Piyush Mishra on Amitabh Bachchan working non-stop at 80, wants to ask what his ‘quest’ is: ‘Where do you want to stop’

Piyush Mishra expressed his awe of Amitabh Bachchan, and said that he hasn't seen anybody work as hard as he does, at his age.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | May 11, 2023 11:13 AM IST

3 min read

Piyush Mishra and Amitabh Bachchan in Pink.

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Actor-writer-musician Piyush Mishra said that he has reached that stage in life where he is curious about what lies ahead. He said in a new interview that he probably doesn’t have more than 20 years left to live, and because he is a calmer person now than he ever was, his mind is preoccupied about larger questions. He said that he wants to ask Amitabh Bachchan about this as well, because nobody else works with quite as much intensity at his age. Bachchan had written about how he was asked a similar question by a 5-year-old during a shoot.

In a chat with Film Companion, Piyush Mishra said that he wants to as Amitabh what drives him to continue working non-stop, and what level of achievement will finally be enough for him. The two actors worked together in the critically acclaimed film Pink.

Also read | Piyush Mishra opens up about differences with Anurag Kashyap, says they can’t talk for more than 15 minutes: ‘Our political views, ethical views don’t match…’

He said in Hindi, “You can’t spend your entire life working. Sometimes, I look at my colleagues and wonder if they ever get tired of chasing stardom. How much can they work, what level of success is enough? How much money is enough? They can’t turn into Amitabh Bachchan, can they? There is no one else like him, and nobody works as intensely as he does, even at the age of 80.”

He continued, “I’ve never had a chance to ask him this, but I want to. I want to know what his quest is. I want to ask him, ‘Where do you want to go? There has to be an end, where do you want to stop?'” He said that artists, unlike others, have the luxury of being able to work for as long as they want to, as long as they are able to create.

In a recent interview, he recalled a story about going to the Bachchans’ house for a party after Pink became a hit. He said that he had too much to drink, and excused himself after noticing Jaya Bachchan giving him looks.

Amitabh, in an earlier blog, had related a humorous incident when a child asked him to retire and chill, like his grandparents did. “I was at work for the RBI campaign and in the scene was a little kid about 5 or 6 years of age .. in the middle of a rehearsal he turned to me and said .. ‘excuse me , how old are you ?’ I said ‘80′ !

“He snapped back ‘ Oh ! so why are you working ? my grandparents are sitting at home and chilling .. you should do that also ..!!’ I did not have a reply for him .. Primarily because I was astonished at the precocious veracity of this 5 yr old ! And secondly, I did not have an answer !” he had written.

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