Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan says it is important to be open to a different point of view to one’s work, especially in the creative filed.
At the opening day of Tata Literature Fest on Thursday evening, Big B and MP-wife Jaya Bachchan were in conversation with writer Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi at the launch of his book The Rabbit and the Squirrel, where the author asked both of them how they deal with criticism.
Jaya Bachchan said, “You are asking the wrong person. You should ask him (Bachchan). He is the right person to answer this question.” As the crowd laughed, she added, “I actually don’t care.”
Amitabh Bachchan first joked that criticism guarantees that people are actually following your work. “It’s important for us, in the creative field. If no one goes to see our films, it would be bad. So, that’s one of the first things that comes to your mind.”
He then added that most of the times critics are right about an artiste’s work because they point out things that the artiste is unaware of. “I would accept criticism because it gives you an aspect of your work you may not be aware of. There are many critics. I am sure there are many here who are able to have that perception, who are able to go beyond what you have written or have a different view point. I think it’s important for anyone in the creative filed to know that. Many times, we are unaware of it. Most of the times, critics are right, we are wrong,” he said.
The actor, however, also said that he has his own way of dealing with criticism that he finds unfair. “In such situations, when you feel they have been unfair, cut that criticism and stick that piece of the paper on your bathroom wall and every morning, look into the mirror and say, ‘One day buddy, I am going to disapprove you.’”
Interestingly, his actor-son Abhishek, at an event two months ago, mentioned how he has been following this method since the beginning of his career to keep himself going despite many misses.
