Amitabh Bachchan on the new spell of success

Mumbai, July 18 (IANS) Superstar Amitabh Bachchan is experiencing the heady feel of success with "Sarkar" and "Bunty Aur Babli" doing well at the box office.

"I have experienced this earlier on in my career on several occasions... for it to happen at age 63 is miraculous," he said contentedly.

"'Bunty Aur Babli' and 'Sarkar' coming back to back with the same artistes, diametrically different in content and feel and rocking the box office is any actor's dream come true."

"The whole of last year trade magazines criticised, joked and laughed at my performances at the box office. They carried sarcastic and unflattering caricatures of mine. This year, so far, they have drawn positive pictures and of excellence. That's a sign of success, I guess," Amitabh told IANS.

"But I feel proud and exhilarated for Abhishek. It's quite remarkable for a young actor to have been through this and come out with flying colours."

Excerpts from the interview:

How do you react to the success of "Sarkar"?

How does one react to success? Positively... I'm happy for all concerned, and grateful to god.

This year you've had four successes, all very different from one another.

It's wonderful to get an opportunity to enact diverse roles. The fact that they have succeeded speaks volumes for the tastes of the audience. It's encouraging to see so many hits coming out this year. It's great for the industry. Personally it's been very rewarding... commercially, aesthetically, and creatively.

"Bunty Aur Babli" and "Sarkar" gave you and Abhishek a chance to be diverse together?

If you'd like to put it that way... "B & B" and "Sarkar" coming back to back with the same artistes, diametrically different in content and feel and rocking the box office is any actor's dream come true. I have experienced this earlier on in my career on several occasions... for it to happen at age 63 is miraculous. But I feel proud and exhilarated for Abhishek. It's quite remarkable for a young actor to have been through this and come out with flying colours.

Abhishek has gone through a lot of churning.

It's not easy to be subjected to humiliation and ridicule and still have the temerity to fight back. But he did it and did it on his own. It's made a man out of him. The praise and recognition have been awe-inspiring. Giving out lavish praise to others is perhaps the easiest part, accepting and handling praise is tough. And both of us have been having a tough time lately!

It's now a strong belief that there has never been a star with your success record - statistics support the belief. How do you feel about this?

Round the corner there is someone else who will better your record and statistics... the old shall have to step back and allow the young to take over. That's the way of the world. If you resist, you shall certainly be run over.

The whole of last year trade magazines, criticised, joked and laughed at my performances at the box office. They carried sarcastic and unflattering caricatures of mine. This year, so far, they have drawn positive pictures and of excellence. That's a sign of success, I guess. Tomorrow they could be back to their wisecracks. This is show business. We live from Friday to Friday.

Abhishek's success continues. After "Bunty Aur Babli" and "Sarkar", it's "Dus".

It is a dream run! Dreams don't last too long. Suddenly you are wide awake and facing reality. As a father I can only hope and pray that it remains this way... but we all know that the situation is not forever. There will be disappointments and failures and roadblocks. Success and setbacks are parallel companions.

Individually and as a father-son duo the two of you are now a formidable force. Would you see "Amitabh-Abhishek Bachchan" as brand equity?

This is typical Western, 20th-21st century jingoism. They love to categorise and label every phenomenon. Any entity that succeeds commercially bears the risk of being categorised as brand equity. As professional actors who have had a certain modicum of success, we can be termed a brand. And because the success factor has commercial connotations, we are looked at as equity. In simple terms, it would be in order to say that, for the moment, we sell.

A majority view in Bollywood is that Abhishek is the next No. 1. Your take?

Abhishek is the No. 1 son. My desire is that he be a No. 1 human. All other numbers are inconsequential.

A bit on your next release "Viruddh".

"Viruddh" is a story of a simple elderly middle class Maharashtrian couple, who through certain unforeseen circumstances decide to take on the system. It's a humane story, with no frills. No songs, no add-ons, nothing. Just, approximately two hours of sincerity.

"Kaun Banega Crorepati" is around the corner? You're considered the only large screen star to be successful on television.

The KBC format succeeded. It succeeded in 80 other countries as well and Amitabh Bachchan was not the host for all. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time, that's it. It was god's will.

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