2013 is proving to be a rather busy year for Amitabh Bachchan. With as many as six films in hand, and two TV shows coming up. And never mind the length of the star’s role in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, the actor had an impressive Hollywood debut, as was evident with his reception at Cannes. On his return, we caught up with the actor at his Juhu office for a candid chat about Cannes, his 45 years in the industry and working with GenNext. Excerpts from the interview...How was the Cannes experience?Cannes was good. It’s a very prestigious festival and certainly one of the largest and the biggest in the world. It’s always a joy to be there because you meet all these luminaries of the film fraternity from all over the world and get an opportunity to interact with them. But for us, this time and for me in particular, it was because of the release of The Great Gatsby and the fact that Cannes was opening their festival with this film, which was very prestigious, so it was wonderful. Very nice people, all very organised, no airs about anything despite the fact that they are such big stars, but really had a marvelous amount of standards.Any meetings to remember?Apart from our star cast there were so many others people that were also present. It’s like one big household so you do meet. We are all there in one room and meeting at someone’s place to have dinner and the entire fraternity lands up there, it’s all very homely and comfortable. Great directors like Ang Lee, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, who was on the jury, and all the wonderful artistes congregate in one place. It’s a wonderful atmosphere. It’s formal when it needs to be formal, otherwise it’s mostly very casual and a relaxed atmosphere. The idea really is for the fraternity to come together and exhibit their products and this huge market is there that many of us are unaware of, but there are certain people who are dealing with the cinema and distribution. They take their products there and they open stalls in this very huge market. We’re sure the feeling is mutual... of getting to meet you?If you talk to big distributors and makers whether it is Ang Lee or Martin Scorsese they are all aware of it, and they are very well informed and they are very curious and they do a lot of research… it’s amazing really. So when I was introduced to say Ang Lee who’s won the Oscar this year, he said, ‘It’s a great honour to meet you cause when I go to India I see you everywhere and we’ve seen your body of work’, so they are aware of it. I was very hesitant to believe that in the beginning, but they have the knowledge of the entire world cinema, of what is being made in Japan and in Russia, in West Asia and in Afghanistan, and even remote countries that are making films, they are all very aware. That’s the first step to future collaborations...There are no traditional barriers now. This is an Indian or this is an American or this is a South American or this is a Japanese. The world community has become very intermingled and the closest example that comes to my mind is that you watch a British football team for example or a German football team or a Russian football team and you can’t distinctly say that no this is Russian or German, because there’s such a mix of communities which makes it like almost a universal territory. This temperament is now being felt in cinema as well. So, there’s this feeling of intermingling. There is interchanging of actors, if I may say to a very small degree even in Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann did by offering me the role of a Jew, who’s an American. So this is a departure from what used to happen earlier.Again you have been a kind of a trailblazer when it comes to cinema...I can’t say that. It’s more to do with the fact that the times have changed. Previously India was looked upon as a land of fakirs and snake-charmers, and elephants, but all that is changed and it’s perhaps because of the economic liberalisation  that everybody now takes an interest in India. So you don’t have even onepercent of privacy abroad…If I want to go out to Juhu beach I still will, there won’t be a problem. I still walk around, it’s not a problem. Yes, sometimes in UK or in US you do get accosted by people, someone stops you on the streets and asks for autograph or photograph, but that’s fine. Just shows that there are people who take interest in us and not all of them are of Indian origin. They are from different parts of the world.Could you share any incident in Cannes  that perhaps took you by surprise…It’s just a general feeling that you are not an unknown anymore. India is not unknown. We are referred to as third world country or developing nation, and I always hated that, you know I want to be the first world country. But there’s a lot of dignity and respect that’s given to India. There are some elements that make you feel good, that your country and your people, your work and your region is welcome.Tell us more about Gatsby…Baz Luhrmann is a magician as far as his interpretation of films are concerned. Everybody is just concentrating on their act and everybody is ready to assist you… they don’t make you feel like a stranger. Like Leonardo (DiCaprio), after my scene, even though it was just a couple of minutes, between Tobey (Maguire) and after the scene was shot and we were all going home. And suddenly Leo told Baz, that there was this line in the book that Meyer Wolfshiem (Bachchan’s character) says and I think that Amitabh should say this line as its very important for his character. And I thought it was remarkable for a star of his calibre to be thinking of somebody like me. And so we took time and shot that extra portion which is not often that you see here (laughs).Any comparisons between way things are done here and there…Most of the talk of cinema is universal. They also talk of the first weekend and the collections. It’s no different from the talks that happen here. Pehle teen din ka collection kitna hua. Ab dekhte hain Sunday ke baad kya hota hai… All that goes on.Have you ever followed that talk as diligently?I never did because in my time, we talked about 25 weeks and 50 weeks and 75 weeks, the jubilees. I never understood this. I was more keen to be able to do my job to the best of my ability as possible, but the producer used to say, ‘ki sir yeh toh ho gayi, jubilee ho gayi is picture ki toh.’ Much as they say about ‘yeh 100 crore club ho gaya’ or ‘first weekend mein itna ho gaya’. Do you miss it?I think that each generation has its high points. They were very interesting for us then, as it reflected the success of the film. Now it’s different. On Friday night they go out and start partying, celebrating the success on the first day.Do films here get made faster? My scene was just of a few minutes, so I finished off in a day. But I was asked to prepare for it six months in advance. So a lot of reading material for that just one minute-two minute role was sent.Of what we’ve been hearing, the hardened critics too have loved your performance, despite the two minute duration…I am actually surprised that they even noticed me. It’s probably because I was the only outsider in the project. I was surprised that they would notice me, but I am happy that they did. What really happens is that the process of the preparation of the artistes starts very early. They send me the book to read, they send me the script, all kinds of articles that related to 1920 New York, so that you start living in that year, you start thinking like that. I mean there’s really this perfection to the very end. The suit material was more 1920, so even that element was considered even though in the screen you can’t make out. 100 years of cinema, and almost 50 years for you here...Few years? It’s still five years. Who knows what’s going to happen in five years, but yes these 45 years have been very kind to me and I must admit that the people of the country have shown great affection and love and tolerated me. I have had the great opportunity to work with some of the very fine makers and fantastic artistes and colleagues, who have been there with me. And I hope to continue working so long the body allows you to work, I hope I can continue to work. It’s a great joy to be working with the new generation. The new lot are remaking your films...Well I think that’s a choice of the producers or director, if they find that story to be worthy of being remade they have the rights to do it. I don’t think that’s any credit to me..Do you watch the remakes?I do. I watched all the Dons that Shah Rukh did. Both of them. I saw Agneepath, have seen the promos of Zanjeer Mr Apoorva Lakhia has shown me and they all look terrific, so it’s wonderful. Technology has changed the way you make films now, so now it’s different. But television has been responsible for keeping all of us alive.. Your next season of KBC starts soon...Yes its going to start end of August-September...KBC has gone regional too...Yes Sony sold the rights. Marathi, Telugu, Tamil,  Kannada, Malyalam, Bengali, and Bihari, it’s all being done.You watch any of them?I haven’t seen some of the others, but they’ve all apparently been doing well. The show itself runs in 80 to 90 countries, so the show itself has some intrinsic value and is why it keeps running and I am just fortunate that I started it in 2000, and now it’s almost 13 years with a gap of one year.  It’s been almost 11-12 years for me with the show.And record breaking TRPs?I think people enjoy watching something like this, with the whole family.And step closer to Big B?I don’t know, this is the way I am. The way I treat my contestants is just like I would treat any guest that I would invite to my house.One big change you have seen in filmmaking?Technically, it’s more superior. I can’t say about the content because I’m still considered to be old world.  I think this generation moves faster, wants to convey things quicker, they think faster, talk fast. The younger generation is a 350 million youth, which is the largest in any part of the world, which is more than more than the population of America, so you need to respect that so that is what they need to respect.Satyagraha is coming up, what next?There’s Bhootnath 2, there’s a film with Sujoy (Ghosh) Badla, there’s Mehrunissa ready to go on floor, then there’re a couple of more with Balki, Anurag Kashyap and a few more, but these are almost finalised.  Rapid fireYou believe in… Faith of an unknown force.Your strength… is my familyYou wish you could… work with some of the greats that have gone byYou miss… my granddaughter currently as she has been away for quite a whileA change you want to see… India being a developed nationFilms are… My kitchen runs because of them.One thing you can’t do without… I am pretty liberal. I can do without many thingsOne song you most resonate with… that depends upon what you hear and what is popular. There is music from the more recent times, there’s music from old times, I can’t really think of any one. But when it plays you hear it.One thing you would tell yourself, if you were your own director… you need to work harder on your capabilities Mr Bachchan. A lot of shortcomings that need to be corrected.Name any one of your shortcomings… There are many. When I see the films, I think I could have done better.A role you wish you had gotten to play in recent times… I don’t know. I leave this to my directors to come up with something challenging. I cannot pinpoint what I want to do, but if they would give me something challenging then I would love to give it a try.Any of the recent films? I wish I was in all of these films  in which the younger stars are performing and I love the way they perform.One thing you find yourself saying the most… You can answer that… I don’t have anything in particular. May be my family would be better equipped to answer that.Most recently you were most impressed by… By some of the more recent films that I’ve seen. Right from Gangs of Wasseypur to Vicky Donor to Kahaani to Barfi to Rockstar to Bombay Talkies. And what all these young directors are making is very impressive. I just enjoy watching them. My old favourites from Hollywood have always been Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift and Al Pacino.

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