The ladies and all the children in traditional dress, along with Vrinda ji my ’samdhan’, Aishwarya’s mother, had all gone to the Durga Puja at Ram Krishna Mission, so everyone looked pious and calm. Just before, the men of the house had a mock ManU vs Chelsea Soccer game at Prateeksha, where Chelsea goal keeper AB sr got a rocket free kick from football booted, ManU forward, Agastya. AB sr retired hurt with a stung wrist and AB jr and Agastya continued for a while, without any result !!

The festive season has begun and preparations for the days to follow are being discussed. For several years the festivals have been not celebrated - passing away of near and dear ones. Customarily no celebrations are entertained for a year of such tragedy. Last year because of 26/11 and the terrorist attack we had kept the Diwali dark. We hope and pray for peace and amity in the days to follow.

I did an interview for Rubina from Bombay Times, for their weekly magazine OPEN. A pleasant lady, whose journalistic ethics I have admired. It can be viewed at their site, since it is out in print at -

www.openthemagazine.com

But for those that may not access it here it is -

1. a) You changed television dynamics when you hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000 with TRP’s soaring through the roof. You are back almost after a decade as pop philosopher on Bigg Boss. What do you expect from the show, now that you have lent your stellar presence to it?
   

ANS //
I expect nothing more than being able to do the job assigned to me in as efficient a manner as possible. ‘Changing dynamics’ and ‘soaring TRP’s’ are for the producers of the show to assess. I am not aware what they mean or what they reflect. It will make me happy if the show does well. When the fruits of your labour taste good, it is a fulfilling and satisfying experience.

b) If you had a choice, who would you put inside the house from the film industry?

ANS //
No one !!

2. Actors turning to the small screen was something that you inadvertently kick started and the success you enjoyed subsequently prompted many film stars to follow suit in the years gone by - Govinda, SRK and now, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Whose hosting style do you like of the shows hosted so far?

ANS //
Stars from film hosting shows on the small screen gave the viewing audience an opportunity to see and hear their favourites as they were in real life. They were not playing an assigned role written for them by someone else. People liked what they saw and applauded them. So for the viewing audience each host was appealing, because they were able to see a facet of the actor hitherto unknown. Govinda, ShahRukh, Salman, Akshay are known to me. I know what they are in real life away from the sets and camera and they are all very appealing to me. Asking whose style of conducting a show I like, would be asking me to categorize their appeal to me. That would be wrong and unfair. They have all worked with me and have always shown me immense respect. Tell me how does one give marks to respect ?

3. How many hours of television do you watch in a day?

ANS //
Depends what kind of show I am watching. A sporting event would occupy me for the entire duration of the game, a serial perhaps for the duration of the episode or not even, news and debates till the topic is over and horror shows not even a few seconds !

4. What do you like most about the West Wing? Which character would you have liked to play in the show, if you were asked?

ANS //
I have liked the very concept of the format. Who would have imagined that the office of the President of the United States of America, would be material for a TV serial. The whole excitement of being able to position yourself inside those haloed portals is enough to keep one glued to the proceedings. Then as the events unfold, the speed with which incidents occur and are addressed is an education in screenplay writing and performance acumen. Each situation, each performer is so perfectly crafted that it is impossible to find even a minuscule flaw. Absolutely brilliant. Just observe the camera movements on shots. It is incredible how they have operated them with such finesse and elan. The timings of the artists, the entries and exits, the lighting and the steadycam movements are done to perfection. You cannot find a single piece of paper lying even at a distance to be out of place. And what of the artists !! They are all simply brilliant. Each chosen and performing to such perfection that it is impossible to imagine any other in their place.
I would have been happy to play an ‘extra’ or the ‘junior artist’ as we address them respectfully here in India, in the background, making my ‘passing’ on the odd cue, just so I would get an opportunity to watch and observe how magnificently each episode was recorded !

5. Aside from the news, which Indian show is your favorite?

ANS //
I like the debates and panel discussions and sports activities. On occasion the History Channel and National Geographic are of great interest to me.

6. Do you stick out a whole show or are you a channel surfer and a remote addict?

ANS //
A remote addict. Though if you were to disturb a sporting event that I was watching, you would be in serious trouble !!

7. Your blog, aside from being widely read and extremely popular is dreaded by the media now, in case they are next on your flog list. What do you make of that?

ANS //
This is a most exaggerated assumption. The media dreads no one and not most certainly, someone of my insignificance. The media is the conscience of the nation. It would be a sad day for any nation if their conscience lived in fear. My blog is not a flog destination. It is a medium that allows me to talk to myself, with a few listening on. If I have found inaccuracy in the reported media, I correct it. If I have found merit in their writing I have applauded it. The media has always been the one that asks the questions and in doing so has the ability to put the one that gives the answers on the defensive. Observe Prabhu Chawla, Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, Prannoy Roy, Arnab Goswami, Deepak Chaurasia and a host of other most efficient interviewers on the television. Their entire body language and demeanour is one of great authoritative superiority. Pan the camera now at their ‘meal for the day’, sitting opposite and you shall find all of us quivering there like rats soaked in water, ready to be devoured. My blog gives me an opportunity to ask the questions and for the media to answer them. This is a reversal they have not faced and are therefore wary of it. But why should they ? In a free and liberal society I have equal right to question. And I now have a medium where I can be heard without the intrusion or the tacit permission of the fourth estate. If you are not afraid to question, be not afraid to answer too. For far too long, the celebrity on interview has almost pleaded with the interviewer ‘I hope you are going to write something good about me’! I will not hesitate to admit that their is a sense of poetic justice now, when I hear from some rather prominent journalists who come to interview when they say – ‘I hope you are not going to write about us in your blog, we’re very scared of what you will say !’ Let the media be the watch dog of society. We must welcome that. But who’s watching the dog ? Or does he not deserve to be watched ?

8. What’s your favorite TV dinner / snack?

ANS //
Pop corn, wafers, chura, chikki, cranberry juice, khakra,….

9. In times of fickle friendships and pseudo relationships, taking time out of your busy schedule to be with your friend, Amar Singh in Singapore is praiseworthy, and conducting your work from there too. You have always stood by your friends, regardless of public perception or their situations. How do you juggle it all so well and make it seem so effortless?

ANS //
I do not know the meaning of ‘fickle friendships’ nor do I have any knowledge of what ‘pseudo relationships’ mean. Someone is either a friend or not a friend. What are fickle and pseudo doing there; there is no room for them. I also do not like the word ‘juggle’ that you have used. It conveys a manual physical act, deployed to manoeuvre a condition, which in my reckoning, requires nothing more than heart. I do not see any reason for me to justify my desire to be with Amar Singh ji. To me he is not a friend, he is a member of my family. I was aware of his medical condition and was aware of the amount of time it would require for him to heal. I therefore finished all my work by end June and came to Singapore to be with him for as long it would take for him to get back. I have not taken on any work, I have no films on hand. Only recently, on seeing his progress and his possible discharge, have I taken on a TV programme which requires my involvement from October. I have been by his side for almost 3 months now and not moved out for a single day. You say I have made it ‘seem so effortless’. Dear lady, the day I shall have to make an effort in friendship, it will be the end of the relationship !!

10. Abhishek and Ash were on Oprah recently. Will we see you and Jaya on her show sometime soon too?

ANS //
How would I know ? Ask Oprah that !

11. The year end sees a lot of your films releasing - Alladin, Pa and Teen Patti. Aside from your own, which films are you looking forward to watch?

ANS //
All of them !!

PS. Shanouk’s beautiful!

Is that a part of the questionnaire, or merely a remark !!

Warm regards,
Rubina A Khan
Film Editor, OPEN

Love,
Amitabh Bachchan