CNN’s Becky Anderson interviews one of India’s most celebrated film actor, Abhishek Bachchan on CNN ‘Connect the World’ that airs on Friday, March 12 at 0230hrs IST. Abhishek Bachchan as the “Connector of the Day” spoke about his involvement in Tongues on Fire film festival, acting in Hollywood movies, his responsibility towards the youth of India, his upcoming movies and also highlights how the new-age Bollywood is going global.

There is Tongues on Fire Film Festival in London at the moment, why did you get involved?
I was sent an invitation by them because they wanted to show about five of my films. My reaction was pretty similar to your question: “why do I want to get involved?” I felt I was a bit under qualified to be represented like this. After a while I said “it’s nice that the younger generation of my film industry are being showcased, I think it’s nice that the younger generation of the world’s largest film industry is a generation that a lot of people are showing an interest in.” That’s pretty much the reason I came here with my films. I think it’s nice that the younger part is getting its time to be spoken about. In any film industry it’s the veterans who are spoken about and retrospectives are done of theirs. I think it’s interesting that a festival is showcasing Asian cinema and what the new generation are showing and how different that is from traditional cinema.

Bollywood is going through a bit of a renaissance at the moment, why do you think Bollywood is doing what it is doing at the moment?
I think it’s always done what it’s always done. What I think is wonderful is that it’s opening up to a world stage, like this exhibition. Traditionally Indian films were viewed in India and the Indian subcontinent and then viewed by a select expatriate audience. Thanks to a huge influx of foreign media into India, there’s a huge amount of interest in our culture, with our culture comes our cinema. Suddenly the world is waking up to Indian cinema. I have always felt that the culture and the arts of a country that is doing economically well will be something of interest to the Western world. The Indian economy is doing very well and that will draw a lot of interest to the arts as well.

Do you see yourself ever acting in Hollywood?
Why not? The lines are blurring, there’s been a lot of exchange in terms of talent, technical as well as acting, between European, British, American and Indian cinema. I don’t see a big deal about Hollywood, I’d rather ask “when are they going to come and act in our Films and dance around trees with fifty people?” That would be far more interesting. But yes, why not? If there is a script that is appealing enough then most definitely.

India’s youth look up to you, by being so famous do you see yourself as having a responsibility to help others?
Most definitely. India’s very passionate about films. It’s almost a second religion back home. Due to that, I think film stars are really held in great esteem – not that we’re complaining – but with that comes a lot of responsibility. I’ve been brought up in a film family, my parents and my wife are actors, and we all think that when you are in the public eye then you need to behave and act in a responsible way and make a difference if you can.

You are so busy. Do you find time to visit temples?
Yes, I think you can live a private life. There are 24 hours in a day. If you want to make time for yourself, you can. Most Indians are very devout and our culture is steeped in religion. We all do find time to spend time with the big guy up there.

Your parents starred in a film called “Abhimaan”, which means “pride”, would you and your wife ever star in a film together?
A very dear friend of ours, Rajiv Menon, a cinematographer as well as a director, has actually approached us to remake the film. It is being scripted right now but nothing is finalised. He was very keen to bring that film’s dynamic, which was very successful, today’s context and today’s age. That’s something that we’re talking about, so let’s see.

What’s it like waking up in the morning and greeting the world’s most famous actor? ... She means your father, one of former connectors of the day.
Well it gets confusing in my house in these days! The house is like anyone else’s house. It’s a very normal middle-class family, that’s something very dear to us. He’s one of the coolest guys I know and he’s also my best friend. It’s great fun.

How does it feel to be the husband of the most beautiful woman in the world? Do you ever get jealous?
No I don’t, if you’ve grown up in the limelight then you don’t get jealous. You get used to the praise, and thankful, not jealous. And how does it feel to live in reflected beauty? Well hopefully I look better.

If you weren’t a Bollywood actor what would you be doing?
I’d be a struggling actor trying to get a job. I’ve always struggled to answer that because I’ve been consumed by acting since I was a child. My grandfather was a famous poet, my parents were actors, and a lot of my friends when I grew up were related to the film industry. Some of which have become directors and actors. I would most definitely be an actor trying to get a job if I wasn’t an actor.

Your parents never said “please don’t do this?”
No no, my parents were very broad minded. The only emphasis was to educate yourself – there’s no substitute for an education. And do what your heart wants to do.

What’s your pick for best film at the Oscars?
There’s about ten, aren’t there... I haven’t seen half of them but I hope Colin [Firth] wins for actor. He’s a friend, he’s a very gifted actor and worked with my wife, he’s the dearest person, who really hasn’t been given his due. I felt “Avatar” was more of an experience than a film. “Hurt Locker” I thought was a very stark view of what the life of a bomb squad would be. Both narratives were wonderful. “Hurt Locker” was shot beautifully.

Can you see Bollywood adopting the 3D technology of “Avatar”?
Not yet – animation hasn’t taken off in a big way in India. We still like our heroes in flesh and blood. It will take time but I hope it does get there because it will be exciting to work on a film like that, having said that the basic plot of a story like “Avatar” is very Indian actually; most of Hindi films have a very similar story. The themes in it were very Indian. It is going to take time for our audiences to accept our mainstream films being shot in a format like that.

What’s next for you?
I have a film called “Ravan” coming up, with my wife. It’s directed by Mani Ratnam, who’s done two very special films for me in the past. That’s going to be out in June.