NEW DELHI: It is not right to equate a character he or she plays on screen to the person, and the film Shamitabh in many ways gives this message, according to megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

Bachchan said that while Dhanush used his voice in the film, he took the character further by bringing his own originality to the character he enacted.

Speaking at a press meet, Bachchan revealed that he recorded the entire voice-over of the film in the editing room under the supervision of the film’s director R Balki before the film was shot.

Shamitabh, starring Bachchan and Dhanush, will see the debut of Akshara Haasan. The movie is about a journalist who comes across a good actor without a voice and then meets a decrepit haggard elderly man with a good voice, and tries to match the two. While she succeeds, the two men gradually are overcome by their respective ego problems, and she has to resolve that.

Bachchan related a dialogue in the film to stress the fact that every person has his or her own value. He said there was a dialogue, which says whisky can be had with or without water. He said, “I do not drink. So, Dhanush is both whisky and water.” But when two people go together, they are bound to succeed, and the film also stresses this, he added.

Asked about his writer-director Balki, Bachchan said he had worked with Balki in Cheeni Kum and then in Paa and had found the director gives a different touch to his style of filmmaking.

Speaking about the difference between Bollywood and Tamil cinema, Dhanush said, “Except for the language, almost everything is the same. One difference however is that down in the South, we have to give just five interviews whereas here we have 523 interviews lined up for us.”

Akshara, whose mother Sarika, father Kamal Haasan and sister Shruti are all part of the film industry, said, “It was a wonderful opportunity and an amazing experience for me.” She went on to say that she did not feel intimated because of any comparisons, since each of her family members have their own style.

The song Piddly, rendered by Bachchan, which has become really popular, was brought in conversations frequently as it has been used to fight piracy.

Bachchan also said that since the film is about the film industry, several other known personalities would be seen on screen. Answering a question about his stint in the industry, he said, “I have found that over the last forty-five years, filmmakers are becoming more impatient. However, they are more knowledgeable now about what’s happening all over the world, and this includes usage of new technologies.”

Presented by Eros International, the film has music by Ilaiyaraaja and has been produced by Sunil Lulla, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, R K Damani, Gauri Shinde, and Abhishek Bachchan. The lyricists are Swanand Kirkire, Kausar Munir for ‘Sha Sha Sha Mi Mi Mi’.