Wonderful moments to cherish

For Amitabh Bachchan, playing Debraj Sahai in Black was a rewarding experience, he tells Jyothi Venkatesh

Many of his films failed to excite the audience last year. Amitabh Bachchan is now looking forward to the release of Black. He speaks to Tabloid about his growth as an actor, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his experience of working with the physically-challenged children.

Excerpts:

Tabloid: Did you rediscover yourself as an actor while doing Black?
Amitabh Bachchan: No, I did not rediscover myself as an actor while working in the film. However, I’d say that I was challenged to my maximum limit as an actor while working under the direction of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It was a rewarding experience. Working in the film has pushed me, given me wonderful moments to cherish.

Tabloid: What is so different about your role in the film?
AB: I have never done scenes such as the ones I have done in Black. The script and the subject are different from the run of the mill encounters. It was a fresh and new experience altogether.

Tabloid: How would you rate Sanjay Leela Bhansali as a director?
AB: I’d say that in recent times Sanjay is the best filmmaker I have worked with. He is a genius, there is no second opinion about it. I have watched all his films.

After making larger-than-life films such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas, he has made an honest film like Black which is dynamically different. He is a great craftsman and has got a great vision. It was a delight to work with him.

Tabloid: What is your role in Black?
AB: I play the role of Debraj Sahai who teaches the physically-challenged children. Rani Mukherjee — who plays Michelle McNally, a young blind, deaf and mute Anglo-Indian girl — is my student.

My days in the school are numbered and I am asked to leave. That’s how I come into the life of the little girl. In a metamorphic sense, there is a warm bonding between the old teacher and his student.

The relationship is more internal, especially when you have a physically-challenged student. Black is a positive, uplifting film, not dull or for that matter grey, like the title suggests.

Tabloid: Were you scared to take up this complex role?
AB: I wasn’t scared at all when Sanjay approached me with the offer. As an actor, you can afford to worry about how you are going to do a particular scene but you cannot afford to be scared about taking up a film.

To prepare myself for the role, I undertook extensive training for about six months prior to the shoot. It is very difficult to communicate with the physically-challenged children because they tend to understand only the touch and have developed their own alphabets.

Tabloid: Did you carry your work home after pack up on the sets of Black?
AB: We’d like to believe that when things are tough, we do not carry our work home. However, while preparing for the shot, many a time, I wanted to live with the moments.

It is obviously very disturbing to see a child like this in real life. Having met real kids in flesh and blood like this while shooting for the film, I should say it was a delight to observe them because they are full of enthusiasm.

They do not want pity or sympathy from you. Working in the film was an uplifting experience. Sanjay has captured several endearing moments on celluloid.

Tabloid: Would you say that the role of Debraj Sahai has been the best of your career?
AB: Every day was a memorable day for me because of exceptional quality of work on the sets. Like I said, it has been the most rewarding role of my career.

However, I would not say that it is the best role of my career because I hate categorising somebody’s work. I feel creativity is something which keeps evolving.

The day you feel that your role in a film is the best, you automatically stop evolving as an actor.

Tabloid: How much credit does Sanjay Leela Bhansali deserve for Black?
AB: Whatever you will see on the screen when you watch Black is Sanjay’s work. It was he who chose my costumes, look etc. He decided what dialogues I should deliver.

Tabloid: How do you evaluate your growth as an actor from Saat Hindustani [his first film] to Black?
AB: I hope that there has been sufficient growth as far as my career is concerned. The very fact that you are asking me this question proves that I have grown as an actor. You can stagnate if you stop getting opportunities to show your craft.

I have been lucky that I have got opportunities to work with prominent filmmakers. I have tried to do something.
In some cases, they have gone down well with the audience.

However, in most of the cases, they have not. It is the audience who decide whether they are happy with your performance or not.

Tabloid: Last year, many of your films such as Lakshya, Kyon Ho Gaya Na, Dev and Deewar flopped. Where do you think you went wrong in your choice of films?
AB: We are in a profession where people judge us. When they do, we must listen to them. But then, you cannot say no to a filmmaker such as Yash Chopra who is also a friend. He asked me to do Veer-Zaara.

Tito asked me to do a five-day guest appearance in his film Hum Kaun Hai which was made by his son. I couldn’t say no.

Anil Sharma had wanted to work with me for the last 25 years so I agreed to work in Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon.

When Romesh Sharma wanted to launch his son as a leading man, I couldn’t say no to him. How those films fair at the box office is of no consequence.

However, I do concede that it doesn’t absolve me of the responsibility placed in me by critics and the audience. I respect their judgment, I hope to take care of it in future.

Tabloid: Which films are you working on right now?
AB: Right now, I am working with Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra in Vipul Shah’s Waqt, Mahesh Manjrekar’s Virudh with Sanjay Dutt, Sharmila Tagore and John Abraham, Ramgopal Varma’s Sarkar with Abhishek and Shaad Ali’s Bunty Aur Bubbly.

I am also looking forward to working with Ravi Chopra in Babul. Rani Mukherjee will play my widowed daughter-in-law while Hemaji will play my wife in the film. I am also committed to work with Vidhu Vinod Chopra for Yagna.

Tabloid: Have you ever thought about taking up direction?
AB: Being an actor itself is a tough job, I have no intention of taking up direction in the near future. I hope I continue to get challenging roles, such as the one I have done in Black, in future too.