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Sonakshi's the only one at home who can say 'Khamosh': Shatrughan
Amitabh Bachchan's roles in Deewar and Sholay were first offered to him. He chose to enter politics while at the peak of his career. Actor Shatrughan Sinha talks of life and its regrets in an interview with Brunch.
Life in politics is demanding, while stardom has been commanding for me.
The biggest change that has happened in the film industry, according to you.
Technically, we have gone far ahead, while in terms of content, the less said the better. On another level, action has turned into violence; music into noise; and emotions are up for sale. There are a lot of films being made, but in most of them, the soul seems to be missing.How tough was the election fight this time around?
It was tough for the people who were against me, but as far as I am concerned, I was calm and confident.
You’ve had so many co-stars in your career. Who have you most loved working with?
Reena Roy, Hema Malini, Dimple Kapadia, Poonam Dhillon, Parveen Babi and Kimi Katkar. But of course my favourite will always be my wife Poonam Sinha. My darling daughter Sonakshi Sinha is my one and only favourite star these days.
The character that made you famous.
There have been quite a few. Chaino in Mere Apne (1971), Prabhakar in Kalicharan (1976), Vishwanath in the film Vishwanath (1978) and Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha in Khudgarz (1987).
At home, who tells you to be khamosh?
Initially, it was my dear wife, Poonam. But, now the only person who can say ‘Khamosh!’ to anyone, including her baap Shatrughan Sinha is papa’s darling daughter and mama’s baby, Sonakshi.
One piece of advice for youngsters.
I believe that confidence is my greatest strength that has brought me all the way here. My advice to youngsters is to have confidence too, since it brings you conviction and commitment to achieve your goals. And to succeed in any field, you need to strive to be better than the best or different. I don’t claim to be the best, but I am definitely different from the rest.
The biggest risk you ever took.
At the height of my career in film, I jumped into politics. However, the one thing common to both was that I achieved everything without any godfather.
The last line of your autobiography would read...
That I seek, need, desire and deserve forgiveness from anybody I may have hurt with word or action, knowingly or unknowingly. Apart from this, I want to share my gratitude and thank all the people who have made my life so beautiful.
- Interviewed by Veenu Singh
From HT Brunch, September 14
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