Amitabh minds his language

Big B is in the news for all reasons linguistic.

If he’s waxing eloquent in English on screen for his latest movie, that’s news. If his better half cheekily asserts her allegiance to Hindi, that’s bigger news. But he’s also the son of a literary figure who was exceptionally skilled in both Hindi and English.

What language did he speak at home? “At home we spoke almost exclusively in Hindi. At school, it was the reverse.” And is it from the refinement of language that Harivanshrai imbibed in them that Amitabh’s own almost classical style of language comes? “ Maine ise kabhi is tarah se dekha nahi. Jo man mein aata hai, woh likh deta hoon. Lekin mera aisa manna hai ki agar kisi bhaasha ka prayog karna hai, toh use sahi dhang se hi karna chahiye. ”

But on-screen dialogues in commercial cinema are hardly written with the focus on purity or finesse of language, are they? What does he do when the script asks him to voice things that are anything but refined? “In some cases, the character is such that his language will be of a certain type. But if I find something that I am not comfortable with, koi cheez meri zabaan par sahi tareeke se nahi baith rahi, ya mujhe lagta hai ki mujhe yeh nahi kehna chahiye, mai jo director hain, unse kehta hoon, aur kai baar woh meri baat maan jaate hain. But generally, I go with what’s given. Zyadatar main dakhalandazi nahi karta hoon ...”

Would he be open to playing a character that had to deliver dialogues like the ones flying around, for instance, in an Omkara ?

“ Wahan par main thoda jhijhakta hoon . I wouldn’t be comfortable with that.” We haven’t heard him utter a profanity on screen ever, have we? “Yes, I have tried to keep away from profanity. And from the physical touch of a kiss. The only exception to the latter was Black, but that was not a moment of lust, it was not a voyeuristic moment. It was actually one of the best moments in the film, one of a tremendous connect between the two characters.”

He’s oft written or spoken of agendas against him and the family. Does the constant sniping for one issue or another get to him?

“It comes with the territory. If you are a celebrity, zahir hai ki yeh sab cheezen hongi aapke saath . When I was born, I was a celebrity, since I was the son of Harivanshrai Bachchan. And over the years I have learnt that things are this way. And I have learnt that we should be cautious about what we do, what we say, because anything we say or do could be used in a totally different manner. Words, as I said in my blog, have a wonderful way of being twisted around to interpret something totally different from what they were intended to say...”

Is there any pressure on him still, after the rounds of apologies and dropping of campaigns? He has no regrets at apologising, but clearly doesn’t wish to retrace those steps. “The matter is over, let us leave it behind now.” He may, but will the trail of words leave him, just yet? Unlikely. But then, as he knows, it comes with the territory...