I’m now doing a balancing act: Shweta Bachchan
Shweta Bachchan, the soft-spoken, articulate and most private member of the Bachchan family, is currently hosting NDTV’s new show ‘Next Gen’ and says she is doing a balancing act between being a homemaker and her newfound career.
“The entire format (of the show) revolves around me. While my schedules so far revolved around my kids I’m now doing a balancing act. I never had to take out so much time for anything but my home. It’s just 12 episodes right now. Let’s see how it goes. I certainly don’t feel pushed to a corner,” Shweta told IANS in an interview.
Shweta says she’s happy with what she saw of herself as an anchor, though there are loads to improve too.
“I saw myself in the first episode. I guess I was okay. There’re hundreds of things that I could’ve done better. I’d say I barely passed muster on the first episode. Lots of room for improvement.”
Shweta apparently is scripting a few episodes of “Next Gen” as well.
“Like everything else in my life TV is not something I planned. I got an offer from NDTV. My mother and father were very encouraging as long as I was comfortable with it. My kids are older, and I’ve lots of free time to give to other activities. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years. I’ve given them all my time. So when this offer came to me I thought, why not?”
Mom Jaya was a little concerned about her daughter’s plunge into television. “I’m her child, and this is a first for me. Her reactions were all emotional. But she did advise me to just be my natural self on camera.”
Shweta admits that being a Bachchan itself is a huge responsibility and adds: Even if I don’t do well on the show I am okay, as long as I don’t do anything to upset or embarrass my family, or take away from anything they’ve achieved. My family has built up such a reputation for itself, and I wouldn’t want to besmirch that in any way.”
Not once did she think of acting. “I don’t have what it takes. I’ve neither the face nor the voice. And besides, I didn’t have the temperament for it. I wouldn’t be able to devote such a large chunk of my time to one thing. You know being an actress is a calling. And it wasn’t my calling. My main calling in life is to be a mother. And if the show doesn’t work out, I’d be happy to go back to where I came from.”
Shweta has been so busy with “Next Gen” that she hasn’t yet seen Amitabh Bachchan’s film “Nishabd”, touted as Ram Gopal Varma’s take on “Lolita”.
“It was a difficult role for my dad and he’s been praised to the skies. The fact that he had the courage to take up such a role is commendable.”
On Jaya giving up her career to look after her home, Shweta says: “It isn’t for me to comment on what she did. Everyone makes one’s own decisions. I’m sure she was a 100 percent convinced about what she was doing then, as she is about what she’s doing now.”
Jaya got the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award this year and Shweta was surely a proud daughter.
“Mom made that evening special. She pulls at my heart strings. I was so embarrassed to be visibly moved. I’ve never been able to watch her movies. I always cry when I watch her emotional scenes.”
She’s equally proud about her brother Abhishek too.
“He had to wait for his career to come together, and it wasn’t easy. He handled himself with dignity. And when I saw him in ‘Guru’ I was left speechless. He had completely surrendered himself to the character.”
— IANS
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