Every Day Is An Adventure For Amitabh Bachchan

No actor has had such an oeuvre, no superstar battled more cataclysms and walked through it all with a swagger that’s still undeniably sexy writes Farhana Farook about the one and only Amitabh Bachchan

- Farhana Farook

His has been a tempestuous relationship with Time. Someone whom Time loved generously yet tested inexplicably. Right from the time when he gave 12 flops in a row… till Zanjeer trumpeted his rise to stardom. And then at the peak came the catastrophic troughs… the accident on the set of Coolie, the misadventures in politics, the ABCL disaster, bankruptcy and even myasthenia gravis… Then Time, once again, came knocking with Mohabbatein and Kaun Banega Crorepati. Since then it’s been a golden run… his roles attempting the audacious, the adventurous. Baghban, Sarkar, Black, Nishabd, Cheeni Kum, Paa, Bhootnath and now Piku… age seems to have eased him off all constraints, liberated him from all compulsions. Over to the actor… for whom acting is the very breath of life…

You swept the awards this season with Piku. You even tweeted, “Time is short … so Best Actor critics at Filmfare for Piku … happy and content!!” What emotions do awards still stir in you despite a legacy of achievements?

The ‘time is short’ comment was for my EFs on the blog telling them that I’d be unable to reply to them as I normally do because it was late. After the award ceremony I was flying back to Kolkata where I am shooting (Sujoy Ghosh’s T3N). It had nothing to do with the ‘time in my life’ as you may have interpreted. Yes, I’m happy and grateful that many institutions have given me the recognition of an award for Piku. I don’t believe that I’ve a ‘legacy of achievements’. Achievement, to me, is something personal and within. I shall not debate, argue or be skeptical of awards and award ceremonies. I shall respect the decisions of those that give me the honour and will not be disrespectful if they don’t.