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Q: Bachchan and Bachchan in Sarkar!

To me, Amitabh and Abhishek are completely different actors. And even if they weren't related I'd still want only the two of them for the two roles in Sarkar. I'm not impressed by gimmicky attempts to bring exciting combinations together.

For me, the characters dictate the actors. And Sarkar demanded Amitabh and Abhishek. Sarkar was a project that I had in mind for some years now. By the time the script crystallised, a lot of time had passed. But I knew I wanted the senior Bachchan in the title role.

Q: Their combination does generate a lot of curiosity?

I don't care. I made them do exactly what the script required without worrying about what the so-called market expected from me. Let's be honest. I designed Sarkar for Amitabh Bachchan. Abhishek came in later.

I was too much in awe of the senior to concern myself about the junior. Like most moviegoers I grew up watching the senior Bachchan doing amazing things on screen. To do justice to his presence in my work I had to design something that was as good as his best works. Whether I succeeded or not is secondary. I took my time to conceive a role that would showcase Amitabh Bachchan the way I wanted to see him. Were it not for Mr Bachchan I wouldn't have made Sarkar.

Q: After Black his performance in your film will be carefully watched….

Personally, I don't like seeing Mr Bachchan in a film like Black. For me, he's a superstar. I'm not interested in seeing him as an actor. I want to see him larger than life.

Q: But he's a brilliant actor!

I'm not denying that. But to me his stardom is what his talent is all about. I want to see him as a superhero all the time. I'd hate to see him as a physically disabled person. I hero-worshipped him, and still do. To me, he's the big brother who'll take care of my problems. In Sarkar, I want to recreate the intensity that he exuded in Zanjeer and Deewaar, obviously keeping his age in mind. I think he's the only actor in Indian cinema who can hold the camera without saying a word. He always seems to be communicating directly with every member of the audience. You're awed and inspired by that one impenetrable stare. That's awesome.

Q: What have you done with that stare?

It's my 'stare'way to heaven. To me, Mr Bachchan drinking tea from a saucer is more incredibly performance-oriented than some other actor doing a complex emotional sequence.

Like I said, he can hold the camera with his personality. In Don, audiences clapped when he walked down the hotel lobby. What's that! Not a performance, but the persona. I've tried to recreate the same aura in Sarkar.

Amitabh Bachchan would've made the same impact even if he was a salesperson or a taxi driver instead of an actor. It's in the way he carried himself.

As an actor, he reaches out to the widest number of people. He doesn't need camera props and technique to make him look magnetic. He's impressive from within. Other actors can wear the best designer clothes. But they can't equal the intensity of Bachchan who came with grime on his face in Kala Patthar and Deewaar. His unwashed appeal is amazing. He's one of the masses and yet larger than life.

It's almost a cliche to say that you dreamt of working with Amitabh Bachchan. Every director says the same.

But I had the arrogance to think I could make him do things he had never done before.

What happened was the opposite. Mr Bachchan has taken Sarkar much beyond where I could ever take it. Many actors give good performances without understanding the craft. But Mr Bachchan understands the craft and yet remains completely authentic onscreen. He adds immensely to the writer and director's vision.

Q: Were you intimidated working with your idol?

As a director, I'm always prepared. There was no question of getting intimidated. My observation on Amitabh Bachchan's career was that over the years, the directors began to depend too much on his persona. The one-liners in Deewaar and Namak Haraam became one-pagers in subsequent films. I found that tense element missing in his recent films.

In Sarkar, I wanted to recreate that tense aura of the one-liners. I wanted to let his silences speak louder than his words. Even in real life he has the habit of looking blankly at you, so that you don't know how his mind is working.

Yes, the interaction with him was definitely exceptional. I'm the lion who has tasted blood. I'll work with him again and again.

Q: So unlike Black he's less wordy here?

He's very silent in Sarkar.

Q: And Abhishek? What do you mean when you say he's a better actor than Amitabh?

When Mr Bachchan came he grew on us. I didn't know who he was. Then one day I saw him in Zanjeer, Deewaar, Sholay…. His personality grew in my mind.

As for Abhishek he came in as Amitabh Bachchan's son, so the expectations were extraordinarily high.

And then on top of that, Abhishek was made to do all those NRI films which didn't suit him.

If Mr Bachchan followed up Zanjeer with those Rajesh Khanna films from the earlier era, I doubt he would be such a big star.

Q: Do you think Salim-Javed had a lot to do with Amitabh's stardom?

The director or writer can't be credited with his success. It all depends on right timing. Shah Rukh is such a huge star because he's doing the films that suit him. I loved him in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. I think it's very progressive cinema… Every star is a product of his time. I don't think Shah Rukh would've worked in Zanjeer or Deewaar. When Abhishek came he wasn't being given the chance to develop his own identity. In Naach, which was done with a modicum of realism, his capability was tapped, though not fully. I think I've done that in Sarkar. I've understood his potential here. Mr Bachchan would've done this kind of thing in the beginning of his career.

Q: But you came close to working with Abhishek on several earlier occasions.

Yes, I knew there was an incredible dignity and thehrao in him. When I finally worked with him, his novelty struck me dead-on. I think Abhishek is a very, very different actor from his father. Though there's a genetic likeness their approach to a scene and mode of performance are remarkably different. He's extremely involved on the sets. I'd listen more to Abhishek's than his father's suggestions. Abhishek is extremely perceptive. His understanding of life is more contemporary than mine or Mr Bachchan's.

Q: Do you like taking suggestions from actors?

I won't call it suggestions but participation. No director can go beyond the actor. It's the actor who has to finally feel and express the emotion. Cinema is completely the actor's medium. Eventually, the audience reacts to the actor's expression.

Q: Abhishek told us how petrified he was about shooting with his dad?

I doubt he meant it. Abhishek is one of the most confident persons I've met. During Sarkar, he was never intimidated by either me or Mr Bachchan. Abhishek isn't petrified by anything. I believe if Amitabh and Abhishek belonged to the same generation they would've been very stiff competition for each other.