I wish I could open my stomach and show you how nervous I am : Amitabh Bachchan

Diplomacy could well be Amitabh Bachchan’s middle name. You will rarely catch him saying a wrong thing, he’s painstakingly politically correct. But that’s when he is in front of the media, answering pointed, sometimes pesky sometimes inane questions. But put him on a stage, with the spotlight firmly on him and you will see the magic and the legend that’s Amitabh Bachchan. Tuesday evening saw a jam-packed house witnessing Bachchan’s return to a new season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. And as someone who’s worked with him and seen him work from close quarters on the show, rightly said, “It’s as if time stood still, as if the third season went by in a blur, and he returned to what he started out with 10 years ago and the first two seasons!” When Bachchan stepped on stage gently telling a journalist (who was handpicked to play a mock game with him at the launch event), in his trademark baritone ‘Chaliye, aap aur hum khelte hain, Kaun Banega Crorepati,’ it was goose-bumpy stuff. His dry wit peeped through the entire event as at one point when the journalist told him that he had read all good things about him, Bachchan remarked poker-faced, ‘Really, which city do you live in and which papers do you read because the city where I live, when everyday something bad is written about me!’ making the room break into an uproarious applause. Cut to the media room where a tired Bachchan is answering five questions at a time! There are many questions to ask and his patience is wearing thin but he grins and bears it. KBC signifies a whole lot of things to different people. What does it mean to him? “It means a great philosophy to me. This whole show of answering general knowledge questions and winning a crore of rupees which can change fortunes and lives! It’s a unique way of earning a crore of rupees. And this time, Sony has upped it to five crores. I believe the show was conceptualized by a philosopher and a scientist. It’s unique, interesting, nerve-wracking, tension-filled, entertaining and this time it will be quicker and sharper. That’s what I like about it.” He claims to still have butterflies in “my stomach” despite being there two times over. “I wish I could open it and show you how nervous I am. Of course, it felt good when I first went on the sets this time around. It felt like I was coming home, the team was the same, yes, the channel is different but it was good coming back to it.” Does he think he’s more at ease hosting a show like KBC which suits his persona more than a Bigg Boss which is more mass? “No, I don’t think the quality of the show has got anything to do with my decision of doing a show or not. If I make a commitment to doing a show, I see to the end of it.” Er, speaking of commitment, it reminds us of Salman Khan’s famous ‘Ek baar maine commitment kar li toh phir main khud ki bhi nahin sunta,’ from the film Wanted. Speaking of Salman Khan, Bachchan has no advice to give the new host of Bigg Boss, as he says, “I am sure he will be very good.” So who else is he excited to watch on the small screen? Salman Khan in Bigg Boss, Akshay Kumar in Master Chef? “Everyone,” he says with a dead pan expression. End of question. Finally, how does he take the success or the failure of a show? Does it affect him? “Yes, it does. After all the hard-work we put in, we want it to succeed, we want it to entertain the viewers. Yes, a failure does matter and all I can do is work harder the next time.” Well, October 11 is the D-day. The day when he was born, the day when KBC would begin its new season, the show which resurrected the star, his career, got him glory, accolades, reversed his fortunes and of course gave him another chance at the cinemas (and how!). We hope he works his magic this time, too, it’s difficult and tougher this time around, yes, given the competition around but then he’s not short on the magic that’s Amitabh Bachchan!