It's not going to change the equation we have: Big B

Says Amitabh Bachchan on the Deepika Padukone party controversy; talks about the Ray connect with Piku.

It's a little past noon and Amitabh Bachchan bounds in from the gym upstairs with the energy of a 16 year old. Looking at him, it's hard to imagine that the 72-year-old actor, who is spearheading a Hepatitis B campaign, has been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. The ailment isn't the fallout of alcohol addiction but of a blood transfusion. After an accident on the Coolie sets in 1982, he needed 60 bottles of blood, one of which arried the Australian antigen. By the time he learnt of its presence, it had eaten away 25 per cent of his liver.

That hasn't stopped Bachchan from living and campaigning for a healthy life. He promotes diabetes detection vans and polio vaccines, even sets himself up as a medical specimen to prove that TB is not a "poor man's disease" or incurable.

He's focussed on health without being obsessed with it, unlike his recent screen avatar, Bhashkor Banerjee in Piku whose emotions are linked to his motions and whose world revolves around isabgul, homeopathy pills and a litany of ailments. Till, inspired by a Japanese veteran, he spends a day pedalling through Kolkata, revisiting old haunts, snacking on kachori and jalebi, and finishing off with the best motion ever. After that, he has nothing more to live for.

"Shoojit (director Shoojit Sircar) and I had planned that Bhashkor would die with a smile but later this seemed somewhat contrived. So, he just passes away peacefully in his sleep, evoking empathetic smiles from the viewer, many of whom would wish their dear ones to go away just as painlessly," says the actor who has died many times in reel life or watched a co-star pass away.

He recalls filming the death scene in Anand, weeping inconsolably with his head buried in his buddy's chest as the tape plays out his last words, Babumoshai, zindagi aur maut uparwale ke hath mein hai jahapana... "My hair was tickling Rajesh Khanna who started laughing silently and I joined him.

Fortunately, it was a top angle shot so nobody could see our faces," he reminisces.

Nostalgia, he points out, needs no provocation. Piku, made without a story, focussing on the ambience and chatter in a regular Bengali household, brings back a flood of memories. The film, which culminated in a homecoming, took the actor back to Kolkata where he'd headed in the '60s in search of a job.

"Every morning I'd wake up, put on my jacket, knot my tie, and visit offices with my bio-data. During monsoons, I'd roll up my trousers and wade through kneedeep water in Esplanade. Dinner was sometimes four anna phuchka at the Victoria maidan. Money was short and I didn't want to borrow from my parents," he flashbacks.

After marrying Jaya Bhaduri, his circle of friends extended to include comedian Rabi Ghosh whose risque jokes still make him guffaw. He's sad that some of the laughing banter in Piku was edited out because Shoojit felt typically Bangla phrases would be unintelligible to people outside the state. "Who would understand a phrase like ghorar dim? Horse's egg? What nonsense! That's what it literally means," he chuckles.

Kolkata reminds him of conversations with Satyajit Ray in his room strewn with books and papers. "He knew exactly where every paper was," he marvels. "Today, when Jaya tells me my study is a mess, I remind her that Manikda's was a mess too."

He's watched the maestro play the piano. In a scene in Piku he has replicated the same simple notes on his sitar which had played in the opening scene of Charulata as Madhabi Mukherjee moves from one window to the next, watching Kolkata meander.

Piku, which is in the Rs 100-crore club, has forged a connect with the audience who sees their dada, nana or baba in his character. "Even Jaya who is normally reticent about offering her opinion on a film, loved it and pointed out that it didn't feel like a film, it was more like watching a family who'd entered your home," he beams.

There's been talk about him not being invited by Deepika Padukone to a party to celebrate Piku's success. "Let's not stretch this matter anymore, enough has already been written and said. It happens sometimes. It's not an issue and is not going to change the equation we have. Deepika is a wonderful girl, cultured with good upbringing," he asserts, reciting a verse from his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan's poem, "Jo beet gai so baat gai, Jeevan mein ek sitara tha, Maana woh behad pyaara tha, Woh doob gaya toh doob gaya, Amber ke aangan ko dekho, Kitne iske taare toote, Kitne iske pyaare choote, Jo choot gaye, phir kahan mile... Par bolo toote taaron par, Kab amber shok manata hai... Jo beet gai, so baat gai..."

Currently, he isn't doing any film, apart from a 'special appearance' in R Balki's next. He says he's in talks with several makers but is waiting to get the shooting schedule of KBC before he allots dates to Sujoy Ghosh's production and to Balki with whom he'll make another film in which he has a central role. He adds, "I've also had a meeting with Anurag Basu for Jagga Jasoos but he's still in the writing process."

He'd like to do more TV despite Yudh's failure. "Maybe it was too sophisticated or the story was wrong. A lady said that when she can see a well-dressed me on KBC why would she want to see me ill on another show," he says gravely.

For now, it's the gym again as he bounds out of the room. The man is indefatigable!