For his role in Prakash Jha’s ‘Satyagrah’, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan would, perhaps for the first time in his career, be attending workshops along with the other principal actors namely Ajay Devgan and Kareena Kapoor. It is understood from reliable sources that Prakash Jha suggested that the Big B be exempted from attending the workshops. But Amitabh Bachchan insisted on being there.

Says a source close to Sr. Bachchan, “Amitji has not shot for any feature film in 2012. ‘Satyagrah’ which he begins shooting in February would be the first film for which he faces the motion picture camera in more than a year. He is charged and raring to go. Therefore when Prakash, in all humility, informed Amitji about the acting workshops for the other principal actors in ‘Satyagrah’ the Big B wanted to know why he wasn’t being called. How was Prakash to tell Amitji he didn’t have the gumption to suggest rehearsals for the legend?” However for the role of the anti-corruption crusader Amitabh Bachchan wants to work on his body language and his speeches.

“He wants to take the written words in Prakash’s screenplay to another level where the political rhetoric would come from within him,” says our source. One hears that the role requires Bachchan to address very large crowds of thousands of spectators. “Though Prakash would make sure the bandobast is optimum, crowd management for the Big B is not the same as it is for other Bollywood stars. The Big B tends to mingle with the crowds as he talks.This, in Bhopal, would create a security hazard,” says the source. Without going into details of how Amitabh Bachchan would approach his role Prakash Jha says, “Mr Bachchan is an enormously hands-on actor. He loves to be involved with every detail of his character. His enthusiasm at his age is infectious.”