We are taking you back to 2000 and Aditya Chopra’s drama Mohabbatein. The film, which starred Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan, and Amitabh Bachchan, was a huge success at the box office and garnered rave reviews from critics and fans.
In this special throwback interview conducted in 2000 with Subhash K Jha, Mr. Bachchan spoke about his role, working with director Aditya Chopra, and much more!
Your first post-KBC release, Mohabbatein, has been an overwhelming success. How does that make you feel?
I am really happy for Adi, Yashji, and everyone who worked on the film.
But there’s a general sense of disappointment about the length of your role in Mohabbatein?
The script was written a year-and-a-half ago. It was narrated to me about a year ago. My role remained exactly the way it was narrated to me. I like the script. It gave me the opportunity to work with the latest sensations in the production and direction fields. It also gave me the chance to work with Shah Rukh , Aishwarya, and all those youngsters. It was wonderful working with Yashji after so long. The last film we did together was Silsila eighteen years ago.
It doesn’t seem like 18 years.
No, it doesn’t. It was a wonderful experience, really. At this age, time, and moment of my career, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work in a set-up like this. I really can’t be too concerned about the length of my role, and so on. Yes, Crorepati has happened. And maybe it has had a certain impact on audiences throughout the country. But let’s not forget television and cinema are two different mediums. And I doubt the two can meet.
But the host of Crorepati is being seen as the actor in Mohabbatein. You have a whole new generation of fans.
I’m truly grateful for that. I owe this new phase in my career to Sameer Nair(who designed KBC) and Yash Chopra. But somewhere, people will have to differentiate between television and cinema. I think it is unfair to expect the same volume of audiences who see me on television, to see me in the cinema. It’s up to producers and filmmakers to decide how they want to use me now after Crorepati. I’m just happy being associated with such wonderful people like Yashji and Adi and such a wonderful film like Mohabbatein.
How do you respond to your fans saying they wish there was more of you in Mohabbatein?
That wasn’t in my hands. I had to follow the storyline that was narrated to me.I never demanded excess footage. I never did, and I don’t want to change that.
Are you now alert to your responsibilities towards those fans who have discovered you through Crorepati?
If you mean, will I be particular about the length of my roles, the answer is, I wouldn’t allow that to happen to me. I must look at my film career as a professional actor and leave it to my directors as to how much of me they want to use. As far as I ‘m concerned, I should continue to look at my roles instinctively regardless of their length. If producers and directors think this is what I should be doing, then I am very happy doing what comes my way. If I felt my role in Mohabbatein wasn’t substantial I wouldn’t have done it.
Your character, Narayan Shankar, lacks motivation. We don’t know why he’s behaving the way he’s doing?
To be honest, when Adi narrated the script to me, he told me where my character was coming from. But he didn’t want to go into that area in his narration since too much time would have been taken in explaining characters’ backgrounds. My personality was a presupposition in the plot. And I took it up from there. If he wanted to be more elaborate in the characterization of the youngsters, then that’s the director’s prerogative.
How different was it working with Aditya Chopra from Yash Chopra?
There was no real difference in the atmosphere on the sets. The difference, if any, was in the enthusiasm level. The amount of enthusiasm, conviction and organization which the new generation of directors generates, whether by learning from their seniors or on their own, is awe-inspiring.
KBC got you your sixth Filmfare award for acting?
Well, actually, besides the ones for the annual performance in Anand, Namak Haraam, Amar Akbar Anthony, Don, and Hum , I got three other special awards. I’ve gave up counting long ago(laughs).
But that’s quite a record!
No , others like Kamal Haasan and Shah Rukh Khan have won many more. There have been years when Shah Rukh has won two Filmfare awards during the same year. I feel happy to be recognized for my performance in Mohabbatein. Director Aditya Chopra who has virtually grown up in front of me. I think the role was very well written. It was a big challenge for me. The award makes me feel happy, though I’ve always maintained that the good wishes of friends, fans, and colleagues is far more important than any award.
