Amitabh Bachchan: 'Ash isn't unlucky for us'

Amitabh Bachchan tries to put an end to rumours about his ‘manglik’ bahu, his ‘rivalry’ with SRK et al

There has been speculation about Aishwarya being unlucky for your family.

This is very insensitive. First, there were reports about her being a manglik, and then getting married to a tree, and now this.

Every day there is some prediction about what she is, what her future will be, yeh jis ghar mein jayegi uska sasur mar jayega. Aishwarya is not unlucky for us! Whatever is fated will happen.

It’s all very well for the media to speculate, but has anyone thought about what her family must be going through? Have they any idea what she and Abhishek are going through? The worst is that the speculation has not stopped. Yeh ho gaya, woh ho gaya — all because of Aishwarya!

Do you believe in astrology?

No, I don’t. Before Zanjeer released, Jaya and I had decided that if Zanjeer was a hit, we would go to London for a holiday, as I had never been abroad.

When it became a hit and we told our parents that we were going on a holiday, my father said, ‘If you go on a holiday with her, you must marry her.’ I said fine, we got married and left.

In New York, after the premiere of Guru, Abhishek called me and said that he proposed to her. I said, ‘Come home.’ I asked Aishwarya if she was happy. She said yes. I picked them up and took her home. I told her, “This is your home.” Humko kya lena dena hai aur kuch se?

Did your brother Ajitabh go to Bangalore with Aishwarya’s horoscope?

My brother did no such thing! He probably went on a personal visit. There was a report in the electronic media that my brother had taken their horoscopes to Bangalore, to show them to an astrologer, who confirmed it.
What is really disheartening is that you are not willing to believe principles, but you are willing to believe some astrologer who I don’t know anything about. I haven’t seen her horoscope, neither has any family member.

There were reports of her being a manglik ...

It is ridiculous, we don’t believe in this! If two people consent, are in love with each other and want to marry, that’s it. We are happy with it.
I don’t even know how to spell the word manglik! I don’t even know what she is.

Is Ash married to a tree?

Ash is not married to a tree! The cure for a manglik is that she has to marry a tree. It’s a challenge — please show me the tree she married!

Bring that person who married her to the tree. Where did it happen? Aishwarya Rai getting married to a tree, do you think the media wouldn’t have known about it and gone to the place?

She went to Benares with your family and prayed there ...

Abhishek and she were seeing each other and she happened to be there at a time when Abhishek was shooting in Delhi. I was in Mumbai and Jaya was in Benares shooting for Pradeep Guha’s film. It was November 23, my father’s birthday.

Every year, on that day, for the last four years, we celebrate my father’s birthday with a Kavi Sammelan in Lucknow. Last year, when we decided to go, my mother was in hospital. I said we haven’t had any celebration like Holi and Diwali as my mother is ill.

I am saddened that people brushed aside that aspect. We decided we can’t have the poetry symposium as ma is in hospital. Jaya said it would be nice if the family came and prayed at the Sankatmochan temple in Benares, so we went together.

After a long time, a solo hero film like Cheeni Kum has done extremely well. Have audience tastes changed?

We are happy that something different has been accepted, though there were apprehensions from the media that we have just done a film with a similar premise of an older man falling in love with a younger woman.
CK was lighter, more comic and in some ways it looked morally correct, as opposed to Nishabd, where the audience had a pre-conceived notion that it was morally incorrect. We will respect that as the film has not done well.

Did you feel disappointed?

It was very challenging for me to do the role. I was surprised that Ram Gopal Varma could make a film of this nature, particularly when he has been known to delve more into grittier subjects on the underworld or an action film.

I was surprised that he could understand some emotions in the film. We didn’t want to make a film that was deliberately saying this is amoral or immoral.

I thought the way Balki divided the screenplay and brought out the situations, it was like any other commercial, romantic film, except he was 64 and she was 34, and the father was 58, which was a pretty ridiculous situation, but it went well. I am very happy.

You are doing Balki’s next film with Abhishek?

Yes, that’s a proposal. We have the concept, but we have to get down to scripting…

It’s called Pa, which is what Abhishek calls you

Yes.

Is there a greater comfort level working with Abhishek?

In front of the camera we are all artistes. Of course, it’s nice to have your family with you, go together to the studio and come back home together. Otherwise, it’s like working with any other artiste.

Was the ponytail in Cheeni Kum false?

Yes.

Have you thought of keeping one since it makes you look younger?

Naah! I wouldn’t be able to carry it off. The ponytail was Balki’s idiosyncrasy.

Do you know how to cook?

No. I can just about boil water.

So you wouldn’t be able to cook zafrani pulao in real life?

No. I don’t know the recipe.

You are doing Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay, where you are playing Gabbar Singh — a role that had been played by your close friend Amjad Khan. From Sholay of then to now, is there a feeling of nostalgia? Do you miss him?

Obviously. Every step you take while working on the film, you think about what went on. Memories of any film you do always remain with you. Sometimes, when you get an opportunity to refer to it or think back on it, which happens quite often, because as you age you start thinking of your past a lot more.

Sholay has been a huge amount of nostalgia. In some ways, it’s also coming full circle.

I loved Gabbar Singh’s role when Salim-Javed narrated it to me. I begged Mr Ramesh Sippy that I wanted to do it. We were driving for the first time from Bangalore to the location. He didn’t agree. I am happy Ramu has thrown this as a challenge.

Will there be comparisons, as Amjad Khan made Gabbar an iconic villain?

Obviously there will be comparisons. That’s fair enough. That’s something one will have to live with. What is interesting is that there are diverse roles coming my way, which is not necessarily the good sounding patriarch who looks after the family.

There’s Bhootnath, where I play a ghost. In Aladdin, I play a genie, among various roles. How many patriarchal roles can I do? I never got such opportunities earlier as I played leading men.

…and had the image of an angry, young man

That’s an image that has stuck for a long time. These are descriptions and epithets that the media creates. We don’t believe in it. Whenever there was a Deewar, there was an Amar Akbar Anthony, whenever there was a Trishul or a Sholay, there was a Chupke Chupke.

I consider myself fortunate to have got such diverse roles. Now that I can’t play the typical leading man any longer, audiences should understand that I can’t always play the good man.

There is such a strong identification in the minds of the audience with the personality of the actor that they hate him doing something wrong if they love him for other reasons.

Do you feel restricted as an actor by such emotions?

I am beginning to feel that now. I hope it goes away. For me to grow as an actor, my creativity must be challenged.

If I say today I am satisfied by doing a good job and nothing more as it will spoil my image, I would be sitting like John Wayne on a horse for the rest of my life. John Wayne never got off a horse in any movie.

Somewhere, I would feel, I have missed something. The audience needs to differentiate that this is not what Amitabh Bachchan is, but a character he’s playing.