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Superstar Amitabh Bachchan is enjoying his blogging experience and “the ugly abuses, the healthy criticism" that come along with it. The Bollywood icon has clarified that his remarks about Shah Rukh Khan's quiz show on his blog were misinterpreted by the media and he has apologised to the actor since then. “I narrated on my blog what transpired during one of my meetings with TV heads, who had come with proposals to me to do a show for them. I asked them questions on the viability of game shows. They described to me the falling ratings, which included shows done by me and by others as well," Amitabh, who is currently in Cannes with his family, explained in a telephone interview.
He added: “I merely transferred these talks to my blog purely to seek opinion, not glory, and the next thing I read is that it is an attempt on my part to show Shah Rukh in poor light, which was entirely incorrect and a load of rubbish. I have since, on my blog, apologised to Shah Rukh and those offended by this wrong assumption. Amitabh Bachchan anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati, India's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, game show, which was later hosted by Shah Rukh Khan on Star Plus. Excerpts from the interview:
How satisfying has the experience of blogging been so far?
It has been a most wonderful experience and I have wondered why this was not known to me earlier. The speed of communication the world over, the responses to my thoughts, the adulation and endearment expressed by well-wishers, the ugly abuses, the healthy criticism, the demand for more on my father's works … all of it has been educative and awe-inspiring. It has been like talking to each one of them personally.
Is it very time consuming?
It is time consuming because I read all the messages myself and I write my blog personally too. I have not permitted the server to allow comments to go through a ‘moderator' because I want a fair, democratic approach to be practised. To cope with this I sleep a little less perhaps to make time for those who write.
You seem to have become far more frank and forthright, far less diplomatic than you used to be.
Maybe. I think it comes from the knowledge that what you write or express has the ability to go to the reader without dilution or moderation. The absence of the middleman helps in the purity of my output. I try to be as honest as I can in my outpouring and yes they may seem to be more frank and forthright and less diplomatic.
As I spoke in my last blog, words and expressions can get twisted and misinterpreted and can cause unwanted hurt or a misunderstanding. A twisted thought could create an avalanche of negativity. I would hate that to happen and whenever it has, I have not hesitated to tender an apology or to correct myself if I have done wrong.
Your comments on Shah Rukh's TV show, Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hai, have been discussed widely. Do you feel your comments could've had an impact that perhaps exceeded your intentions?
Exactly. I narrated on my blog what transpired during one of my meetings with TV heads, who had come with proposals to me to do a show for them. I asked them some genuine questions on the viability of game shows. They described to me the falling ratings, which included shows done by me and by others as well … I merely transferred these talks to my blog purely to seek opinion not glory, and the next thing I read is that it is an attempt on my part to show Shah Rukh in poor light, which was entirely incorrect and a load of rubbish. I have since on my blog apologised to Shah Rukh and those offended by this wrong assumption.
I will apologise to Shah Rukh a hundred times if there is an iota of doubt in his mind about my conduct and behaviour towards him.
What expansion plans do you have as a blogger?
The blog will shortly become a part of the website that is under construction. The website will be more encompassing — my father, mother, Jaya, Abhishek, Aishwarya, Shweta [daughter] or any other family member or non-member for that matter who wishes to contribute to it, will have a presence. Matter containing my father's works will be prominently displayed. His repertoire is vast and of immense literary value and I wish to give it its pride of place.
It's being said in a section of the press that the blog is a commercial enterprise and that you're being paid a hefty amount to keep it interesting.
I repeat here again that the blog is not a commercial venture and I have not been paid this ridiculous amount of money to write it. I am merely using the facility of the server provided by bigadda.com to carry my blog.
Blogging seriously
It looks like stars are taking blogging too seriously. After Amitabh Bachchan's blog created a controversy with his remarks on veteran actor and MP Shatrughan Sinha, the latest star to catch eyeballs is actor Aamir Khan, who talks about his pet dog Shahrukh and how he was named in his latest blogpost (http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog.htm).
The blog entry seems to have been made a week back when Aamir Khan was in Panchgani with his family on a vacation. But what's worth noticing is the way Aamir starts his blog piece. He says,"Shahrukh is licking my feet and I am feeding him biscuits every now and then. What more can I ask for?"
The star then goes on to talk about the dog and how he had no hand in naming him. In Aamir's own words: “Now, before you jump to any conclusions let me add that Shahrukh is the name of our dog. And before you jump to any further conclusions let me add that I had nothing to do with naming him. In fact Shahrukh is the dog of the caretakers of our house. When I bought this house it came with the caretakers and their dog! Apparently Shah Rukh (the actor) was shooting for a commercial in this house a few years ago, and that very day the caretakers bought a pup…, and named him Shah Rukh. What are the chances of me buying a house which comes with a dog called Shah Rukh!"
He further goes on to say in the end of his blogpost: "Well Shahrukh is once again begging for my attention, so let me get back to him. He is smelling too much, I think he needs a bath. “Heel boy, heel."
This is not the first time that Aamir has taken a shot at actor Shah Rukh Khan. A few months back the actor made headlines after wandering: “I would like to ask Shah Rukh how it feels to be No 2."
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