film like Piku has notched big numbers at the box-office. Does that reflect a change in audience tastes?
Most certainly! The audiences have guided us through the length and breadth of the history of cinema. If they are not affable towards us, we shall suffer. If Piku has shown encouraging numbers at the box-office, it is the audience that is responsible for it. I have the greatest regard for them. Thank you people.

Do rave reviews still create excitement after four decades in the business?
Most certainly. That is what we all crave for.

What were the challenges of playing a realistic character like Piku’s Baba?
It would be fashionable to say that the role was challenging. But when the lines come in, when the paunch, the wig, the soda water bottle glasses and the environment comes in, it stops being a challenge. You just need to be that’s all. With this support system, the job becomes a lot more comfortable. The end result of the challenge comes in after it is put out to the audience.

As Bhaskor, your Bengali diction was perfect. Did your earlier days in the City of Joy help?
Yes. Working in Kolkata for seven years has its advantages when you are given Bhaskor to portray. Also the fact that there is a Bengal in my home too since 42 years. Plus, I’ve had the privilege to have worked with several Bengali directors and technicians and co-artistes. Director Shoojit Sircar also had his inputs. All that helped. And at some point of time, I had to do justice to being the  Jamai Babu of Bengal.

Did you revisit places in Kolkata while you shot there?
I always look forward to shoots in Kolkata. The seven year connect is not possible to wish away. So yes, whenever I am there I do try to catch up with old friends, bosses and locations of the most joyous memories. But most of all, I love being in the company of the people of Bengal. They are the adrenalin that we all need, their passion is infectious. God bless them.

Physically, was it a challenge shooting the extensive road trip?
None whatsoever. The fluidity of the writing and the technical support made it possible for us to simply ride along this lovely road journey, this ‘poth’ and feel as if it was real. All the road shots were simulated in Gujarat. We were comfortable with the arrangements made, which is always a joy. And then of course, Kolkata is such a heaven to be in, in any circumstance!

Father-daughter relationships aren’t a common theme in Hindi cinema. We saw one in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anupama. Was that one of the exciting aspects of working on Piku?
Yes Anupama, one of my favourites, a film that attracted me to Hrishikesh Mukherji even before I joined the industry, is a good example of what you question. But there the circumstances were different. In Piku, the uncommon relationship between a father and daughter was attractive. Piku is a working girl, a housekeeper and a caring companion to her rather obstinate father. Most relationships between father and daughter in general take prominence only at the time of marriage. A father rarely weeps through his life, but cries uncontrollably at the time of the bidaai of his daughter. Piku and her father Bhaskor share a fair, clean, frank and honest relationship. She despairs at his scatological tantrums; he is not too reserved in informing a prospective candidate that his daughter has lost her virginity. These are evolved thoughts, narrated with a casual sensibility. Nothing overt, nothing defined, nothing done with ‘look what a great point we are making’ kind of attitude. Just a flow of conversation that could take place in any normal home. There is no story to tell. It’s just a couple of people having a conversation through the film. And that is what made it so attractive!
 

Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan

How cool were you with the bold situations like the father telling a suitor that Piku’s not a virgin or when she’s having a sex buddy over?
I was cool. It was part of the script. It was progressive and in a sense quite liberating. Liberating, because I find today’s generation not too averse to speaking freely and frankly on such subjects. Society also, in some less reserved social strata, does encounter and aligns itself to such conversation. Film personalities, I would imagine, have to contend with two different images. One that’s portrayed on screen and the other the real, the personal. I hope the audience perceives me differently on film and on the personal level.

Is your relationship with daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda anywhere near the relationship between Piku and Bhaskor?
This would not be a fair question to ask and not a fair one for me to answer. Shweta is my daughter genetically and whatever we share should be shared within the four walls of our home. But Piku is Bhaskor’s daughter, one that has been non-genetically created by the writer (Juhi Chaturvedi) and the director. That is how it should remain.

Bhaskor is a possessive and eccentric father. Did you identify with any of the traits?
Fathers have a great affinity towards their daughters. At least I certainly do. Describing that affinity would again be too personal, but certain elements of what you see in the film are quite realistic. Most fathers are possessive of their daughters and it could be that their possessiveness is viewed as eccentricity by daughters. So character wise the writers were not too distant from reality. And that’s as far as I am comfortable in going. I am not going to introduce you to my bowel conditions.

How comfortable were you with the use of scatological humour in the film?
Is there really anyone on earth who would not be satisfied with their personal scatological references? It’s nature, it’s human and it’s real – elements that automatically set you in the right frame of mind for its connected humour.

Deepika Padukone had earlier worked with you in Aarakshan. How much has she improved since then?
Deepika is a marvel. Her progress as an actor is phenomenal. It’s a mystery how rapidly this change came about her as I’m sure it must be for several others. But what a joy to observe this ‘kaya palat’! It has been a privilege to have worked with her then and now. And hopefully in the future too.

It was the first time you worked with Irrfan. How was the experience?
I’ve been a great admirer of Irrfan’s work. He’s an exceptional artiste. He has the ability to say and express without opening his mouth. This is no ordinary talent. Obviously it was such a joy to work with him. An actor’s capability is dependent upon the capability of the one in front of him. You may be the greatest actor in the world but if you do not get the right attitude and response from your counterpart, you’re useless. If you appreciate an artiste for his work, do remember that it would never have been possible without the input from the other.

Bhaskor is sentimental about his ancestral home. Do you too revisit your parents’ house in Allahabad?
Your own home or your ancestral one shall always have a deep and emotional connect. In Piku the connect is evident. Somehow, the most important moments of your life are reborn in those premises. One never wants to be too far away from one’s ateet (past). Our ancestral home belonged to my grandfather. I never saw it. My father (the late poet Harivanshrai Bachchan) did and we were aware of its existence. It was given away much before my time. But I do recollect our old homes in Allahabad and Delhi. They were rented ones. The one in Delhi now, which we own, is where we stay whenever we’re there. From my mother’s (the late Teji Bachchan) side, we lost all during the Partition.

What was Abhishek’s and Jayaji’s reactions after watching Piku?
Jaya loved it. Abhishek loved its business!

With Deepika Padukone in Piku

We saw you riding a bicycle in Piku...
No big issue. I ride my bicycle on the streets of Juhu, where I reside, quite often.

What sets apart new directors like Shoojit Sircar from the established lot?
The work apparatus has changed. There is a greater sense of management in today’s directors and their approach to filmmaking. In days gone by, the only person I saw behind the camera was my director. Now I find them at some distance behind a monitor. Earlier on there was a desperation to save film, because it was expensive, which led to the pressure of least mistakes. Now with digital technology, it’s non existent. And with VFX and other gadgetry a lot more can be enhanced, hidden or enlarged than before. This must surely reflect on the way we worked earlier. These are the benefits that today’s generation enjoys. Though I find it enjoyable equally. And there are more women on set now, than earlier on!

Your earlier film with Shoojit, Shoebite, hasn’t seen a release yet. Does it upset you?
I feel terrible about it. There has been a huge amount of effort in its making, which is natural for any film. But for all of us and Shoojit in particular, it’s the destruction of a dream. We’re taking some efforts in resolving the issue, which has undergone some unforeseen circumstance. I do pray that those who hold the key to a solution shall look at it with some compassion!
 
How different is it to work with the younger actors?
I haven’t experienced any difference. We’re all actors on a job. We’re conscious about doing it well. All I can say is that the younger generation is bright, dedicated, aggressive in its search for perfection and confident about achieving it.

Your peers, including your son Abhishek, swear by your enthusiasm. Doesn’t motivation ever become a task?
For me, the day motivation becomes a ‘task’, I shall leave. It must be the joy and the excitement that should ideally be the motivation for work; else we are nothing more than a formulaic chemical!

After 45 years of working, what is it that excites you the most about a film?
That I have to prepare through a sleepless night to deliver the next morning! To be in the company of the camera, the crew, the co-artistes, the smell of the studio, the joy of trying to bring to life what the director has asked of me and the feverish anticipation of how it shall all come together and be presented to an audience on a Friday. After that all kinds of other joys and sorrows envelope you.

Do release days still make you nervous after so many years?
Oh yes… it’s frightening!

You are always praised for your work. Does anyone dare to point out where you may have gone wrong?
I’m grateful that many do. But I must admit that I have my own yardstick. I shall welcome what others say and shall debate and discuss it at will. But my faults are known to me and I shall always endeavour to improve upon them. At times,  I do request for retakes, at times after a few days it may dawn upon me that something was wrong. Then I do seek consent to redo it. Most of the time it gets rejected, which is sad. But at times I do get a generous hearing and I make another effort. And please do not live in this false belief that no one can dare tell me when I am going wrong. They all do. And I obey.

Does praise still excite you and criticism sadden you?
Praise is humbling. Criticism is not saddening but a valuable input to me, which I value and look to improve upon... and at times challenge.

It’s said that you are the baap of all actors. Your comments…
Baap of all actors? Sorry to disappoint you but I do not have the capacity to have ‘fathered’ so many.

Not many stars make headlines for intense workouts at the age of 70. What keeps your drive going strong?
Filmstars do not make headlines. Media obliges them by doing so. But yes, workouts are mandatory. At any age they are a routine if you wish to remain fit. The profession we are in demands that those who appear on film be presentable. The body, the face, matters. Which is why care is taken to keep it in optimum form. I never worked out or exercised during my early years, in fact not till 2000. That’s a long time between 1969-2000. But I realised that the body was not responding or looking the way it should. So I started a routine. It has stayed since. In between, of course, there have been several mishaps with health and surgery and the need to get back in shape was imperative. As you grow older, body parts react differently and so one needs to give special attention to them. It’s at a stage now where specialists are needed, which is what you have been reading. If I am contracted to work in a film project, it becomes my professional duty to be healthy and fit to accomplish my commitment. That is it. Nothing sensational about it... my respect for what I have been contracted for, needs that drive.

Do doctors make good friends for septuagenarians?
Hahaha…! Yes they do. But I would imagine doctors make good friends at any age. Depends how dependent you or your condition is.

Are you a mobile addict? How much time do you spend on Twitter, Facebook and your blog? Does too much of it alienate us from the real world?
I’m not an addict. But I look upon my mobile as an important asset. I am on Twitter, Facebook and write my blog every day. Till now,I have been on my blog for 2597 days, on Twitter for 1868 days and on Facebook for 968 days… not a single day missed. And my collective following is now reaching 40 million plus!