Quotes from Amitabh Bachchan

I had two surgeries during the early part of 2012, and I was advised to restrict my work load.

I don't have anything in particular to achieve; I don't want to go any particular direction. I just want to take up the challenges of life as we go along.

I feel that, particularly because of language, we are handicapped in getting a large world audience. But Hindi cinema has the same ingredients that appeal to the whole world.

'What will people say?' is a feeling every Indian girl grows up with.

It's a huge change from when I started in the 1960s, but what is really impressive is that the number of ladies on set, the women working on set is a huge percentage. There used to be no women. It was just the leading lady's mother, perhaps the hairdresser and the makeup person.

My opening words to anybody I hire are, 'I'm an extremely vulnerable person.'

I don't know how others think about me, but if I have to walk the streets, I will, and if I need to stand in a queue at the airport, that's OK.

I don't spend much time looking back at what happened. I do remember it, but I don't see any purpose of wanting to look back.

I would rather talk to a face than a camera.

Frankly I've never really subscribed to these adjectives tagging me as an 'icon', 'superstar', etc. I've always thought of myself as an actor doing his job to the best of his ability.

I have never been a superstar and never believed in it.

You don't see Indians in Hollywood films around which a story can revolve. As soon as we have a social presence in your society, I am sure there will be many actors from our part of the world that will be acting in Hollywood films.

Change is the nature of life but challenge is the future of life. So challenge the changes. Never change the challenges.

I've accepted that I was a failure in politics. I was not qualified for the job.

The Indian team does not need any best wishes - they are going to win anyway. I have been close to Sourav Ganguly, and I hope he does well in the World Cup.

I'm very thankful to directors and filmmakers who consider me in their films, and I hope I'm able to do justice to their films.

We play many emotions in our careers, emotions that in real life we would perform just once. For example, my character has died in about 10 films, so you have to keep searching for different ways to do it!

Please explain to me what being an icon is. How do you define it? I haven't been given a script. I don't know what the dialogues of an icon are.

I like poems and keep sharing them online.

I felt that for 20 years, I was wooing the people of my country and asking them to like me as an actor, and when they liked me as an actor, I told them, 'Now, you like my politics.'

I want to keep working. I shall continue to do my best.

Whatever I do becomes controversial.

The film industry is large enough and has many successful icons that have taken Indian cinema to shores beyond India. I think that Indian cinema itself needs to be applauded beyond one individual.

I like to feel the butterflies in the stomach, I like to go home and have a restless night and wonder how I'm going to be able to accomplish this feat, get jittery. That hunger and those butterflies in the stomach are very essential for all creative people.