”Wazir” not a physically limiting role : Amitabh Bachchan

He may be playing a wheelchair-bound character in his upcoming film “Wazir”, but megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he never felt that his role was physically limiting in the movie as he was too excited to tackle it in the first place.

The Bejoy Nambiar-directed thriller is about the unusual friendship between a paralysed chess grandmaster named Pandit Omkarnath Dhar, played by the 73-year-old actor and Farhan Akhtar’s Danish, who is an ATS officer.

Bachchan depended on Nambiar and says his approach to the role in the movie was assisted by the director.

“I do not think it was limiting… It was exciting to be doing a role that I had not done before… The approach to the character was dictated by the director,” Bachchan told PTI in an email interview.

The actor feels “Wazir” has the potential to be a great thriller, thanks to its unique storyline, which will keep the audience hooked to their seats.

“Its story is unique and the way it has been presented is also intense and intriguing. It is a thriller with drama and emotion.”

“Wazir”, which will hit theatres this Friday, has been produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who had initially planned to make the film in Hollywood.

Bachchan, who made his Hollywood debut in 2013 with a special appearance in Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby”, said he would love to do the Hollywood version of “Wazir” if approached.

Besides being busy with the promotions of “Wazir”, the actor is also shooting Sujoy Ghosh-produced “Te3n” in Kolkata, which is again a thriller.

But Bachchan attributed the back-to-back thrillers as a mere co-incidence and not a conscious choice.

“I have not found a liking for thrillers .. Thrillers have found a liking for me,” he joked. .
n a career spanning more than four decades, Bachchan has done myriad roles- be it playing the angry young man in the ’70s in films, the action star or the powerful supporting characters later in the 2000s.

In the past decade, the actor has donned challenging characters in films like “Black”, “Sarkar”, “Cheeni Kum”, “Paa” and “Piku”.

“Each generation and period in the profession of filmmaking shall go through changes and I am just happy that I have had the good fortune to be involved in the process for so many years,” he said.

Bachchan, except for the five year gap due to his ill-health, has never taken a break from work. When asked how important is continuity in an actor’s life, he said, “With each working day is a lesson in learning .. I wish to learn each day.”

Inputs by PTI