Shamitabh is Not Similar to Abhimaan: Amitabh Bachchan

Mumbai: The story of Shamitabh revolves around the ego clash between two characters but Amitabh Bachchan says it bears no similarity with his 1973 hit film Abhimaan.

In Abhimaan, Big B and his wife Jaya Bachchan played singers whose marriage hits the rock when the husband finds it hard to deal with the growing popularity of his wife.

"Abhimaan was the story of a couple where the wife was more talented than her husband. In Shamitabh it's a story of two people. One person has something which the other person doesn't. Then comes the role of Akshara, who is a journalist. She is the one who will evaluate the two and get them to come together. The story is around these two people and their egos," Mr Bachchan said in an interview.

Directed by R Balki, who has worked with Mr Bachchan in Cheeni Kum and Paa, the film also stars Tamil superstar Dhanush and debutante Akshara Haasan. The film will release on February 6.

The trailer of Shamitabh shows the actor in a drunk state. Mr Bachchan who has played similar roles in films like Sharabi, Do Anjaane, Amar Akbar Anthony and Hum among many others, said he delivers such scenes without touching the alcohol.

"He (his Shamitabh character) is frustrated in his life and sometime he takes the help of alcohol. There were many roles in the past where I had played such scenes but in every film the situations and the characters are different. Thus changes the way you perform on screen," Big B said.

"But, I strictly believe that drinking alcohol is not good for an actor. There are some actors who drink before doing such a scene but I don't believe in that and will never do that," he added.

2014 was a busy year for the 72-year-old actor as he shot back-to-back films - Shamitabh, Wazir and Piku - besides shooting his TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

"I am an artist. There are different looks for each film and I enjoyed working in them," said Mr Bachchan, who collaborated with a Hollywood make-up artiste besides his make-up man Deepak Sawant to create the unkempt look in Shamitabh.