No Need For Indian Cinema To Be Apologetic: Bachchan

Jaipur: Indian cinema, long a lightning rod for critics for its unrealistic storylines, should not be apologetic about what it does, says Amitabh Bachchan.

"We are very happy with the kind of films we make. They touch 1.2 billion people,” Bachchan, 66, said at a literary festival in Jaipur.

“And generally, our films do have some basic goodness: good always triumphs over evil, our films are of hope, and we basically make films that give you poetic justice in three hours."

Bachchan, arguably Bollywood’s biggest superstar, recently wrote on his blog (http://bigb.bigadda.com) that British director Danny Boyle’s "Slumdog Millionaire", which received 10 Oscar nominations, might not have been such a success if an Indian had directed it.

The blog post was widely quoted by newspapers and TV channels. On Friday, Bachchan said the post was misunderstood by sections of the media.

"This wonderful film has got 10 Oscar nominations including one for a sound engineer, and so I am very happy," he said. "Of course I hope A.R. Rahman wins and brings another Oscar home."

The actor, who made his debut in “Saat Hindustani” 40 years ago and has reigned over the Hindi film industry since, said he never believed he was specially gifted.

"I've never believed that I was special or had some special quality in me. All that I am today is because of my parents and because of my fans who supported me through all these years," Bachchan said.

The actor said he did not feel he was missing out on a normal life despite constant media scrutiny.

"I don't think I've lost anything by becoming an actor … anything that I want to do, I can still do. I still go for a walk every morning," he said at a discussion on Bollywood memorabilia.

Bachchan, whose wife, son and daughter-in-law are also actors, said he made a conscious decision to not give son Abhishek a leg up in an industry notorious for its dynasties.

"(Wife) Jaya and I never attempted to do anything special for Abhishek. We had the means and we could have produced a film for him or thrown a grand lunch for important people but we wanted to make sure he stood on his own feet," he said.

Responding to a question on whether he picked films that had a good message, Bachchan said most actors chose films based on the director, the script and the character.

"If the film also sends out a good message to society, then that's good," he said.

In a country that witnesses frequent outbreaks of communal tension, Bachchan said cinema played an important role, almost by default.

"When you sit in a darkened cinema hall, you never ask if the person sitting beside you is Hindu or Muslim; we laugh at the same jokes, sing the same songs," he said.

"I think, sadly, there's no better example of an integrated India than in the cinema hall."

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