I love working with Amitabh Bachchan: Ravi Chopra

New Delhi, Mar 7 (UNI) Having a long association with Amitabh Bachchan, Ravi Chopra says he loves working with the Superstar of the Millennium.

Chopra has a long association with the superstar in a series of films over the last three decades, from 'Zameer' in the 70s to 'Baghban' and 'Babul' in the new millennium.

''I love working with Amitabh Bachchan. He is a fantastic actor and has improved considerably with age. Moreover, he is a thorough professional who knows his job and does not compromise on his craft,'' Ravi Chopra told UNI in an interview here.

In his over three decade-long love affair with films and television, Chopra has worked with a series of actors, from yesteryears like Vinod Khanna ('The Burning Train' and 'Zameer'), Jitendra ('The Burning Train'), Dharmendra ('Seeta Aur Geeta' and 'The Burning Train), Hema Malini ('Seeta Aur Geeta' and 'The Burning Train') and Jackie Shroff ('Dehleez') to modern heartthrobs like Salman Khan and Rani Mukherjee ('Baghban' and 'Babul'), but Amitabh Bachchan always occupies a special place in his film lexicography.

After 'Baghban' and 'Babul', the duo of Ravi Chopra and Amitabh Bachchan will seek to recreate cinematic magic in Chopra's forthcoming 'Bhootnath' and the ''in the pipeline'' film 'Pocketmaar'.

'Bhootnath', dealing with the relationship of a ghost (played by Amitabh Bachchan) with a child, is scheduled for release in theatres on May 9.

Besides 'Bhootnath', 'Pocketmaar', another film by Ravi Chopra featuring the Big B, as Amitabh is lovingly called, will go on the floors by July or August.

Amitabh may be among his favourite actors, but Chopra clarifies that the fact the Superstar has featured in a majority of his films of late is nothing more than a coincidence.

''We are a script-oriented company. Only if a script of a film demands that we cast a particular actor in a certain role do we take him or her in the film. It just happens that most scripts I get these days have Amitabh it them. There is nothing I can do about it,''the filmmaker said.

At the same time, Chopra also admits that working with actors like Amitabh Bachchan, and even Shahrukh Khan, has been different, and a very exciting experience altogether.

''Working with actors like Amitabh and Shahrukh is a highly pleasurable experience as these actors help you immensely in realising your dream or vision of the film,''Chopra added.

Incidentally, 'Bhootnath' also features Shahrukh Khan in a brief appearance, bringing the two superstars together in a film after 'Mohabbatein', 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' and 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna'.

Chopra, however, dismisses all talks of rivalry between Shahrukh and Amitabh, as a lot of media reports of late have suggested.

''There is no rivalry between Shahrukh and Amitabh Bachchan. On the sets of 'Bhootnath', the two hit it off quite well.

''Infact, they used to often indulge in trivial pursuits together,''he said.

Asked if he has any plans of featuring the two of them together in a film in the near future, the filmmaker added,''If any script coming to me in future demands that Shahrukh and Amitabh be cast, then why not.'' Chopra, whose production company has been successfully straddling the vastly different and diverse worlds of television and films over the last three decades, said,''I do not believe in the categories-- 'small screen' and 'big screen'. I feel that television and films are two sides of a single coin--two different ways of telling the same story.

''As a company, we want to work in both television and films.

Infact, we were the only film people to make a foray in television two decades ago, when we made the historical series 'Bahadur Shah Zafar' and then the popular series on the epic Mahabharata.'' More UNI AR SBC DS1235