Audiences in the cow belt are clapping Amitabh's Bhojpuri dialogues.

"I had done the Awadhi dialect in 'Ganga Ki Saugandh' and 'Adaalat'. 'Ganga' is the first time that I did in Bhojpuri, which is very similar in tone and sound to Awadhi. But some of the words and expressions are different."

Last year Amitabh made a guest appearance in a Kannada film "Amrithvarsham". "Ganga" and "Amrithvarsham" are Amitabh's only two stints in regional Indian languages.

"Both guest appearances and both done because two dear friends asked me to. Otherwise, I don't recall doing any other regional films. Yes, I was asked to do a guest appearance in Rajnikant's next Tamil project. But I declined. I don't have the time. Also, learning a south Indian language is a huge responsibility (in the Kannada film AB spoke in English).

"I truly admire our artistes from Mumbai who go and do south Indian films and also speak the language. Rajnikant and I are close friends. We've done films together in the past. We share a great rapport. I'd love to be in his film. But unfortunately I can't."

Amitabh is thrilled by the spectrum of films this year.

"Everyone from the young to the old has had an opportunity to have a say. And varied films have received acceptance this year. It's an exceptional year for Hindi cinema. There's 'Guru', 'Dhoom 2' and recently released 'Umrao Jaan' and 'Vivah' (which propagates family values like 'Baabul')."

About the return of STAR Plus' "Kaun Banega Crorepati", he said: "Star and I have to reach some understanding. There're around 25 episodes that couldn't be done due to my illness. I haven't been formally approached for any more episodes."

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