Commitments must have preference over sleep, flood: Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan, who turns 84 later this year, continues to maintain a gruelling work schedule.For close to two decades now, Amitabh Bachchan’s blog has been one of the most consistent things on the internet. The actor has shared blog posts almost every day, often late at night, about his work, health and thoughts, and sometimes simply the ordinary details of a long day. So when the posts suddenly became irregular, his readers noticed. In his latest entry, the 83-year-old actor addressed the gap directly, opening with an apology. “Apologies for this weird numbering and the missed blogs. The work hours and the intensity of work just did not give me time to get to connect, so am extremely sorry,” he wrote.Amitabh Bachchan then went on to describe the kind of schedule that had kept him away. “Work hours were stretching from 7 am in the morning to almost 7 am the next day. Days of 24-hour work. Commitments are commitments and must have preference over any other. Time, sleep, food et al,” he said, making it clear that the workload had left room for little else. Also Read: Amitabh Bachchan pulls a 24-hour shift for KBC 18: ‘Missing it would mean job replacement’ The reason behind the punishing hours, as Bachchan explained, was the preparation and shooting for Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 18, which begins its run on Sony Entertainment Television today, August 10. “But a break today as KBC 18th season with Sony does a start, and one can only pray, and pray,” he wrote. Amitabh Bachchan promised his readers he would return to his regular writing rhythm. “I shall be with you in the regularity as before, but let me organise, or rather let me reorganise my system, and we shall be in correct connect,” he said. The 24-hour shift that started it all The gruelling schedule Amitabh Bachchan referred to had been detailed in a blog post on August 5, where he gave a more specific account of what the shoot had demanded. “Finished work at 7 am this morning, of work that began at 7 am yesterday. But the importance of its presentation and its timely work was necessary, so did it,” he wrote, describing a straight 24-hour shift on the sets of KBC 18.Story continues below this ad Bachchan explained that the urgency was driven by the fact that the premiere date for the new season had already been formally announced, leaving absolutely no room for delays. “The first broadcast date for KBC is announced, and missing that would mean a job replacement for me. So off to do what needs to be done,” the veteran actor wrote. After wrapping the marathon session, Big B wrote that he planned to finally get some rest before returning to work the very next day. “I shall retire now, get some food in the belly, hit a pillow for a while, for tomorrow the 6th August is another early call,” he said. A 25-year association with KBC Amitabh Bachchan has hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati since its first season premiered on July 3, 2000. The show transformed Indian game show television when it first aired on Star Plus, drawing record viewership and turning the “hot seat” and Bachchan’s catchphrase “lock kiya jaaye” into cultural touchstones. The only break in his hosting run came during Season 3, which was fronted by Shah Rukh Khan. Every other season, from 1 through 17 and now 18, has had Bachchan in the host’s chair, making the show as closely identified with him as any of his most iconic film roles. The quiz show now airs on Sony Entertainment Television and is also available for streaming on SonyLIV.