How much can, a man do?

How much can, a man do?

What’s “ the big B doing to himself? I just listen to his day’s schedule and my mind staggers. He leaves home at seven in the morning after seeking the blessings of his parents to reach Film City where he has to start shooting for, Kaun Banega Karordpati. It’s not an easy job at all, I feel when he describes the whole days work after wrapping up three episodes, which he did in the initial stages when he did three episodes in a day but he is no superman. He now shoots only two episodes unless there is an emergency and more episodes are needed quickly. He now shoots two episodes and they are enough to tire him both mentally and physically.

He reluctantly rests for half an hour in his van (every star goes on changing cars like little boys but “the big B” is still very faithful to his DCM van, number BHL 5848, the same van which his one-time friend, the late Manmohan Desai had first bought and inspired him to buy the same van which is almost like an apartment). He is woken up by Pravin, his man Friday to get ready for his shooting for his feature film, “All The Best”, being directed by Vipul Doshi, a newcomer. He shoots till eleven or even till late midnight and then completes some dubbing which he completes by three or four in the morning. A few hours’ sleep (some say he suffers from insomnia, what kind of rest is this?) and he is once again back to Film City to shoot for KBC. Jaya Bachchan calls Film City his home these days. He is fifty eight, an age when most men retire I tell him. He just says: “Kya karen? Kaam karna padta hai. Jab tak kaam kar sakenge kam karenge”.

This was the same man who when he had gone into retirement for five years had said: “I can’t make up my mind. I don’t know whether I will come back to films. I have worked hard enough. I badly need some rest, some time to spend with my ailing parents and Jaya and Abhishek and Shweta. Now with the kind of work that he has on hand the “big grandfather” seems to have just began his career. And even as I wonder about the wonders his working and going on working I also wonder how he finds the time to finish all his other office work, social work and other activities and to rise to help the nation in times of crises in any and every form he can.

I also wonder how he is going to fight what now seems to be a long almost unending battle with time when he is trying to find all the ways and means to make KBC, another KBC for children and one KBC for couples and than start shooting for a number of films he has signed. The first with son Abhishek Bachchan is to start next month. Then there is the “family film” with himself Jaya and Abhishek and then start other films for directors like Karan Johar, Rakesh Mehra and the veteran S. Raamanathan. I wonder why Raamanathan who had given him his second break almost thirty years ago is stuck up with his film with Amitabh and Vijaya Shanti of the South.