Just back from KBC recordings and another day filled with great contestants. They are respectful, full of joy and so so kind. The small towns that they come from are indeed no longer small. Communication and connectivity has made their lives so involved and informative that I am surprised at the kind of correct answers they give to the most … well .. urban centric questions !

Its been a delight to be among the crowds and the hopefuls, to share their moment of glory, and of course to be with them holding their hands when they stumble. Their simplicity has been astonishing. But their regard and respect is in tact, and that is their most endearing quality. God bless them !!

We record KBC on the floor in Film City, number 16. The same floor that I worked on for ‘Black’ with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Those were magnificent days. It was my first with Sanjay and firsts invariably are filled with apprehension and uncertainty. Working with a master always creates that feeling of not being able to live up to the expectations of the director and this director was no less. There was an air of finesse and grace and aesthetics even before you entered the set. A stickler for detail he always wanted every bit of property to be the finest and to be in the right place. His artistic eyes travelled continuously and on several occasions he would catch me as I retired to one corner of the set to rehearse. When the camera started he would remind the artist of the moment of rehearsal and provoke them to do what he had noticed them doing in an informal moment. At least on several occasions he told me so and I quite liked the idea of him incorporating those little informal moments that I spent alone with myself.

The first set for ‘Black’ as you know got gutted down by a freak fire on the floor and a lot of our good and arduous work was lost. It was heartbreaking for the director and most disturbing to all of us artists. Overnight the entire set of the house had burned down through a short circuit in the electronics and for many months and years this floor 16 was unusable.

We had all done some wonderful work during the schedule. As you know Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam were assistants on ‘Black’ to SanjayLB. They worked diligently and often were involved in training the little girl for the role she was playing in the film. I would notice for hours Ranbir would sit with Ayesha telling her how a blind and dumb girl would behave. And she came out trumps.

Then in the middle of the very first schedule a fire and sitting at home ready to leave for Studio 16 being informed of it and rushing off immediately to be with a most distraught Sanjay at his home. Luckily no one had been hurt, because it happened when the floors had shut for the day.

I had told Sanjay to get back to work instantly and not live in this world of loss. We would start again and make it look even better, I had said. And so we did. But I still feel that that first set was amazing. Once done it is difficult to relive or redo in the creative world. You move on maybe but to get back and reemploy, redesign, or simply cry over the change and loss is and does have a cathartic effect on people.

Sanjay refused to rebuild the set on floor 16 and refused to go back and shoot their. He had lost a great amount of his creation on that premise and to have suddenly been forced to reconsider it was what was disturbing him. It was untenable. We shot the film in many other studios, but never went back to floor 16. For years that particular floor remained damaged and forlorn, for, the fire had destroyed its very structure.

It has now been rebuilt and is functional again. I was invited by ShahRukh to visit it when he shot ‘OmShantiOm’ on it and it was heartening to see it back in its glorious state. But Sanjay never went back there. It was considered as a bad omen for him and that was it.

Sony has now in all its generosity built a large and spacious chalet for me by its side and I am embarrassed to occupy it. I am quite happy in my little vanity van, that remains parked by the door of the floor. The chalet invites one to actually settle down in there. Every possible requirement for a livable house has been provided by the channel and I do hope that I can do justice to it.

The rains have disappeared. They say the last showers fall around and upon Ganesh Chaturthi, the day the final immersion of the idol takes place. Ironically it has always rained on the day of the final ‘visarjan’ and then stopped.  Almost providentially ! The weather shall warm up and October shall become the most uncomfortable month, soon to be overcome by that gentle cold breeze of winter. Well, an excuse for winter.

Winters are best in the north and in Delhi in particular. The entire smell of the city gets replaced by the blossoming of the flowers, the smell of espresso coffee in all the restaurants, woolies out from the boxes and at night, the fire place to keep the cold away.

Ah !! One could carry on and on about the winters, but suffice for today ..

My love and gratitude to all -

I remain with love ~

Amitabh Bachchan