You were recently voted the Man of the Year by The Times of India poll. Why do you think your charisma endures across generations?

I am honoured and humbled by people of this country, the love and affection that they continue to shower on me, although I believe I am undeserving of this honour. I fail to understand why people put me in this exalted position. I don't feel comfortable assessing myself; I leave that to those wonderful polls that you conduct from time to time.

As an economic assessment, I think the value is too less. What you are doing is putting a price on an individual. Human beings cannot be valued in money terms, whether it’s Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek, Aishwarya or anyone. I don't understand the word "brand" though I understand it's the new commercial lingo. My value is with my family I look at Amitabh, Jaya, Abhishek, Aishwarya and Amar Singh as family I don't believe in the "brand."

You faced competition from a 40-year-old Shah Rukh Khan. With the success of Guru, the competition is said to be coming closer home, from 30-year-old Abhishek?
I would love to compete with Abhishek. And when we are in front of a camera both Abhishek and I are actors so, in a sense we are competitors. Competition propels and provokes you that somebody is around the corner. I would like to see Shah Rukh as an inspiration. I want to do better, make better films, so he can copy me.

Have you seen Shah Rukh's KBC? Can you tell the story behind your exit?
I chose to be out of it. I felt I was becoming mechanical. As an artiste, I needed to have the butterflies in my stomach that had stopped and I have yet to see Shah Rukh in KBC.

Do you get to say Gabbar's famous words, Ab tera kya hoga Kalia?
I'm not telling you but I can tell you that what we do in this film may become the byword for future Sholays. I am looking forward equally to all my films — Eklavya, Nishabd and Chini Kam, which I can best describe as a sugarless romance. Nishabd it is an 18-year-old's attraction for a much older man.

To move to Abhishek, many said the script was loaded in favour of Hrithik in Dhoom II. Do you regret Abhishek doing the role?
I am happy and proud he did it. It showed his commitment to the script, the film, his relationship with Adi Chopra who had asked him to do the film. Even knowing that his role was miniscule, he did the role to keep the brand Dhoom alive for future episodes. What I did not like was director Sanjay Gadhvi's criticism after the film that Abhishek was finished, a spent force. I found it very lowly that a director should denigrate his own artiste, his family. If you do not like him, don't work with him. Criticising Abhishek despite knowing that Hrithik had a bigger role was what I did not approve of. What I appreciate is Abhishek stuck around and proved wrong all those cynical about him. That is what he did in Guru.

How do you rate Guru?
It's a great film. There's a technical side and an emotional side. It's an uplifting experience and that is its success. My son-in-law has booked seats for all his staff at Escorts and he reported that afterwards their approach to problems became different. "We can do it, boss," became the refrain. That's good.

Abhishek has been doing many diverse roles lately. Would have have liked to do as many...
I would say I was not as adventurous when I was that age. The decision-making process was very tough you don't know what, where will be appreciated and suddenly Zanjeer happened and then all started designing films around it because we all fear commercial failure. Also because I was going away from what my family did, I was a sort of pioneer in my field. So I took fewer risks. Abhishek, on the other hand, is taking more risks normally he should be just doing Bunty aur Babli and Dhoom.