Amitabh Bhachan's Interview with DT MArvellous read it once

1. I guess you are feeling these days much like a section of the Muslim community is often made to feel in this nation: Keep providing proof that you care for Mumbai and Maharashtra

Firstly, the premise of your query is something that I do not contribute to or believe in. I am also therefore, not qualified to address it in the manner you put it. So can we just remain with my part as an individual and not attempt to grind two stones in one stroke.

Secondly, I have said it before and shall say it again, that I shall conduct myself, a proud citizen of this country, according to, the Law of the land and its Courts, the Constitution and my conscience. Courts, Constitution and Conscience, my three C’s !! Nothing and no one shall find a place, even remotely, into these honourable portals.

Every individual in a free society has the freedom of expression and speech. And I honour and respect that.
But those that question me and my deeds or non deeds, need to know a simple fact.
I am a public figure, not a public official. I am not a democratically elected representative of the people, neither do I hold any Government public office. I am answerable ONLY to the three C’s and nothing else. People have the right to question me, as they do and must. But they do not have the right to demand proof for any activity of mine, particularly when they themselves are not eligible for such a misguided, heedless and a totally inappropriate, task.

2. Must be depressing and hurtful. To be made to feel like an outsider in a city where you have spent a lifetime in. Goons have been chucking beer bottles inside your premises.

I shall feel depressed and hurt if I have betrayed my conscience. Nothing else. I am not an outsider by any stretch of imagination. This land is my land as much as it is of every other citizen of our beloved country. I came to Mumbai in 1968 to pursue a vocation. I did not need a visa to come here. I have made this city my home for the last 40 years. I bought my first car here, and my own house. I met and married my wife in this city and both my children were born here. Both my children were married in this city from that same house. My two grand children were born in this city. My Father and my Mother spent their last years in Mumbai and died here. They were put to flames here and their ashes have mingled with the earth of this city.
This city gave me name and fame beyond anything that I may have deserved or hoped for. I am not leaving this city and going anywhere !!

Let them chuck a thousand bottles. Let them burn my effigies and conduct morchas in front of my house. Let them blacken my film posters and stop the screening of my films. Let them attack me with stones and lathis or whatever else is there in their arsenal. Let them abuse me in the print and electronic media. Let them implicate me in false cases and send me to jail.

I am not budging !!

They will have to shoot me to get rid of me !!

3. Do you accept the fact that you are one, paying the price of your enormous popularity and two, are a victim of desperate communal politics that has been unleashed by the MNS. You have been turned into the mascot of communal hatred without you enrolling for the job!

I do not accept what you insinuate, simply because I am illiterate about these aspects. You and your ilk, who are the keepers of this nation, are more educated than I am, to address this.

4. The latest Saamna piece comparing your situation with Rajnikanth must have hurt too. Although Bal Thackeray issued a clarification, the damage was done.

I feel honoured that I have a friend in Rajnikant and even more honoured that, despite my insignificance, I am brought into comparison with him. Bala Saheb has been a father figure to us and shall remain so, ever. In my growing up years my parents taught me that ‘when elders speak, the young listen quietly’. I quietly accept whatever my elder or his outfit has expressed.

5. Will the attacks on your loyalty to Maharashtra compel you to alienate yourself from doing things for your home state, UP? And will you now try harder to do more visible social work in Maharashtra? Say, opening a school for girls out here?

Accusations and insinuations are not going to make me change the course of my conscience. I shall do what I want to do and what I feel needs to be done ; whether it is in Maharashtra, or UP or Bihar or Punjab or Bengal or TamilNadu or any part of the Country. The people of this country have loved and given unbounded affection to my family and me. I am equal in the eyes of the entire nation and no one should stipulate what I must do or not. My sense of fairness and fortitude is not up for scrutiny.

6. Correct me if I am wrong, but your continued involvement with UP has perhaps more to do with your friendship with Amar Singh rather than deep emotions attached with that state. And either the Maharashtra politicians don’t understand this or simply don’t want to understand this.

You are wrong. And I shall correct you. Where was Amar Singhji when I fought the election from Allahabad. What does anyone, you included, know of my connections with UP, prior to my association with Amar Singhji. It is as though my association with any issue is a problem with the so called ‘discerning’. Repeatedly, the Amar Singhji factor is brought to the forefront, whenever the media or other exalted bodies have been unable to find credible reason on the matter under question. Its an assessment that I have lived through year after year. When it was Bofors, the tale was - “Its your proximity to the Gandhi’s that is your problem “. Conveniently, it swiftly changes to “my non proximity to the Gandhi’s that is my problem”, in more recent times. I suspect the same would happen if Amar Singhji were to find himself in the seat of power in the future, or some equally exciting permutation. How interesting to see what their refrain would be then. So I am attacked because of “my proximity to Bala Saheb”, I and my Miss World is attacked because of “my proximity to SP”. And on and on and on. Your argument Anil, as you can see is not as simplistic as it sounds.
Sometimes in life, situations demand the proverbial ‘whipping horse’. And there are a few ‘chosen’ people in this country that fit that bill.

7. Do you find it scary that netas in India keep getting away with it despite spewing communal venom, which is unlawful and unconstitutional?

I have zero political acumen. This could best be answered by one that has.

8. Do you feel insecure in Mumbai these days? Are you a worried man?

No. The State has provided me with security, which they feel is adequate. I have faith in the Maharashtra and Mumbai Police.

9. Your message for Raj Thackeray. And please eschew diplomacy out here, things seem to be going out of hand.

N.A

10. Your message for Marathi speaking people of Mumbai on the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padva…

On this auspicious occasion wishing all a very happy and prosperous Gudi Padva.

> thanks
> anil

Thank you,
Amitabh bachchan

Tags: AB, Amitabh, Bachchan, BigB, Interview, Mumbai Mirror, Times of India Posted in Interviews

AB interview to Delhi Times

April 17, 2008 - 10:48 am 26 Comments

I.
Political stalwarts in both Maharashtra and UP seem to single you out for personal attacks and go out of the way to levy accusations and charges against you. The ‘Maharashtrian’ leaders give you a UP tag while the irony is that, at the same time, the UP CM spares no opportunity to prove a point against you. No other figure in the entertainment industry has been so specifically targeted by the political class, even if he has been charged in cases ranging from drunken driving to possession of illegal weapons. Why has this degree of animosity built up against you from powerful people about whom you have never said anything in public till today?

An interesting sms that I received from an unknown source recently seems to be the chosen answer to your query. It had said : “ The Maharashtra politicians say I contribute to UP.. the UP politician says your contribution(stamp duty) is insufficient.. Let the two Governments decide amongst themselves first who is more wronged, before dragging you in on this”.

It’s a legacy I have lived with for a major portion of my life as a public figure and one for which I have been unable to find a credible answer or solution. I have expressed anger and anguish over it. Laughed over it. Kept ‘dignified’ silences over it. Ignored it and at times fought it, publicly and legally. It is now a constant in my existence. Better to accept this than waste precious time in unraveling the mystery.

You term it an ‘animosity’. I think it is deep love. It is a credential most envied and desired. How absolutely enthralling to have the high and mighty of the nation making you the object of their concern. Questioning anxiously, matters as serious as, the reason behind the growth of my French beard, my descent from the skies in a film in a parachute bearing the colors of the national flag, to, an entire machinery of Government bureaucracy drafting notices on the non recognition of two trees – a peepul and a palm – on barren land where a school for girls is being built by me, or the Revenue Department being instructed from ‘higher ups’, to investigate the cost of a pair of plastic dark glasses worn by me, as seen in a tabloid photograph !!
It demonstrates alarmingly, the absolute bankruptcy of thought among the decision makers of the land and their deep interest and dependence on insignificant and frivolous issues. Issues that have been labeled ‘Amitabh Bachchan’. Yes, there have been serious matters too – Bofors, foreign exchange violations, election commission anomalies, violation of tobacco laws, farmer status and land acquisition and many more – all having been dismissed by relevant Tribunals, quasi judicial bodies, Honorable High Courts and the Supreme Court. It would be naïve to imagine that all these litigations arose out of extreme public interest, without the direct-indirect support or interest of political machinations. I wonder if ever, so much political interest has been taken, on an entity, entirely non-political.

Many in the media counter this belief of mine and maybe they are justified. Public figures and the politics of a nation have seldom remained too far apart. Vested interest, from both parties, has often been quoted as the cause for it. Media interest in such occurrences has helped fan circulation economics. Exoneration has never been highlighted, accusation always sensationalized. Nothing wrong in that. It’s the way media commerce is run, much in the way the song and dance routine is run as an integral part of Indian commercial escapist cinema. After a recent dismissal by the Courts in my favor, a section of the media actually expressed immense regret at the decision; they having had to kill a juicy negative headline story they had prepared on me !!

I cannot say why there is ‘specific target’ on me therefore, by the ‘political class’ and I shall not comment on the guarded references you make to other alleged offenders within my Industry, except that we have all, in every circumstance, followed the Law of the Land and its Constitution, more diligently than many others, not in our fraternity, for crimes decidedly more severe.

There is the factor of immediate and effective publicity that comes into play the moment a celebrity is targeted. Media loves to give it the pride of place and prominence and not without reason. In a land of ‘have- nots’, the seeming ‘haves’ are looked upon as the ‘villains’ of society and the cause and reason, for all that is going wrong in it. Comes with the territory. So our mantra – be vigilant and careful even as you sleep and be prepared for the ultimate abuse and action for the smallest of error. It’s a tough call. As humans we will err. But we remember always, that if we fault, no one will leave us and if we do not, nobody can touch us. The law of the land will prevail.

II.
I recall that many years ago, when I was just a reader and not a journalist, I read a detailed interview of yours which ended with you quoting John Dryden’s line, ‘beware the fury of a patient man’…

That line of course must have been brought back to you several times. I was reading an interview you gave in 2001 where the interviewer mentioned Dryden’s line to you, and asked you to elaborate on the thought behind it. Your response was –

“See, obviously it came from a feeling of being ostracized, of being victimised. And when the victimisation is too large for you to battle it immediately because you have an entire hostile government, an entire hostile media, you have hostile people on the streets since that’s the kind of impression that has been built up, it is very difficult to fight. So you remain quiet. You take it on your face. You take it on your chin and then wait to disprove that.”

How different is today from then? You still have a hostile media, as you said in your email. You would have good reason to feel ostracized, the way the senseless question of your Mumbai / Maharashtra loyalty is raised. There still are hostile people on the streets, and now they are sometimes violent too. And there is a hostile government, in UP at least, not that the one at the Centre or in Maharashtra is a very neutral one vis-à-vis you. I realize that it is in your nature to not stand up to respond to every inconsequential bit of gossip, but do you not think that by being patient and holding your peace for far longer periods than most people would, you allow those engaging in campaigns against you to occupy much more of the public mindspace than they otherwise deserve? Your interview in Mirror today is your first public response to many issues, and even it is a no-names-taken, dignified one. How furious is this patient man today, and how does he manage to keep quiet for so long in the face of extreme provocation?

You answer your question, within the question.

Once you use the term ‘inconsequential gossip’, there really is no need for a consequential reply.
‘Campaigns against me to occupy more public mindspace’ are structured to strike at an opportune moment for maximum effect. If people behind these designs seek opportune moments, surely I will and must have the liberty to do the same. I shall hold my peace till as long as I want to and bring it up when I feel it to be an opportune moment. Admittedly, the media has the right to dictate moments in the public sphere, but it never will have the right to dictate the functioning of my mind.

The media thought it an opportune moment to aggressively bring to the fore, incidents connected with the Miss World Contest in Bangaleru(Bangalore) many years ago, when ABCL my company was event managing it. Leaders from all hues of politics descended to deride the occasion and the press delighted itself in front paged headlines. Including your paper The Times of India, when ironically, your own house magazine, Femina, officially conducts the contest to pick the Indian representation. The bone of contention and the virulent refrain during Miss World was the ‘immoral’ act of women parading in swimsuits. That was over 10 years ago. But every year since, and even before, Femina has conducted and continues to conduct, contests for the Indian representation to Miss World, without incident, or any politics !!

And let me tell you more. The very next day after the Miss World Contest ended in Bangaleru, there was another Contest conducted in the same city called the Miss Lingerie Contest, where women and men demonstrated on a catwalk various designs of women and men’s under wear !!

Not a word was mentioned either by the press, or the politician !

I have brought this up several times through interviews, but it has always been conveniently edited. This answer too shall receive the royal axe by you by the time it comes out on print, because it questions the credibility of the media. But, even though I expect this to happen I am not too alarmed. This piece will also go out through the net to the rest of the world, for I believe this to be an opportune moment.

III.
Apparently a film called Yaar Meri Zindagi that starred you and Shatrughan many, many years back will finally be released soon. A question from here - Do you stay in touch, have any association with those who were also stars when your career was in its initial years, but today have faded out, while you continue to be, to use a cliché, a superstar? People like Shashi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Rajesh Khanna…

I am no superstar and no actor fades away. Shashiji has voluntarily taken a sabbatical due to health reasons, Vinod, Shatrughan and Rajesh Khanna still work, and quite effectively, in the medium.

IV.
Your Unforgettables tour is being talked about since it is supposed to be your first tour in 25 years – I use supposed because I am not sure about this fact, it’s what I read – are you embarking on it after this long a gap primarily since Abhishek and Ash are part of it, or is it something you wanted to do but didn’t have time for earlier? How much does something like this excite you today?

Yes the Concert Tour comes to me after a very long gap. I remember the year of having pioneered it, way back in 1981 and ending it around 1993. It’s a frightening proposition at age 66, but I am happy that we have several energetic and very popular youngsters in the troupe to take maximum charge. Abhishek and Aishwarya being there is of course the primary reason, especially, since the one off performance we gave together at an IIFA event, went of successfully.

V.
Jessica Hines has described you in a most charming manner as “a cross between Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, Elvis, but with more than a hint of John Travolta”. Your take on this?

I absolutely abhor this habit of continuously trying to find comparatives of indigenous produce, with those of some equivalence, with the Western World. I find this abusive of our status, however insignificant it may be. We are Indian and proud of our inheritance and presence. We’re ok, they’re ok. Viev la difference !!

VI.
What are you currently reading? Which book have you enjoyed reading the most in the past year or so?

Bits and pieces of several books. Nothing very significant. Most of my daily reading is restricted to the print media, the editorials and opinion articles of some, proving to be most educative and rewarding academically.

VII.
Do you follow cricket enthusiastically? Do you share a personal rapport with any of our current cricketers? Have you been approached by any team to associate with any IPL activity?

Yes I do, much like most other Indians. Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin.. I share a personal rapport with.. but in general, whenever we have met the others socially, there has been a healthy mutual respect. And no I have not been approached by IPL.

VIII.
What gift would you like to give to your son and daughter in law on their wedding anniversary?

I gave them love, understanding and togetherness the day they decided to get married. I would never like to replace that with anything material.

IX.
Did you watch OSO and TZP? How did you like them?

Yes, Shah Rukh invited me to a trial of OSO and I found the film to be extremely entertaining. Aamir has invited me to see TZP and I shall soon be seeing it, after the family, that has been traveling extensively, is together in Mumbai.

X.
When you reacted to Aamir’s comments on Black on his blog before TZP was released, did you read those blogs yourself or were they pointed out to you? How regularly do you log on to the net, what activity interests you the most, and are you by any chance a blogger? Are you part of any social networking site or network? Can your fans connect to you directly in some way online?

Aamir’s comments on Black I read in the print media. I am not a blogger as yet, but shall become one very soon. I do go on the net, not with any deliberate intent, but when someone recommends that to me through email, which I attend to somewhat regularly.

XI.
About six years back, in the course of an interview ( the same one where you responded to Dryden’s line), you said, “I can’t read people well. I am a bad reader of people.” Have your experiences over the past few years served to change that perception of yourself, or have they strengthened it? Would be grateful if you would elaborate on this.

That perception remains. I am a bad reader of people. But, I have others close to me who are always bang on. I rely on them and am happy with that. I tend to look at the other persons point of view first, than myself and this is a grouse that continuously comes up from those that guide my perception. My experiences over the years have in fact fortified my modus operandi, much to the consternation of those near.