News reports claim that Abhishek Bachchan is going to pick a name for his baby daughter this month. Apparently, those close to the family insist that the couple is waiting for the kharwas period, which is considered inauspicious, to come to an end. Following that, a lavish ceremony will be organised for the baby post January 15 (Makar Sankranti, which is when the period finishes).

Bring all this up and the 38-year-old says, “I haven’t figured the name yet. But I’ll lock on it soon. Aishwarya (wife, Aishwarya Rai AbhishekBachchan) and I didn’t know whether we were going to have a boy or girl. So we didn’t jot down names.”

However, he admits they want to settle for a name that starts with the alphabet ‘A’. “We had shortlisted a few, but it’s difficult to choose that ‘one’,” asserts the new father, adding, “I can’t tell you the names that we’re considering right now. Ash and I want it to be with the letter A.”

The new father is often compared to his dad — Amitabh Bachchan — in terms of his acting skills and box-office hits. Does he feel his daughter too may face those pressures? “It’s a blessing to be my parents’ son and my grandparents’ grandson.

My child will grow up saying her parents are actors. But I don’t want her to use that as a crutch. She will have to work her way around things the way her parents and grandparents did,” states Abhishek, whose forthcoming film, Players releases this Friday.

There’s often talk about Abhishek learning a lot from his father, however, he has never spoken much about his mother, Jaya Bachchan. “I learnt nothing from my mother! That’s your headline,” he laughs, adding, “She taught me that you don’t always have to be doing something in front of the camera to get attention. You can hold the audience with a close-up shot, without twitching. You don’t need to act.”

A couple of years down the line, his girl will start going to school. And even though he was sent to boarding school, he isn’t sure whether he’ll be able to stay away from her for that long. “Though it’s a fantastic experience. That kind of schooling provides great freedom and takes you out of the cocoon, literally,” he says, adding, “Eventually, it’s upto her, she can study whatever she wants and become who she’d like to. I’m fine as long as she’s happy.”