"It just took me back to the days of innocence when romance was about exchanging looks. 'Baabul' is also a film that's embedded in our ethos and culture, though the issue here (widow rehabilitation) is far more serious."

Big B is on the verge of completing Balkrishnan's "Cheeni Kam" with Tabu.

"Balki wants to do another film with me. I've 'Bhootnath' for producer Ravi Chopra. Then Abhishek and I will be doing Ram Gopal Varma's 'Sarkar 2'. Then I also have films with Rakeysh Mehra and Shojeet Sarkar."

But right now his focus is on "Baabul".

"The interesting thing about it is that the seeds of its plot were sown in 'Sholay' years ago. The relationship Rani shares with me does have similarities to what Jaya shared with Sanjeev Kumar in 'Sholay'."