Amitabh Bachchan, 84, says he’ll never direct, and isn’t retiring either: ‘I can’t even dream of it’
Amitabh Bachchan recalls his brush with death, and his 'new life' since
Nearly six decades into his career, Amitabh Bachchan says directing a film is something he has never seriously considered. Speaking to Subhash K Jha of Rediff shortly after his 84th birthday, the actor said he doesn’t understand filmmaking deeply enough to take charge behind the camera. His role, as he sees it, is to rise to the challenges other creative people set for him. “I can’t even dream of it. Because I don’t even know the craft well enough. Other creative people throw a gauntlet at me, and I pick it up. But that’s it,” he said.
He does offer ideas on set, he said, but the final call always belongs to the director, whom he considers the person in command. “Most of the time they reject my inputs. And happily, those films have done well. So I feel my suggestions are not worth taking. Otherwise, all my directors have been extremely compliant,” he said and added that he has never been a “difficult actor” and also believed that the “director is the captain of the ship.”
Retirement isn’t on the table either
Bachchan has no intention of slowing down. He briefly stepped away from films when he entered politics in 1984, but since returning he hasn’t thought about quitting. He asked why people seem so eager to see him retire. He also credited an unseen protective force with pulling him back from the brink of death more than once over the years.
Why should I think of giving up?” he said, and added, “Why are people so keen to retire me from my work?” He also shared, “I have come to the jaws of death and then been pulled back. Someone somewhere has protected me all these years.”
A birthday marked by gratitude, not celebration
The milestone itself didn’t call for a party, he said. To him it was an ordinary day, and he was simply grateful to still be working, with a body that keeps up with his drive. He recalled how his father, the poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, marked family birthdays by reading a poem written for that person. The ritual took on far greater meaning after the actor’s near-fatal injury on the set of Coolie. When his father read him his birthday verse afterwards, he broke down in tears. Bachchan says it was the only time he ever saw him cry.
Wealth, range and regrets
The Hurun India Rich List 2026 estimates his net worth at Rs 4,000 crore. That comes after he went bankrupt in the 1990s, when his company ABCL ran into trouble. Even so, Bachchan insists that money and markets aren’t his strong suit, and that he has never known how to promote himself. What he does take pride in is his range.
Few actors, he argued, have had a career as varied as his. It runs from his work with Yash Chopra, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Manmohan Desai in the ’70s and ’80s to his projects with a newer generation of filmmakers. He has now settled into senior character roles and is building on them.
Asked about unfulfilled wishes, he named three: learning to play the piano, working with Guru Dutt, and spending more time with his family.
Bachchan currently hosts the 18th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati.
