Amitabh Bachchan : Stories of common people move me

He has touched and inspired lives through his films and personal achievements but for megastar Amitabh Bachchan nothing is more important than simple acts of generosity by common people.

The 73-year-old actor, who celebrates his birthday today, is returning to the small screen as the host of “Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi”, which revolves around those, who have accomplished something extraordinary in their life.

Bachchan shot the first episode of the Star Plus show and said it is his good luck that he is getting to share screen with such people.

“Shooting the first episode was very emotional and heartwarming. It is moving to meet these people and to understand what motivates them to do what they were doing.

They do it without any hope of benefit or any kind of personal gain. It is wonderful to be in the company of such people,” he said in an interview.

Calling the stories of such people “exceptional”, Bachchan said, “They are not well off and are not people with means, they are ordinary people but they do extraordinary stuff and that is most attractive.”

The series, an adaptation of British show “Tonight’s the Night”, aims to inspire people to change their outlook and cherish the good that life has to offer. The “Piku” star feels the concept holds prominence in today’s times when negativity often gets better of us.

“The channel thought every day we get to hear negative stories… we do hear positive stories as well but they are less so why not concentrate on the good and celebrate that.”

Bachchan watched ‘Tonight’s the Night’ in London to understand the concept of the series. “I was at the sets and watched the show. I told the makers if they can recreate that atmosphere and ambience here then I will do it.

“They recreated exactly the same thing and not just the template of the show but the entire production because that also inspires you to do things correctly.”

When asked about the most entertaining moment on the show so far, the actor, while taking a dig at the media, said, “Giving interviews. I am meeting different journalists and all of them have similar type of questions but my behaviour with each one of them is different.

“Nothing else can be more challenging than how to answer the same question in a manner that it looks you are listening that for the first time. That’s a big challenge for us.”

“Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi” premieres on October 18 on Star Plus.

Inputs by PTI