No question of legacy: Amitabh Bachchan

Big B says there’s no burden on any other member of the Bachchan family to live up to him. "I don’t look upon on them and say that they have to carry forward my torch. I don’t have a torch in the first place..."

From the time Abhishek Bachchan made his acting debut back in 2000 with JP Dutta’s Refugee to now, he has always been compared with his superstar father, Amitabh Bachchan. The senior Bachchan, a veteran of over 180 films, however, says that there should be no pressure on his son — or any other member of the Bachchan family — to live up to his reputation.

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“There is no question of legacy,” he says. “They are part of the same family, and they pursue the same profession that I do, and I wish them well. I don’t look upon on them and say that they have to carry forward my torch. I don’t have a torch in the first place.”

The actor is currently in Marrakech, Morocco as part of the Indian delegation at the International Film Festival of Marrakech.

He wears his fame lightly, saying that he considers himself just another member of the film industry doing his job — acting. “I’m a humble member of the fraternity, still working in films, and I look forward to doing some more films and taking up the challenge. That my work has been appreciated is another factor. I am very happy about that. That’s how I look at myself,” says the veteran actor.

About the festival, he adds, “I’m happy that I’m here as the part of the delegation, and I am humbled by the fact that another country celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema. It just shows how much love there is for our work.” The actor himself has stayed away from a film set for a whole year now, choosing to concentrate instead on television, because of his health, before and after the surgery he underwent earlier this year. However, he says he will start shooting in January next year.

"This year, I did only television because of my health. From January, I will start shooting for Mehrunissa, Satyagraha, Sujoy’s (Ghosh) film that he is writing, and one with R Balki. I’m also doing Bhoothnath 2," says the actor.