Big B on playing 'Bbuddah...' and becoming a granddad

Mumbai, June 26 (IANS) Set to become a grandfather soon, Amitabh Bachchan says it was wonderful to enact a flamboyant character in "Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap" at this stage in life. He adds he played the character with as much sincerity as he did a sober person in his earlier movies.

He was asked: "Ironically while you prepare to become a grandfather, you are playing a 60-year-old cool dude in your new film 'Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap'. A bit of a dichotomy there?"

Amitabh Bachchan: Let the dichotomy exist in the minds of those that consider it to be one. For me it is wonderful that I can enact a role at this stage which you call a cool dude, whatever that means! The challenges as an actor shall always provide opportunities that may not necessarily be viewed as realistic.

The private persona of an artist does not always jell with his or her role on film. Do artists that play negative roles get viewed as being villains in their homes as well? Actors on film, stage, TV and other modes of creativity would all be living in a dichotomy then!!

Q. How cool does it feel when youngsters call you the youngest (at heart) grandpa in the entertainment industry?

A. No one has called me that yet. But were they to I would consider it favourably.

Q. You are an intrinsically sober soul. How difficult was it playing the flamboyant and loud character in "Bbuddah..."?

A. I would question your opinion or your charge of me being intrinsically a sober soul. And I would wish to know too how and why you reached such a conclusion. 'Intrinsically' would denote that you have had access to my insides. That is questionable!

But that apart, I would play a flamboyant and loud character in "Bbuddah..." with equal sincerity as I would a sober intense individual in an "Anand", a "Deewar" or an "Agneepath"!

Q. There are three generations of heroines vying for your attention in "Bbuddah...". How does that make you feel?

A. Wanted!!

Q. 2011-12 are again decisive years for you. Besides becoming a grandfather, this period will see you play a variety of roles in films that range from the loud ("Bbuddah") to the grim ("Aarakshan") to the action-packed ("Department"). How would you define this period?

A. Versatility is what most artists hope to be attached to during their years of creative work. If in these years of my career I am getting the opportunity to portray different kinds of genre, then I am happy.

Q. Tom Hanks recently said he'd love to do a film with you?

A. He has probably googled the wrong person...!!

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Bbuddah - Hoga Terra Baap