Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, whose relationship with the Gandhi family have been strained over the years, says in his mind there is no change in feelings about them and that there is “no anger, no angst” from his side.
“It’s not a question of reaching out. So long you understand, I don’t have to necessarily meet you every day to tell you I am your friend. We have spent time together. In a relationship these things don’t matter,” he told Aaj Tak channel.
Asked if he was still friends with the Gandhi family, Bachchan said, “Of course, in my mind there is no change. I will always respect them. We meet them sometimes at public functions. There is no anger, no angst. We’re still pretty normal.”
The 69-year-old actor entered politics in support of long-time family friend Rajiv Gandhi in 1984 and successfully contested from Allahabad Lok Sabha seat, only to resign three years later after his family was dragged into the Bofors scam.
Bachchan, however, denies that the fallout between the two families can be blamed on the scam.
Recalling the days following the Bofors controversy, Bachchan said it was difficult to walk on the streets without being called names.
“I would be walking on the street or shooting and people would abuse me. They would call me a traitor. We have been through all that. I could take it because I had a family that stood strong by my side.
“We could finally overcome the allegations when the Royal Court of London ruled in our favour. And many of those who made some of the sharpest accusations met us outside the court. They said this is a closed chapter and let’s settle outside and so we settled outside of court.”
Bachchan, however, wants to put the bitter incident behind and is not keen to know the name of the person who dragged his name in the scam.
“Other than changing a few lines in the history books, it is not going to change anything. What can you do even if you came to know? You can’t do anything. It didn’t take a toll on just my life. I am an ordinary human being. It changed the political scenario of the entire country.”