Covering Bollywood and the Hindi Cinema

CNN-IBN’s Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand has a brief chat with Big B and the topic of discussion was as usual SRK!

Rajeev Masand: Are you surprised by all the attention and interest that seems to exist about your supposed rivalry with Shah Rukh Khan?

Amitabh Bachchan: I’m not surprised. I know this is all a media build and therefore we take it very lightly and play along.

Rajeev Masand: Do you find yourself being provoked very often to answer all these sensational questions just keep the controversy going?

Amitabh Bachchan: Yes I actually said it in one of the programmes that you have no idea how much these TV channels are paying us to keep this war going. Shah Rukh and I have a little secret pact.

Rajeev Masand: The last time I asked you whether you had seen KBC 3, and you said didn’t have the time...

Amitabh Bachchan: But now I have.

Rajeev Masand: And what do you think?

Amitabh Bachchan: It’s fine. It’s a wonderful format actually. And Shah Rukh is doing a fine job. He has made it very light hearted. My brief when I was doing it was that it has to be dramatic, suspenseful and full of character, which is what I did. But he is fine.

Rajeev Masand: They say that the ratings of KBC 3 are nowhere close to that of the time that you did it. A lot of people ofcourse feel that KBC is just not the same without you.

Amitabh Bachchan: Yes?

Rajeev Masand: You don’t think so?

Amitabh Bachchan: I think if anyone did KBC it would be successful because of the format is good. It has been running successfully in 80-90 countries across the world. I’m not doing that and neither is Shah Rukh. So what is the reason? The reason is that the game itself is very powerful.