"I have never been so deflated" - Amitabh Bachchan 
By Frankly (Times Now), September 10, 2007 - 12:00 IST
"We have jumped off a second floor, without any padding. We felt that if we didn’t do it we would be probably thrown out," said Amitabh
Bachchan in a very special interview with Editor-in-Chief of Times Now channel, Arnab Goswami in his weekly show Frankly
Speaking. You guys have already tasted the first part of this interview. Now’s the time for a startling second part where Mr Bachchan talks
about one of the toughest scenes of his career in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand and how the supposed spontaneous scenes in Black looked
natural because of the number of rehearsals that had gone into it. So, without much ado, let’s dip our imagination in the stream of brilliance.
Yet again….
Arnab: When you sat with Ram Gopal Verma he told you about the role, something must have gone through your mind, what did you
want to or in your own way how did you want it to come out.
Amitabh: Nothing… just the joy and the essence of doing something that I have not done before.
Arnab: On the sets of that show and this…
Amitabh: And exactly the absolute thrill of being tested in the form of creativity which I know is perhaps not acceptable to the common
man as far as my roles are concerned and the opportunity to play something different having such a wonderful and large example prior to this
is to be able to do something different.
Arnab: Which is the most dangerous scene you think that you have done….
Amitabh: I just cant think of any there have been so many, but what I’m trying to say is we try to do all sort of crazy things. We have
jumped off a second floor, without any padding without any safety boxes to break my fall & we were young and we were keen to be in the film
and we felt that if we didn’t do it we would be probably thrown out….
Arnab: Can I pick up a slightly different scene?
Amitabh: Ya! sure…
Arnab: Black...the fermented black when she knows its going to snow...& I want to just go little bit behind into your mind as an actor…
how do you put yourself into a scene like that to bring out the emotions at that moment? You remember that scene...a little bit of what went
behind the scenes of the moment.
Amitabh: Yaa...see…the…
Arnab: Just try and go back, you’re so understated Mr Bachchan
Amitabh: I’ll tell you…one of the qualities of an artist is what you see as a viewer once the final product is placed before you. But I
really feel that you need to analyse & perhaps the cine-goer needs to analyse how that moment is created and therefore perhaps realize whether
they like the performance or not… Because what you’re actually seeing has come about after maybe eight or ten rehearsals…so in those 8 or 10
rehearsals we have actually enacted the same thing ten times…so we know exactly when the snowfall is going to come, at which line its going
to drop…we know when your co-artist is going to lift her hand and place it on your hand…what she’s going to say…what am I going to say in
response…these are all known to us.
Arnab: Spontaneity
Amitabh: But the fact that you feel as a viewer when the final product comes out that “My God! This was a spontaneous reaction!”
THAT’S really the beauty of the artist that despite knowing that this is what’s going to come from her to react to her & look as though it’s come
for the first time…but in fact we’ve actually gone through it ten times
Arnab: You’re so understated but I want you to tell me a little bit more because this is the huge curiosity factor on Amitabh
Bachchan…I’ll ask you one more scene
Amitabh: Ya sure
Arnab: I understand your point of view but try and look back…give us a little bit of a flashback…ok, the one scene which comes to my
mind is Anand…the Babumoshai scene…that one scene…do you remember? At that point…
Amitabh: I do remember…
Arnab: Can you please take us back through that moment??
Amitabh: Well, to take you back I’ll have to… (pause)
Arnab: Please…
Amitabh: Anand was I think going to be made with Kishore da & Raj ji…I maybe wrong here…Kishore Kumar & Mr Raj Kapoor. And then
for some reasons it couldn’t be done…then it was Rajesh Khanna & he was God at that time. I used to live with Mehmood bhai, the comedian, &
when he came to know that I’d been selected to do this doctor’s role he was aware of the script because I think at some point of time he was
also involved, either in the casting process… and he said even before I had heard the story or the script…well, when we went to Hrishida he
never told you the story…he just said “you’re doing my next film”…we just quietly stood like students & followed what he asked us to do…but
he said the film is going to be on Rajesh Khanna…don’t be under any pretensions there…obviously because I was a nobody. “But there is just
one scene in that film & if you can do that properly, you will be noticed”…and I asked him “what”…he says it’s the scene where he dies & you
breakdown and “remember just one thing… when you break down, imagine that Rajesh Khanna is dead…I mean, God is dead! How would you
react??” And this remained in my mind for months & months & months & months and when the scene came I was on absolute edge & I was
thinking of all kinds of terrible things that could happen…you know, death of loved ones, people that I was very close to…what would happen
to me & I didn’t eat & I didn’t sleep & I didn’t drink…and the scene kept getting postponed…it was happening somewhere late at night. And
with all these months of this thing playing on my mind & then on that particular day to be just so restless and wanting to give it my best….
When I was asked by Hrishida to stand in line for the shot & when he said “Action!” everything that I’d been holding inside me just came out in
one big burst…as though I’d lost my parents or my relatives or somebody…I just broke out and I felt my God! I’ve really done damn good, u
know…and he cut the shot and said “Amit, this is too much…don’t, don’t do all this…you don’t have to do all this. Just come and say your
line, that’s all, ok? go back!” I have never been so deflated in my entire life…but that’s what Hrishida was and Look what effect it had! because
sometimes as artists we forget that there is a power in the words you’re speaking…there is a power in the visual…there is a power in the
story…there is a power in what’s going to follow after you’ve given your shot…there’s power in the background music that’s going to
come…and all this is going to add up to that one single moment…so, Hrishida was right. If I’m going to be taking care of all these other factors
in just my individual emotion, it is going to ruin the scene.
Arnab: that was, that was butterfly… u think you’ll have a moment like that again??
Amitabh: I haven’t had one
Arnab: You’re looking forward to it?
Amitabh: Oh most certainly yes!
Arnab: Well, I’ll look forward to meeting you once again Mr Bachchan…Really a pleasure having you on Frankly Speaking…thanks very
much for talking to me Mr Bachchan. Thankyou
Amitabh: Thankyou…thanks very much Arnab!
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